Former Iowa County supervisor runs again

MARENGO — Former Iowa County Supervisor John Gahring is looking for another term on the board.

Gahring is one of five Republicans running for two county supervisor seats in the June 4 primary election.

Gahring grew up in Williamsburg and graduated from high school there. He moved to Georgia for several years before returning to Iowa County to work on his wife’s grandparents’ dairy farm.

Lynn Gahring is a deputy recorder for Iowa County.

Gahring took office in November of 2014 and served two four-year terms before losing a reelection bid in 2022. He’s still chairman of the landfill commission.

“I just enjoy serving. I don’t have an agenda,” Gahring said.

With Gahring on the board, the county built a new jail kitchen and a new EMA building. The EMA building is also a rescue station and training facility, Gahring said.

Gahring was instrumental in allowing wind turbines in Iowa County. “I wasn’t for windmills or against them,” Gahring said. “It was a private property rights issue.”

Gahring served on the mental health region board for the majority of his time as a supervisor, he said.

“I was on the Eastern Iowa Region Board for several years. The state left a big void when they shut down all the mental health facilities,” he said.

The State recently voted to replace the regions with seven mental health districts.

“I think we have to keep the region together,” said Gahring. Small counties can’t afford facilities. “You have to weight the big counties and the small counties and keep it in check.”

Being close to counties with larger populations, such as Johnson and Linn, is a challenge for Iowa County, Gahring said. The pay for employees is greater in the larger counties.

“It’s going to be hard going forward for small counties to keep up with expenses,” Gahring said. He sees smaller counties having to share services, as school districts do.

“We want to keep up services and attract people, but that’s hard on taxpayers,” said Gahring. But he likes a challenge.

Gahring would like to see Iowa County expand its ambulance service. “We have a good service. I’d like to expand that service down to North English to keep our times short for rescue.”

The county has great volunteer response teams, but they need an ambulance nearby. “They’re capable of lifesaving skills,” said Gahring. “And it’s improved so much in the last six years.”