Cedar Falls legislator adds to tattoo collection

DES MOINES — Thanks to some new ink, Jeff Danielson will forever carry with him the Iowa Senate.

Danielson, a state senator from Cedar Falls, this weekend got a tattoo emblazoned on his left arm with the words 'Iowa State Senate' above an eagle.

The tattoo, which Danielson got at Third Eye Tattoo and Gallery in Cedar Falls, covers most of Danielson's left arm from his elbow to his shoulder and also includes a laurel wreath and Iowa's state motto, 'Our liberties we prize, and our rights we will maintain.'

The tattoo also includes the initials SPQR, which stand for the Latin phrase that roughly translates to 'the Senate and people of Rome.' Danielson said that is a nod to the Roman roots of the U.S. system of democracy.

'I think it's important that people express things that are important in their life,' Danielson said Monday. 'I care deeply about public service. I think it's something we should think more positively about these days. It's real easy to be angry about politics these days.'

Danielson also has a tattoo honoring his past service in the U.S. Navy and said his next will honor his work as a firefighter.

'I'm proud of my public service,' he said.

Danielson, who also has a Captain America tattoo on his chest and another for his alma mater, the University of Northern Iowa, praised Katie Dexter, the Third Eye tattoo artist who did his Senate tattoo.

'I call her da Vinci with ink,' Danielson said. 'She really is. It's almost unreal to see her put (a design) on paper when you tell her what your ideas are.'

Danielson has served in the Iowa Senate since 2005. He is up for re-election this year.