DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — House Republicans have chosen Majority Leader Linda Upmeyer to serve as their next Speaker.
Upmeyer was elected to the position Thursday. She is the first woman to hold the top leadership role in the Iowa House and follows in the footsteps of her late father, who served as House speaker in the 1980s.
Upmeyer says she looks forward to leading and promises to be fiscally prudent.
The 63-year-old Upmeyer has served in the House since 2003 and was made majority leader in 2010. She is from Clear Lake in northern Iowa.
Current Speaker Kraig Paulsen announced two weeks ago that he would step down from the role in January. Paulsen plans to serve the remainder of his two-year term, which runs through 2016.
