Maas asks voters to keep board intact

MARENGO — Abigail Maas grew up outside Parnell and attended high school in Williamsburg. She went to Drake University to study pharmacy but decided that wasn’t right for her.

“I came home and farmed full time with my husband.” The couple has a century farm outside of Conroy.

About a year ago, Maas took ownership of a flooring business. “I had been looking for a way to diversify our farm income,” she said.

Maas was elected to the Iowa County Board of Supervisors in 2020 and is seeking reelection. Maas is one of five Republican candidates for county supervisor in the June 4 primary election.

“I got involved initially through the wind energy issue,” said Maas. She was also concerned with the lack of transparency on the board, the business decisions made behind closed doors and the excessive spending.

“I had attended meetings about a year and a half before I got elected,” said Maas. The lack of discussion during meetings led her to believe that those discussions were taking place outside of meetings. She thought the day-to-day business of the county “could use some improvement.”

Since Maas took office, the board has begun recording meetings and has put public forum back on the agenda. Maas was unable to prevent some of the spending she finds excessive, such as the $2.6 million for a new jail kitchen and engineer’s office.

With the addition of Chris Montross and Jon Degen to the board a year and a half ago, the dynamic has changed, said Maas. She’d like to see herself and Alan Schumacher reelected so the current board can stay in place and continue the progress it has made.

It’s been a challenge to understand the county budgets, regulations and state code, “what you can do and what you can’t do,” said Maas. “It’s taken me a good four years to wrap my head around everything.

“If we keep having new board members, they’re always learning,” Maas said. “Consistency is the key.”

The current board is a good mix, said Maas. Montross was a schoolteacher, Schumacher has experience in the corporate world, Kevin Heitshusen and Maas farm, Maas is a business owner and Degen was in law enforcement.

“I feel like we get along very well and we have a really good mix of representation throughout the county.”