Second round of redistricting shakes up Southeast Iowa

The Iowa Legislative Services Agency released a new plan for the state’s legislative districts, slated for voting in the state Senate Oct. 28, just over three weeks after the first set of maps were rejected in a party-line vote.

In the big picture, the changes would noticeably alter Southeast Iowa’s federal congressional district.

While the region would add Warren, Iowa, Jones and Jackson counties to the group, it would drop eight counties in the southwest corner of the district to District 3: Clarke, Lucas, Monroe, Wapello, Decatur, Wayne, Appanoose and Davis.

If approved, the new maps would also have a range of effects on state legislative districts for Washington, Jefferson and Henry counties.

Washington County changes up neighbors, but keeps incumbents

Washington County is poised to stay with its current state senator Kevin Kinney, a Democrat from Oxford, but the third county in the equation is changing. While Washington County’s current group, District 39, includes Keokuk County, it would instead join with Iowa County under the proposed changes.

“I hate losing Keokuk County because I think I’ve made inroads down there,” Kinney said. “But I live up here on the Iowa-Johnson County line and I have a farm in Iowa County so I know a lot of the people up here. Whether that’s good or bad, I don’t know but … I’m satisfied with it.”

Washington is also set to break off from Keokuk in its state representative district, instead sharing voters with a portion of Johnson County south of Iowa City, which includes Hills and Lone Tree.

The change would not directly alter the position of Rep. Jarad Klein, though it does place the incumbent, who lives just east of the Keokuk County line in Keota, further from many of his constituents than he is now.

Jefferson County’s districts reach north

Jefferson County is poised for a substantial change in neighboring district members.

The county’s current senate district, District 87, contains all of Davis and Van Buren counties and excludes roughly a third of Wapello and Jefferson counties, including the eastern reaches of Fairfield.

The proposed new district would instead include all of Jefferson and Van Buren counties and some of neighboring Henry, as well as winding up to add the entirety of Keokuk County and most of Mahaska County to the north.

The change would effectively pit current district 40 Sen. Ken Rozenboom of Oskaloosa against Jefferson County’s own Sen. Adrian Dickey of Packwood. Both senators are Republicans, and neither immediately responded to a request for comments.

A similar change would take place in Jefferson County’s House representation. Its current district is shared with Davis and Van Buren counties, although some of Jefferson’s eastern side falls within Henry County’s District 84. Under the new map, the north part of the county would be pulled into district 48 with Keokuk and Mahaska counties, while the rest would share a district with Van Buren and part of Henry County.

The change would put Maharishi Vedic City, Mount Pleasant, and most of Fairfield in the same district, an unusually high density for the state’s relatively few urban centers.

The move would not directly remove State Rep. Jeff Shipley, who lives in Birmingham, from his district, but it would pit him against fellow Republican Rep. Joe Mitchell, who lives in Mt. Pleasant.

Henry County set to swap out every legislator

Henry County appears to be the most heavily shuffled under the newly drawn maps.

In the state Senate, the county would go from occupying one district to being split between two, neither of which would contain current State Sen. Jeff Reichmann, who lives in Lee County. Reichmann did not respond to a request for comments.

Instead, the townships containing Rome, Westwood, Mt. Pleasant, Salem and Hillsboro would share a senator with Jefferson, Van Buren, Keokuk and much of Mahaska County. The region contains two incumbents, both Republicans: Sen. Ken Rozenboom of Oskaloosa and Sen. Adrian Dickey of Packwood.

The rest of Henry County would share a state senate seat with the sizable District 48, grouped with much of Des Moines County and running as far northeast as the city of Wilton in Muscatine County. The only incumbent in the area would be Sen. Mark S. Lofgren, a Republican from Muscatine.

In the House District, things don’t look any less complicated, but they are similar.

Rep. Joe Mitchell, of Mt. Pleasant, would be shunted to a district shared with Maharishi Vedic City and most of Fairfield, much like his counterpart in the senate.

The rest of Henry County, including Wayland, Olds, Winfield and New London would find itself in a large district with Louisa County and much of Des Moines and Muscatine Counties, including the cities of Columbus Junction, Mediapolis, Grandview, and Atalissa. The current incumbent of the area is Rep. David Kerr, a Republican from Morning Sun in Louisa County.

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com