Representative Jake Highfill Talks Iowa Issues
Posted by Brian Buethe
on Nov 02, 2015
The Honorable Jake Highfill addressed the members of the Rotary Club of West Polk County at their regular meeting on Monday, November 2nd, 2015. Highfill is the Iowa State Representative from the 39th District, an area that encompasses Johnston, Grimes, and a portion of Urbandale. A Republican, he has served in the Iowa House of Representatives since 2013. Representative Highfill was full of energy and gave a lively presentation to those in attendance.
Representative Highfill recounted how he was the youngest individual to have ever been elected to the Iowa State House of Representatives, and shared with the group how he first became enamored and engaged in politics while attending the University of Iowa. After sharing his background, he noted that although there are some very well publicized issues where it is not the case, generally Republicans and Democrats find common ground on the vast majority of the issues they undertake in the Iowa House.
Once the floor was opened to questions, Rotarians wasted no time in asking Representative Highfill to share his thoughts on a number of topics including school funding and mental health issues in Iowa.
Representative Highfill closed by indicating that things continue to change in the Iowa House. One example he shared was how the average age of those currently serving is about 20 years younger than it was just six years ago. This should allow for a good balance of experience and new ideas for legislators to consider in the coming years.
The Rotary Club of West Polk County would like to publicly thank Representative Highfill for presenting to our organization. We would also like to thank Rotarian Jason Kerndt (VisionBank) for extending the invitation.
(Pictured Above: Jason Kerndts (left) of Vision Bank and Representative Jake Highfill (right).)