Dix seeks return to Legislature, targeting Senate Democrat Heckroth's seat

DES MOINES – Former state representative Bill Dix, a Republican farmer from Shell Rock, is making a comeback bid for the Iowa Legislature and is targeting Waverly Democrat Bill Heckroth's Senate seat.

Dix, 46, previously served in the Iowa House from 1997 to 2007, and served for three years as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

After an unsuccessful bid for Congress in Iowa's 1st District in 2006, Dix turned his attention to his family farm operation.

His interest in state government issues has been rekindled with the state's budget problems.

“It's caused me to say we need to fix the mess, and I'm excited about coming and bringing what I can to put Iowa back on the right track,” Dix said.

The sprawling Senate District 9 seat Dix is running in includes all of Butler and Bremer counties and portions of Black Hawk and Fayette counties in northeast Iowa.

Heckroth, 60, was first elected to the seat in 2006. He said Tuesday he would seek a second term next year after Dix announced plans to enter the race.

Heckroth points to the Legislature's work on flood recovery -- using money from the state's cash reserves and flood mitigation efforts -- as one of the biggest accomplishments of his first term.

“It's going to just take a while to get everything sorted out, but I feel good about those things,” Heckroth said.

The owner of a financial services company, Heckroth said in a second term he would like help the Legislature and governor's office develop a “strategic plan” for the state. That plan would address such areas such as the budget and state operations, and policy areas such as economic development and human services.

“If you run a business off of a strategic plan, I think the state is certainly a business, and we need to approach it from that perspective,” Heckroth said.