Tom Tauke co-founds Iowa Values conservative think tank

DES MOINES - A former Republican Congressman from Iowa is among the founders of a new conservative think tank that plans to promote free-market principles to address state issues.

Iowa Values will bring a conservative voice to Iowa policy discussions, according to the organization, which describes itself as nonpartisan and nonprofit.

Tom Tauke is one of Iowa Values' three founders. The Republican from Dubuque represented Eastern Iowa in Congress from 1979 to 1991.

The organization's other founders are Paula Dierenfeld, the mayor of Johnston, and a former aide to U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley and former Gov. Terry Branstad; and Sara Fagen, a Dubuque native, political consultant, campaign veteran and former White House political director for President George W. Bush.

'(Iowa Values) champions conservative values and is rooted in the belief that Iowa's greatest asset is its people,” the organization's introductory pamphlet says. 'While political progressives have a litany of strong public policy advocates in academia and the mainstream media, Iowa has few state-based, free-market organizations to bring conservative voices to policy discussions in Des Moines and across the state. Iowa Values was founded to help fill that void.”

The organization says it will support Iowa policies that encourage economic growth through free-market principles and robust trade, limit the size and scope of government, demonstrate fiscal restraint and emphasize personal responsibility.

The organization says it will focus on middle-class economic security, agriculture and manufacturing, education, and care for seniors and veterans.