Rozenboom Announces Retirement from Iowa Senate
Sen Ken Rozenboom talks about budgets and tax reform during Egg’s and Issues. (file photo)
Oskaloosa – Iowa Senator Ken Rozenboom, R-Oskaloosa, announced today his decision to retire from the Iowa Senate. The Iowa redistricting plan signed by Governor Reynolds in November placed Rozenboom and fellow senator Adrian Dickey, R-Packwood, in the same senate district. Rozenboom will retire effective January 1, 2023.
“Serving the last 10 years in the Iowa Senate has been the highlight of my life,” said Rozenboom. “I ran for the Senate in 2010 because I was concerned with runaway spending, plans for tax hikes, and an agenda that continually threatened Iowa agriculture and Iowa’s future. Rather than sit on the sidelines and complain, I ran for the Iowa Senate to change the direction of this state.”
“Since Republicans took the majority in 2016, I have had the opportunity to be a part of something special. Senate Republicans put the state budget back on track by passing responsible, sustainable budgets and turning huge deficits into even bigger surpluses. We passed multiple tax cuts to help Iowans keep more of the money they earn. We will continue our work to improve tax policy in 2022.”
“While fiscal responsibility was an important priority, it was not the only issue facing this state. I was privileged to play a leading role in creating policy to improve water quality in Iowa. In 2018 we passed what I consider to be the most significant water quality legislation ever passed in the state of Iowa. We provided dedicated and continual funding to improve the quality of Iowa rivers and streams with Senate File 512. This bill created incentives for Iowa land owners to improve the quality of Iowa’s water without the heavy hand of government regulation or confiscation of property.”
“Tax cuts and water quality are important parts of making Iowa a better place to live, but ultimately none of those policies matter if Iowans do not have the right to life. The pro-life policies advanced in my time may be the most important votes I took. From stopping taxpayer funding of abortion providers and a 72-hour waiting period for an abortion, to the heartbeat bill and the life amendment, no other issue is as close to my heart as the pro-life cause. I remain humbled to be a part those monumental reforms.”
A farmer, agri-businessman and life-long Iowan, Senator Ken Rozenboom was born in Mahaska County, where he still resides. He is a graduate of Pella Christian High School and attended Calvin College in Michigan. After college, he returned home to farm with his father and brother before taking a position in sales and production management for Wake’s Inc., a local agricultural supplier, where he worked for 30 years. He and his brother continue to operate Rosewood Farms, a family farming operation in rural Mahaska County.
Senator Rozenboom is married, and he and his wife, Becky, have two children. Their daughter and son-in-law live in New South Wales, Australia, and have three children. Their son served for several years as a paratrooper in the US Army, including two deployments to Afghanistan, and now lives and works in Des Moines.
