Upmeyer, Bartz file for re-election

House Majority Leader Linda Upmeyer filed for election in House District 54 on Wednesday.
    House District 54 includes portions of Cerro Gordo, including Clear Lake, and Butler counties and all of Franklin County.
    Upmeyer said in July that she would move to the Clear Lake area, since her district (House District 12) was realigned after redistricting.  She is seeking her sixth term in the house.

    Upmeyer, a Republican, previously served as the Human Resources chairwoman, assistant leader and Republican Whip. This year, she was elected as the first female majority leader in Iowa’s history.
    Upmeyer is a cardiology nurse practitioner, is a member of Farm Bureau and a former community college trustee for North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC).  She and her husband, Doug, have been married for 41 years and have five grown children who all reside in Iowa. They also have three grandsons.
    State Senator Merlin Bartz also filed his nomination papers Wednesday. 
    Bartz, a Grafton farmer, had previously announced his intention to seek re-election to redistricted Senate 26, which includes all of Worth, Mitchell, Howard, Floyd and Chickasaw counties as well as Falls, Portland, Owen and Dougherty townships in Cerro Gordo County and Fremont, Burr Oak, Orleans, Bluffton, Lincoln and Madison townships in Winneshiek County.
    Bartz, a Republican, will challenge incumbent Democrat Mary Jo Wilhelm of Cresco for the seat.
    Bartz, 51, served in the Iowa House and then the Iowa Senate for 12 years before leaving to work for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He was elected to the Iowa Senate again in 2008 in District 6.