Candidates for Iowa House District 56

Contested races for the Nov. 5 General Election include the race for the District 56 seat in the Iowa House of Representatives. Republican Mark Thompson of Clarion is running for a second term in the Iowa House. His opponent on the Democratic ticket is Kyle Kruse of Hardy.

Iowa House District 56 includes all of Hancock and Humboldt Counties, 11 townships in Wright County plus the City of Clarion.

To better acquaint voters with their views, The Leader sent both candidates a series of questions to answer. Their responses are below:

Mark Thompson

Mark Thompson was a Marine Corps Infantry Officer for 20 years. He trained and led fellow Marines in special operations, Cuban Refugee crisis and other operations in Japan, Philippines, Europe, South America and others. 

Thompson transitioned to a career at the United States Department of State in the Bureau of Counter Terrorism. He rose to the rank of Senior Executive. While at the State Department he led emergency response teams to terrorist events overseas to include the USS Cole bombing, the East African Embassy bombings in Kenya and weapons of mass destruction. The teams were sent to advise, coordinate, and assist the U.S. Ambassadors. He deployed to safely recover the safe recover hostages in Nigeria, Ecuador, Iraq and the Philippines.

During the Iraq war, Thompson formed and sustained, a multifunctional group to assist the military in recovering U.S. and foreign personnel who were taken hostage. He testified before Congress as a whistleblower regarding the attack on the US facility in Benghazi. 

He ultimately returned to Wright County where he was born and raised on a farm. Since retuning to Iowa 8 years ago, Thompson has volunteered in various entities including as his church’s youth religious education as instructor. He was a substitute teacher for several years. He is a member of the American Legion and co-chaired the Wright County Republican Central Committee.

1. Why are you running for re-election to the Iowa House of Representatives, District 56?

I am running for re-election to the Iowa House of Representatives to continue to protect family farms and their influence in the agri-business marketplace. In 2022 I was elected to the Iowa House of Representative for this district and as a “freshman” legislator successfully wrote, advocated and initiated new tougher penalties on Human Trafficking, new grooming and false reporting laws. All three new laws passed both the House and the Senate unanimously. I hope to work to create a specialized group comprised of law enforcement personnel, prosecutors and victim advocacy groups.

For several years, even prior to election, I have worked with law enforcement personnel from local police, sheriffs, state and federal entities. Communication is key to keeping all working together with the goal of safety for all ages. There are many concerns Iowans look to the legislators for help. I have and will work to improve nursing home availability and handicap clients’ care, increasing mental health availability, and developing an environment that builds and retains rural businesses.

2. What insights or abilities will you bring to the 2025 Iowa legislature if elected?  

For nearly 40 years I developed the ability to work with and lead teams from different cultures and backgrounds to achieve a common goal in both the Marine Corps and in the State Department. During those years I continued to expand the ability to negotiate, often in life and death hostage situations. 

I draw on those skills and experiences to find common ground to accomplish sensitive and unique missions and tasks. These insights have been instrumental in working with those at the State Capitol and fellow Iowans.

3. What do you see as key pieces of legislation by the Iowa House in 2024? Were you satisfied overall with the outcome of the 2024 Session? Why or why not.

The initial introduction of the Area Education Association (AEA) proposed changes were not ideal. We spent a great deal of our time correcting the message within that roll out. Over time, we passed a bill that made modifications to an institution which was nearly 50 years old.

The final bill was very different than initially presented. Like any organization, improvements can be made that reflect emerging needs. I advocated and am now monitoring the proposed task force to oversee the changes to AEA.  

•Increasing the salaries of teachers and their vital support staff was a very worthy accomplishment during the last session.

•Other legislation which needs strengthening is regarding our small community pharmacies. There is a need to protect these pharmacies from PBM’s (Pharmacy Benefit Manager). We cannot lose these vital small pharmacies in our communities.

District 56 is blessed with great health care facilities. Several key pieces of legislation were passed to protect and keep our small hospitals in providing excellent care.  Legislation that comes forward to continue to protect and grow these essential facilities I will be supporting and promoting.

