Dane Nealson is taking a chance and running to represent District 45 in the Iowa House of Representatives, against Beth Wessell-Kroeschell who has been in office for eight years.

When asked about his chances based on his age, Nealson was not deferred.

“People in the community look at the candidates based on the issues they’re focused on, not their age,“ the 2010 graduate of Iowa State said. He said he believes the age difference also may be a positive in some ways though because he believes he is “more able to relate to students, and knows their concerns about life after college.”

Nealson said he is a serious competitor; he is out there door-knocking, meeting new people every day and really trying to get down to the issues. One of the main issues he plans to focus on is balancing out the budget in Iowa. He would also like to improve the amount of jobs being created in Iowa and, develop more job security for local businesses. This in turn would help the students graduating from Iowa State find jobs in Iowa.

Nealson said he truly respects his competitor, Wessel-Kroeschell, but he does not agree with her supporting the repeal of the “Right to Work” laws. He believes taking this away would really hurt job creation and would not help the students and future workers.

Wessel-Kroeschell said her main goal, if re-elected, is to “always focus on having the best education system.”

She would like to work a lot more on improving Child Protective Services.

“We need to make adjustments and make sure that Iowa is reaching its goals,” Wessel-Kroeschell said. 

When asked about her opponent, she replied: “Age is not a prerequisite; voters are going to look at many different things.”

She said the person elected should represent the values of community.

“I have lived here almost my whole life,” Wessel-Kroeschell said. “I’ve raised two kids here and have one still in high school.”

She believes she has more experience in this community and better knows what the citizens want. Though Nealson has just graduated, Wessel-Kroeschell keeps in mind the students at Iowa State. She wants to make sure Iowa State is “at its best” and “still affordable.” She wants to make sure that the job outlook is good for students at Iowa State, and assure them they will have a good future.