Baier announces candidacy for Iowa Senate seat in District 9
Fri, 03/20/2026 - 12:18pm
admin
Nick Johansen
Another Southwest Iowa official has thrown his hat into the ring to run for the Iowa legislature.
On March 4, local Cass County Supervisor, former wrestling coach, educator and community leader Steve Baier announced he is running for Iowa Senate District 9 following the announcement made by Senator Tom Shipley that he was not running for re-election and would retire at the end of this term.
“Over the last several years, I have been proud to serve my community as a county supervisor and solving the problems of our local community,” said Baier. “I enjoy trying to tackle problems to help make our community better, and I want to take that principle to the Iowa Senate and tackle the issues our state is facing.”
Baier shared what led him to decide to run for Shipley’s former seat, saying they’ve known each other for a long time.
“Sena. Shipley has been a strong advocate for agriculture and rural schools. I want to continue that as a growing number of people in Iowa, and particularly in Des Moines, are far removed from the realities faced by our rural communities.
“Tom and I have been friends for decades and frequently talk about public and personal topics. I knew he was contemplating retiring from the Senate and knowing the Senator, I knew he would thoroughly think it through, not just from his standpoint but the much broader perspective. He and I had some serious discussions up to and following his decision,” commented Baier.
If he is elected, Baier outlined some of his early priorities serving as the area’s newest state senator.
“The extension of operational sharing incentives for rural school districts is certainly one of the top ones. In the Ninth Senate District there are only five school districts that are not sharing a superintendent. Operational sharing has been a good program to encourage small school districts to be as efficient as possible. Too many of the urban legislators don’t understand how much this helps our smaller districts. Operational sharing helps the smaller rural school districts from having budgets that are top heavy with administration costs at the expense of instruction in the classroom,” stated Baier.
Other priorities include extending and enhancing transportation equity for school districts.
“Senator Shipley was one of the original sponsors of this bill and again, urban legislators don’t understand the impact transportation costs have on rural districts. I have three grandchildren who grew up going to West Des Moines Valley schools. One morning my wife Barb and I were doing volunteer work at the boys’ elementary school. You could see a stream of children riding their bikes or walking down the sidewalks along Prairie View Drive. Then they disappeared into a tunnel under E.P. True Parkway and almost magically emerged onto the playground of the elementary school,” advised Baier. “In a matter of less than fifteen minutes more than four hundred students came out of that tunnel with no expense to the school. I thought at the time, ‘I’ve got to get one of those holes in the playground for Griswold.’ My grandchildren in the Griswold Community School District sometimes rode the bus for an hour each morning before getting to school. The same thing happened again in the afternoon. In a year, that transportation cost to Griswold Community Schools was over $600 per student. In some districts in Southwest Iowa it is over $800 per student. That money is gone before the child even gets to the classroom and instruction can begin.”
Baier said it’s also no secret that the agriculture sector is feeling financial stress, and that he would support legislation that would increase end users of diverse types for the corn and soybeans that are grown.
“That could be in the form of more livestock production. The cattle herd in the U.S. right now is at the lowest level ever in my lifetime. Everyone from grain farmer to the mom putting a nutritious meal on the table for her family would benefit if we had more cattle on feed. It would also open up some opportunities for young people to stay on the farm, because livestock care takes skilled labor. Whether egg production, a farrow to finish hog operation, any of the other ways value can be added to our crops by animal husbandry I would support it. Some well meaning, but poorly understanding people put impediments to livestock farming that simply hurt everyone from producer to consumer,” Baier explained. “Early in my tenure on the Cass County Board of Supervisors, we were able to successfully bring to completion the Elite Octane Ethanol plant. It has added a dime or more to the value of every bushel of corn produced in the area. My wife Barb and I were founding stockholders in the Southwest Iowa Egg Cooperative. About 650,000 bushels of corn and 4,800 tons of soybean meal are annually converted to over 12 million dozen eggs. SWI Egg provides 26 local jobs for those who care for the birds, manage the feed milling, and market the eggs. These jobs pay above the local average and provide each employee with fully funded health insurance. These are the types of enterprises I would work to expand to provide a better future in rural Iowa.”
Baier also spoke on his past experience in local government and how it would assist him on the statewide level.
“Being on the school board for 11 years and serving as a county supervisor for 10 years, I have experienced the unintended consequences of legislation that meant well, but had landed with a thud when it came to implementation on the local level. Unfunded mandates are one of the most frustrating issues local governments must implement. Local government must enforce and pay for them without having had input in the formulation of the mandate. Another issue is the tardiness of the legislature setting the Supplemental School Aid formula each year. Superintendents and school boards can’t get their work done in a timely fashion when the legislature doesn’t get this set in the first 30 days as required by law. I will be very mindful of this if I serve in the Senate,” said Baier.
