After serving a three-year term in the Iowa State Senate, this Republican Party politician was elected a United States Senator from Iowa. She was the first female politician to represent her home state of Iowa in either the House or the Senate. After earning a a bachelor's degree from Iowa State University and a master's degree from Columbus College, she became a lieutenant colonel in the Iowa Army National Guard. She also served in the Army Reserve and spent more than a year in Kuwait during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
