Shipley announces retirement from Senate

Iowa Sen. Tom Shipley, R-Nodaway, announced on Wednesday, March 4, that he will not seek re-election to the Iowa Senate. Senator Shipley was first elected to the Iowa Senate in 2014 and re-elected in 2018 and 2022. He currently represents Senate District 9, which consists of all of Adams, Cass, Montgomery, Page, Ringgold, and Taylor counties and a part of Union County.
Senator Tom Shipley was born and raised in Adams County and is the fifth generation in his family to be involved in agriculture in southwest Iowa. He graduated from Villisca High School in 1971 and from Iowa Western Community College in 1973. Senator Shipley earned a Bachelor’s of Science in agriculture education in 1975 from Iowa State University.
Reflecting on his tenure, Shipley said he first decided to run for the Iowa Senate to be a voice for the people of Southwest Iowa.
“I had no agenda. I didn’t go up there wanting to get a specific bill passed here or there, other than the transportation stuff for schools. While you don’t see it in press releases or anything like that, I think people up there would say that I’ve been a voice for people out here. We’re never going to agree on everything, but for the most part, I think there’s a lot of things we’re united on, and I tried to speak for that,” said Shipley.
Shipley said the second and third times he was re-elected bolstered his thinking that he was doing what he should to be an advocate for the area, even though things have gotten harder
“It hasn’t gotten harder to be the voice, but to get maybe that voice heard. And it’s changing out here with our population, and that makes it difficult. We are doing things differently, and some of those changes are very painful. I’ve been through school building closings and those types of things. It’s very painful, I know it is. When you run out of money and kids, you’re forced to do something different. It’s even different when it comes to agriculture. You’d think it would be a no brainer. but we’re the ones blamed for causing cancer, and for dirty water. Nobody has a definitive, definite proof that that is what the problem is. But since there’s so few of us, we’re an easy target,” advised Shipley. “We’re fairly united as agricultural producers, but I think the pipeline issue has created a division in us in agriculture that may be impossible to overcome. I hope not, but we’ll see.”
Over the past 12 years Shipley said he’s passed a lot of legislation, and while it would be impossible to name it all, there are some things that stand out that he’s been proud to have pushed for and/or been a part of.
“I think that defending the transportation equity and operational sharing, defending that’s been a big deal. I was also a driver in the legislature when we created an industrial hemp program for Iowa. It’s been just like I envisioned it to be. A lot of people jumped on the bandwagon, and then we had to sort it out from there and determine who was going to be really serious about it,” Shipley stated. “I also worked really hard to get the veterinary diagnostic lab at Iowa State University built. It’s a pride and joy of the Iowa State Vet School. It’s a huge deal for food security and animal health. I remember I pushed really hard to get the funding for that. It wasn’t as easy as you might have thought it would be in Iowa. It’s also important as I look back too, I remember some of the bills I put a stop to. There’s other things I’ve been able to do over the years, such as when people have had problems with agencies and that sort of thing, that I can never talk about because of privacy purposes. I sleep pretty well knowing there’s some people I’ve helped get some things done.”
During his term in the Senate, Shipley went through one redistricting which saw him move to representing Montgomery County. Shipley said the transition was a fairly easy one.
“People are the same, but also different, in the respective districts. I was glad when I made the move there were no problems. Pottawattamie County was one of the counties I served in the old district, and I could have kept serving them forever, but things changed. When I heard about the redistricting, my first thought was, well, my new district’s cow country. I can dig this,” commented Shipley.
Shipley also discussed the reasons behind why he decided to retire from the Iowa Senate this year.
“Part of my thinking was, if I ran again, how old would I be when I got done? I’d have been 77. Also, the older you get, you look at things different. I also thought about what I might be needed for. I don’t know what I’m going to do, but my brothers might need help. My mom’s still at home, and so she needs more help all the time. With all that in mind, I felt like it was time. Also, since COVID-19, things have been really different, and maybe it just wasn’t as much fun as it used to be. After I retire, someone may come up with something they want me to do. I mean, 20 years ago, I’d have never envisioned myself being an Iowa Senator. I think that can be said for anyone. Any place we’re at, we never thought we’d be there,” Shipley advised.
As he prepares to leave the Iowa Senate, Shipley reflected on some of the things he’ll miss, and the bittersweet feeling of retirement.
“Whenever you make a change like this, it’s going to be people you miss the most. Also, I had opportunities through my tenure to go some places and for some national events that were very great. But, ultimately it comes down to the people. We become part of a family, and I’ve got good friends on all through that chamber. I guess the best comparison is like a high school graduation. You talk to your friends about how you’ll all stay in touch, but does that always work out? There are some friends I’ve made there that I know for sure that I’ll stay in touch with, but I know there’s an awful lot of people I’ll never see again. I think about that, but it’s life,” said Shipley.
Shipley also shared some parting words to the constituents and the people sho have supported him over the years.
“It’s been an honor to serve them. I know we haven’t agreed on everything, but for the most part, I’ve been treated pretty well. We’re very blessed to live where we do. Not just in Iowa, but out here in rural Iowa. We need to keep being neighbors, no matter what. If we lose that, then we’ve lost Iowa,” stated Shipley.
Prior to his senate tenure, Shipley has devoted much of his life to agriculture, working as a livestock production specialist for Land O’ Lakes, a feed department manager at United Farmers Merc. Coop, and director of issues and policy management for the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association. He also taught vocational agriculture at Fremont-Mills school in Tabor after graduating college. He also has a small farming operation and cow herd near Nodaway.
Shipley has endorsed Cass County Supervisor Steve Baier, who recently announced his campaign to run for Shipley’s seat. So far, no other candidates have declared their intention to run for Shipley’s former senate seat.
At press time, The Red Oak Express got a response from Baier, and will be featured in next week’s edition of the Express.