Senator Shipley personally endorsed Baier as his choice to replace him in District 9.
“I have known Steve for many years dating back to my time on the school board and we have worked together over that time to support our rural communities,” said Senator Shipley. “He’s a hard worker, solutions-focused and cares a lot about southwest Iowans and their families. I know he will do a great job taking his work ethic to the Iowa Senate and working to not just make our district better, but the whole state,” commented Shipley.
Baier also reflected on that personal relationship and Shipley’s endorsement, saying that as a cattleman, Baier sometimes called on Tom’s expertise and service when he worked for the co-op.
“Tom’s 18 years of service on the Villisca School Board overlapped with the years I served on the Griswold Community School Board and we shared many of the same challenges and often discussed possible solutions. Once in the Senate, Senator Shipley did an excellent job of staying in touch with county supervisors in District 9 to keep us informed and get our thoughts on pending legislation. Because of our many years together in public service, I was not surprised, but was honored and grateful for the Senator’s endorsement,” Baier stated.
Baier shared a special message to the voters ahead of the Nov. 3 election across the state.
“Barb and I grew up in southwest Iowa and benefited from the life lessons learned from living in a rural community. After nearly a decade of living in North Carolina and teaching in a school system with over 700 students per grade, we made a very deliberate choice to raise our young family in rural Iowa. There’s not a better place to raise a family. Our passion for civic service stems from the desire to continue to make this a great place to live, work, and raise a family. Our granddaughter Paige is now in college studying to become a science teacher. Her long-term goal is to teach and coach in a rural district. We are glad and proud that our family will have another generation in rural Iowa,” explained Baier.
Baier has served as the chair of the Cass County Board of Supervisors for the last several years. He is the president of the Noble Initiative Foundation, which helps support local families and help parents looking for high-quality child care, including building a $3 million child care center in Griswold. He also dedicated his life to education, teaching chemistry and physics for over 25 years.
Baier added that what he has done in public service and what he hopes to do in the future would not be possible without the support of his family, especially his wife Barb.
“Barb is an amazing person in her own right. She taught in public schools for forty-three years while at the same time taking on responsibilities within our church, helping kids with 4-H projects, and being a first-rate “cowgirl” on our farm. In her “retirement” she works at the local food pantry, sews clothing for orphans with the local Hearts and Hands for Haiti group, does advance preparation of meal items for the Lakin Foundation Child Development Center of Griswold, is the secretary of the Noble Initiative Foundation, and is the “go to” person for people who grew up in our community and want to stay in touch. My son Fritz is a big help in the cattle operation. He keeps up on the genetics and purebred side of the herd. My daughter Jennifer’s oldest son, Thor, is now 18, and for a “city boy” enjoys helping on the farm whenever he can. I can also count on timely assistance on the farm from the Mike Marshall family, Jim Swanson, and Sean South. I certainly couldn’t do any of this alone,” advised Baier.
Baier lives in the house where his grandfather bought a farm in 1943, and continues to farm on that land today. He also served as a leader at the Noble United Methodist Church. He and his wife now attend United Church of Hope in Elliott.
If he is elected, Baier outlined some of his early priorities serving as the area’s newest state senator.
“The extension of operational sharing incentives for rural school districts is certainly one of the top ones. In the Ninth Senate District there are only five school districts that are not sharing a superintendent. Operational sharing has been a good program to encourage small school districts to be as efficient as possible. Too many of the urban legislators don’t understand how much this helps our smaller districts. Operational sharing helps the smaller rural school districts from having budgets that are top heavy with administration costs at the expense of instruction in the classroom,” stated Baier.
Other priorities include extending and enhancing transportation equity for school districts.
“Senator Shipley was one of the original sponsors of this bill and again, urban legislators don’t understand the impact transportation costs have on rural districts. I have three grandchildren who grew up going to West Des Moines Valley schools. One morning my wife Barb and I were doing volunteer work at the boys’ elementary school. You could see a stream of children riding their bikes or walking down the sidewalks along Prairie View Drive. Then they disappeared into a tunnel under E.P. True Parkway and almost magically emerged onto the playground of the elementary school,” advised Baier. “In a matter of less than fifteen minutes more than four hundred students came out of that tunnel with no expense to the school. I thought at the time, ‘I’ve got to get one of those holes in the playground for Griswold.’ My grandchildren in the Griswold Community School District sometimes rode the bus for an hour each morning before getting to school. The same thing happened again in the afternoon. In a year, that transportation cost to Griswold Community Schools was over $600 per student. In some districts in Southwest Iowa it is over $800 per student. That money is gone before the child even gets to the classroom and instruction can begin.”
Baier said it’s also no secret that the agriculture sector is feeling financial stress, and that he would support legislation that would increase end users of diverse types for the corn and soybeans that are grown.
