Zumbach: Making progress on promises

I am a fifth-generation farmer born and raised near Coggon, where I live with my wife, Deb. We have four daughters: Rachel, our youngest, is a sophomore at Iowa State University; Allison is a new middle school teacher here in Iowa; Taylor lives and works in Des Moines; and, Brandy and her husband, Michael, live and work in Linn County.

It has been my honor and privilege to represent the people of District 95 over the last two years.

As I think back to the promises I made two years ago, three of the main issues I originally ran on have seen great progress.

We have increased investment in our K-12 schools to an all-time record. Our local school boards were given the much-needed flexibility that empowered them to work with teachers to effectively fix local issues with local solutions.

As a farmer, water quality still is on the forefront of important issues. This past session we passed a bill that will pump hundreds of millions of dollars into water quality projects across the state. The bill strives to improve Iowa's water quality with cooperation from all groups sharing a common watershed. A prime example of this, our very own Buffalo Creek, has been taken off the impaired list of waters by the Department of Natural Resources. This is an item for the next session, and I plan to continue improving the funding sources and strategies to ensure safe water.

There is more progress to be made on the privatization of Medicaid and I know we can do better. There are still many issues to work out, but I believe these can be addressed with more oversight. We have already taken the first step, passing legislation that holds the MCOs accountable to patients and providers. We need to make sure we are taking care of our most vulnerable first, as well as being responsible with the taxpayer's money.

Once again, it has been my honor to serve as your voice and represent you. I have done my best to represent District 95 as a whole and still be true to myself and to you. I am fully aware that our district isn't totally red or blue, which is why I will work with both Republicans and Democrats and believe I am the best person running to navigate these waters. I look forward to the election and your continued support.

' Louie Zumbach is the Republican candidate in Iowa House District 95.

All candidate guest columns in House District 95:

' Christian Andrews

' Louie Zumbach

Louie Zumbach declined our invitation for an endorsement interview. Therefore, no video is available.