A Day at the Iowa Utilities Board
Nick Wagner is a Board Member at the Iowa Utilities Board.
The PUF team traveled to Des Moines, Iowa, the home of the Iowa Utilities Board, which got its start in 1878 as the Iowa Board of Railroad Commissioners, and later the Iowa State Commerce Commission.
PUF: How did you become a member of the Iowa Utilities Board?
Board Member Wagner: It was sort of unintentional. I was in the legislature for four years and when the voters kicked me out, I went to the Governor's Chief of Staff, who had helped on my first campaign for Statehouse and told him, I wanted to stay engaged in some manner, some level. He said, we've got this opening at the Utilities Board that you'd be perfect for with your engineering background.
I knew a little bit about the Utilities Board because I had served on the Commerce Committee, so I decided to give it a shot. That's ultimately how I ended up here. That's common for a lot of Commissioners to end up on their Commission from time spent in the legislature, either as staff or as a legislator.
PUF: What's been one of the most rewarding things you've done on the Board?