•I was pleased to introduce and champion the bill to create the cold case task force which is now law.  

•I was particularly disappointed in the term “book banning” being bantered around. We passed a bill that required books that were age inappropriate be kept from children at school. Iowa’s long established obscenity Code 728with its graphic definition now protects our children from age inappropriate and pornographic material in school libraries. 

The classic books mentioned as being banned, do not violate the obscenity laws in IowaCode 728and therefore would not be removed from the schools.  Graphic sexual content or depictions are never appropriate in our schools. The motion picture industry established their own standards decades ago for age requirements to watch certain movies. We should have no less concern when it comes to books for our children.  

What are the issues /priorities facing Iowa and District 56 that you would like to address when the Legislature convenes in January?

•Protecting Iowa Farms while encouraging innovative markets.

•Improve the ability of our nursing homes to provide quality care.

•Ensure our small pharmacies are operating on an equal playing field with larger corporate competitors.

•Create a multi-disciplinary task force to focus on human trafficking in order to investigate, prosecute traffickers and care for the victims.

•Address aged inmates in our prison system who may be eligible for parole or release, and thereby freeing up space for those who need to be incarcerated for serious felonies.

Other comments:

The most valuable “things” in our lives cannot be purchased or legislated.  Our 10^thAmendment of our nation’s constitution stipulates that the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. 

Passing bills for the governor to sign into law is the duty of the legislature.  However, raising strong families is the duty of all Iowans. I’m often reminded of local control, and that it is the preferred method of government involvement in our lives. I encourage all Iowans to be involved at their county and city level. Exercise your duty to VOTE!

Kyle Kruse

Kyle Kruse rural Hardy, is self-employed. He was born and raised on a small family farm, attending a community college in the construction trades after high school graduation. 

Kruse ended up traveling the state of Iowa with my career and started his company in 1999. 

Kruse is semi-retired, but has a custom furniture/woodworking business. He and his wife currently live outside of Humboldt on a small farm.

1. Why are you running for election to the Iowa House of Representatives, District 56?

Running for a public office was never in the cards for me, but by looking at what has transpired the last few years, I just couldn’t sit on the sidelines any longer. From the attacks on reproductive rights, to school vouchers, changes the AEA’s and the CO2 pipelines with the use of eminent domain for private companies

2. What insights or abilities will you bring to the 2025 Iowa Legislature, if elected?

My whole life experiences, to be frank. I’ve seen the entire State of Iowa from many perspectives. From growing up on a farm to living in town and then returning to the countryside. I have been an employee and an employer. 

With living in Iowa my entire life, I have seen the changes and the struggles through the years, some for the better and some for the worse. My ability to see and relate to both sides of issues would an asset to the legislature. We need people that are down to earth, relatable and will listen to the voters about their needs.

3. What do you see as key pieces of legislation by the Iowa House in 2024? Were you satisfied overall with the outcome of the 2024 Legislative session? Why or why not?

 The main piece of legislation of 2024 that really bothers me is the changes to the AEA’s, many rural schools are being hurt by these changes already and it will not get better.

Another was the failure of House file 2522 that would of gave judicial review of CO2 pipelines earlier in the permit process and could halt construction without posting a huge bond. With a high bond, its another way of big corporations bullying their way over regular people.

 4. What are issues/priorities facing Iowa and District 56 that you would like to have addressed when the Legislature convenes in January?

 We need to fund our public schools/AEAs properly, we need to look at and find solutions to our pollution problems across the entire state and address our rising cancer rates. We need to level the playing field so that our citizens are not being taken advantage of by big corporations that continually put the squeeze on them.

5. Other comments:

We need to have our elected officials to work for a better Iowa for all people and not just the few. We have so much division, we need to put people over politics and remember we have so much more in common than what divides us. 

If we treated others like we want to be treated, we would find that most of the problems that we are facing would be solved.