(Forest City, IA) July 17, 2020: Rural Development Partners (RDP) is pleased to announce that Linda Upmeyer has joined the RDP Governing Board. Linda is completing her ninth, and final, term in the Iowa Legislature where she most recently served as Speaker of the House from 2016-2020. Prior to becoming Speaker, Linda led the caucus as House Majority Leader from 2010-2015. She is the first woman in Iowa history elected to either position. As Speaker, she led a budget of nearly $8 billion in state funds and $8 billion in federal funds while administering the operations of the Iowa House of Representatives and jointly administering the operations of the legislative branch. She is also a Family Nurse Practitioner with a Master of Nursing from Drake University and completed her undergraduate work at the University of Iowa. Her practice focus was cardiology and case management. Click here to read the full article.