“That could be in the form of more livestock production. The cattle herd in the U.S. right now is at the lowest level ever in my lifetime. Everyone from grain farmer to the mom putting a nutritious meal on the table for her family would benefit if we had more cattle on feed. It would also open up some opportunities for young people to stay on the farm, because livestock care takes skilled labor. Whether egg production, a farrow to finish hog operation, any of the other ways value can be added to our crops by animal husbandry I would support it. Some well meaning, but poorly understanding people put impediments to livestock farming that simply hurt everyone from producer to consumer,” Baier explained. “Early in my tenure on the Cass County Board of Supervisors, we were able to successfully bring to completion the Elite Octane Ethanol plant. It has added a dime or more to the value of every bushel of corn produced in the area. My wife Barb and I were founding stockholders in the Southwest Iowa Egg Cooperative. About 650,000 bushels of corn and 4,800 tons of soybean meal are annually converted to over 12 million dozen eggs. SWI Egg provides 26 local jobs for those who care for the birds, manage the feed milling, and market the eggs. These jobs pay above the local average and provide each employee with fully funded health insurance. These are the types of enterprises I would work to expand to provide a better future in rural Iowa.”
Baier also spoke on his past experience in local government and how it would assist him on the statewide level.
“Being on the school board for 11 years and serving as a county supervisor for 10 years, I have experienced the unintended consequences of legislation that meant well, but had landed with a thud when it came to implementation on the local level. Unfunded mandates are one of the most frustrating issues local governments must implement. Local government must enforce and pay for them without having had input in the formulation of the mandate. Another issue is the tardiness of the legislature setting the Supplemental School Aid formula each year. Superintendents and school boards can’t get their work done in a timely fashion when the legislature doesn’t get this set in the first 30 days as required by law. I will be very mindful of this if I serve in the Senate,” said Baier.
Senator Shipley personally endorsed Baier as his choice to replace him in District 9.
“I have known Steve for many years dating back to my time on the school board and we have worked together over that time to support our rural communities,” said Senator Shipley. “He’s a hard worker, solutions-focused and cares a lot about southwest Iowans and their families. I know he will do a great job taking his work ethic to the Iowa Senate and working to not just make our district better, but the whole state,” commented Shipley.
Baier also reflected on that personal relationship and Shipley’s endorsement, saying that as a cattleman, Baier sometimes called on Tom’s expertise and service when he worked for the co-op.
“Tom’s 18 years of service on the Villisca School Board overlapped with the years I served on the Griswold Community School Board and we shared many of the same challenges and often discussed possible solutions. Once in the Senate, Senator Shipley did an excellent job of staying in touch with county supervisors in District 9 to keep us informed and get our thoughts on pending legislation. Because of our many years together in public service, I was not surprised, but was honored and grateful for the Senator’s endorsement,” Baier stated.
Baier shared a special message to the voters ahead of the Nov. 3 election across the state.
“Barb and I grew up in southwest Iowa and benefited from the life lessons learned from living in a rural community. After nearly a decade of living in North Carolina and teaching in a school system with over 700 students per grade, we made a very deliberate choice to raise our young family in rural Iowa. There’s not a better place to raise a family. Our passion for civic service stems from the desire to continue to make this a great place to live, work, and raise a family. Our granddaughter Paige is now in college studying to become a science teacher. Her long-term goal is to teach and coach in a rural district. We are glad and proud that our family will have another generation in rural Iowa,” explained Baier.
Baier has served as the chair of the Cass County Board of Supervisors for the last several years. He is the president of the Noble Initiative Foundation, which helps support local families and help parents looking for high-quality child care, including building a $3 million child care center in Griswold. He also dedicated his life to education, teaching chemistry and physics for over 25 years.
Baier added that what he has done in public service and what he hopes to do in the future would not be possible without the support of his family, especially his wife Barb.
“Barb is an amazing person in her own right. She taught in public schools for forty-three years while at the same time taking on responsibilities within our church, helping kids with 4-H projects, and being a first-rate “cowgirl” on our farm. In her “retirement” she works at the local food pantry, sews clothing for orphans with the local Hearts and Hands for Haiti group, does advance preparation of meal items for the Lakin Foundation Child Development Center of Griswold, is the secretary of the Noble Initiative Foundation, and is the “go to” person for people who grew up in our community and want to stay in touch. My son Fritz is a big help in the cattle operation. He keeps up on the genetics and purebred side of the herd. My daughter Jennifer’s oldest son, Thor, is now 18, and for a “city boy” enjoys helping on the farm whenever he can. I can also count on timely assistance on the farm from the Mike Marshall family, Jim Swanson, and Sean South. I certainly couldn’t do any of this alone,” advised Baier.
Baier lives in the house where his grandfather bought a farm in 1943, and continues to farm on that land today. He also served as a leader at the Noble United Methodist Church. He and his wife now attend United Church of Hope in Elliott.