Lycke

As current Republican Marshall County Supervisor Steve Salasek has indicated that he does not plan to seek re-election in 2024 after serving two terms, at least one new face will sit on the board at the beginning of next year.

Ruth Lycke, an Air Force veteran and former GMG school board member from Green Mountain, is the first candidate to formally throw her hat in the ring, submitting her nomination papers with the necessary signatures earlier this week. In a campaign brochure shared with the T-R, she described herself as “a lifetime ambassador of the Marshall County community and Iowa” who has “always sought to serve my community, state and country with the highest of morals and standards.”

Other than her time in the military and at Iowa State University, Lycke has resided in Marshall County for her entire life, graduating from the Green Mountain Independent School and later returning to the farm where she grew up with her husband Steve, a fellow USAF veteran, to raise their three children.

“This is by far the best place in this county, it just is an awesome place, to raise a family, to have kids,” she said.

One of her claims to fame, as she put it, was becoming one of the first female paramedics in the state of Iowa and coming before the Marshall County Board of Supervisors when she was in her 20s to advocate for the establishment of a paramedic service in Marshalltown.

She gained an even stronger appreciation for emergency services when, in her early 40s, Lycke suffered a severe stroke in Garwin and was transported to Marshalltown for further medical care.

“I’ve been on both sides petitioning for them and then literally seeing the benefit of having them,” she said.

The stroke experience led her on an unconventional path that ended in China. Lycke was the first American to seek traditional medical treatment in the country and subsequently became an author, speaker and medical advocate, spending the last 17 years assisting stroke survivors.

As for her political platform, Lycke said the work the supervisors have been doing for the last several years has been “good,” but she would like to see it “stepped up” if she is elected.

“We really need to emphasize the responsibility within our community, within our county, our area, our district so that we understand that we are financially and fiscally responsible. We need to keep a real tight handle on salaries, wages, infrastructure,” she said. “The family farm has taken an entire shift over my lifespan. You’ve seen it go from a family farm to more outside corporations (that) are trying, and even countries are trying to buy land. And it’s a real challenge to continue to meet the needs of the family farm, the family farmer in this society and with the rules and regulations.”

She added that she is “prayerful” the rules and regulations around agriculture will start to “dissipate” and allow farmers to do their work “as they need to” with governance occurring on a local level. On the topic of EMS, Lycke felt the county should be on “the leading edge but not the bleeding edge.”

“We need to take advantage of what we have and grow it, and yet wisely, responsibly, so that we’re able to offer the best to people in our county. It’s really critical,” she said.

Lycke has been hitting the streets and knocking on doors to collect signatures and promote her message of fiscal conservatism and responsible growth, and she hopes she can get more people involved in the political process through her campaign.

“A supervisor is simply a voice for the people. You have a position that you have to maintain, but you have a great constituency in the people in the county. What are their needs? What do they literally look to the supervisors to do or provide?” she asked. “It’s mind boggling to understand the responsibilities (supervisors) have, and yet the challenges they face. And it’s key to start to plug in… and start to get to know the people, even on the other side of the county because there are variations from one side of the county to the other — how much water they’re getting, how much rain they’re getting, how are their crops? What are they experiencing as far as getting crops to market as far as roadways, etc? There’s a lot to consider, and there are a lot of things that have changed just in the last five to 10 years.”

Thus far, Lycke is the lone candidate from either of the two major parties to file for the vacant supervisor seat. The primaries will be held on June 4, and the general election is slated for Nov. 5.

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Contact Robert Maharry

at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.