Ready to get to work in Des Moines
The first day of the 2025 legislative session is coming up on Jan. 13, and I am honored to have been elected to represent the people of Senate District 26 and excited to get started.
Since November, I have been busy doing tours and meeting with stakeholders in the district to get ready to serve. I really enjoyed my tour of the newly built and renovated Career and Technical Education (Agriculture, Family & Consumer Science, Industrial Arts) and Science classroom spaces at Marshalltown High School.
I also received my committee assignments for the 91st General Assembly. I am delighted to be a member of the Commerce, Health and Human Services, Appropriations, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs committees. These committees mesh well with both my professional and personal experiences.
I am a wife and mother of two, a senior leader at YSS, a licensed substitute teacher, and a past private sector business executive. I also grew up in a military household-my father and grandfather are both decorated Navy veterans. I am looking forward to working on a number of issues in the senate, but I am especially eager to work with the Iowa Veterans Home and ensure veterans in Iowa are getting the care and support they need and deserve.
In early December I travelled to Washington, D.C. with a delegation of 20 others from Iowa to meet with other legislators and policy experts from across the country. It was a great way to learn about what’s going on in other states and exchange ideas and lessons learned. I also have been spending more time in our beautiful Capitol preparing for the legislative session, attending bipartisan orientation for new legislations, and hearing from many groups, including IPERS and the Ombudsman.
With November’s election, Republicans are now at 35 members in the Iowa Senate. The Iowa Senate Republicans got together to talk over some issues and priorities heading into the upcoming session based on what all of us have been hearing from our constituents across the state. Each senator had the opportunity to share on an issue, and with my background working in education and youth mental health services, I spoke about the potential benefits of a phone-free school day. This is an issue Governor Kim Reynolds has talked about recently, and I am looking forward to seeing her proposal and discussing the issue further.
I hope to work with all 49 fellow senators, and my colleagues in the House, to deliver on the promises we made throughout the summer and fall. Property taxes will be a huge focus as Iowans continue to turn to the legislature for solutions. We will also look at other ways we can help move Iowa in the right direction and make our state the best for Iowans and their families.
Like I said at the beginning, I am honored to represent Marshall and Story Counties in the Iowa Senate and am ready to get started. I hope to hear from you as we are preparing for the session and getting to work on the issues Iowans value. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or comments going into 2025.
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Kara Warme, a Republican from Ames, is the senator elect for Iowa’s 26th District, which includes all of Marshall County and most of Story County.