Former Cedar Rapids lawmaker named to chair Board of Parole

Renee Schulte, a former Cedar Rapids lawmaker and health care consultant, has been appointed chair of the Iowa Board of Parole.

“Renee’s extensive background in mental and behavioral health will help protect our communities while advancing our goals of supporting the successful reentry of parolees and reducing recidivism,” Gov. Kim Reynolds said in a news release Friday.

Her appointment started Friday, contingent on Iowa Senate approval.

Schulte, 52, who now lives in Urbandale, will succeed Nick Davis, who had been chair of the five-member board for 16 months before resigning “to pursue other opportunities,” the news release said.

The board, which decides whether Iowa prisoners will be paroled or put on work release, completed 11,228 deliberations in fiscal 2022, which resulted in 2,658 paroles, 1,005 work releases and the imposition of 479 special sentences, according to the group’s 2022 report.

Schulte, Republican, represented Cedar Rapids in the Iowa House of Representatives from 2008 to 2013. Schulte started Renee Schulte Consulting in 2012 and Rural Policy Partners in October 2022.

After serving as a consultant to the Iowa Department of Human Services, Schulte joined a Florida company she helped land a well-paying state contract, the Des Moines Register reported in 2015.

WellCare was one of four companies Iowa chose in 2015 to manage the state’s Medicaid program, which at that time provided health insurance to 560,000 low-income and disabled Iowans.

Attorneys for competitor Aetna Better Health alleged Schulte and another former legislator hired by WellCare had conversations about the state contract with officials during a blackout time. A judge later removed WellCare as a Medicaid provider, citing the “improper communication.”

The state and Reynolds are facing a lawsuit from a former Parole Board member, who alleges the board made illegal parole decisions.

Kathleen Kooiker, of Osceola, who served on the board from 2018 to 2021, said she was wrongfully discharged from the paid position when she complained to the governor about former chair Helen Miller’s decision to let alternate board members make parole decisions.

Iowa Code Chapter 90 requires at least one regular board member be involved in all parole decisions.

Sheila Wilson, who served on the board from 2013 to 2019, resigned from the board to protest the same problems Kooiker reported in her lawsuit, Wilson told The Gazette earlier this year.

Correctional Services directors expressed concerns earlier this year the Iowa Department of Corrections was recommending early release for offenders who hadn’t yet had time to received treatment or positive programming in prison.

Comments: (319) 339-3157; erin.jordan@thegazette.com