Douglas Burns is a fourth-generation Iowa journalist. He is the co-founder of the Western Iowa Journalism Foundation and a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative, where this article first appeared on The Iowa Mercury newsletter. His family operated the Carroll Times Herald for 93 years in Carroll, Iowa where Burns resides.

Democratic candidate for governor Rob Sand has selected Crawford County Supervisor Dave Muhlbauer, a cattleman-farmer and deeply rooted rural Iowan from Manilla who ran for the U.S. Senate five years ago, as his lieutenant governor running mate.

The pick fortifies Decorah native Sand’s efforts to bridge the partisan divide in rural Iowa and brings a geographic balance to the ticket.

“A fifth-generation family farmer and cattleman from Crawford County, Dave Muhlbauer represents the best of our state: hard-working, honest, and always willing to help out. I’m proud to have him on Team Sand,” Sand said in a statement. “Dave has a track record of working with everyone to deliver for western Iowa and knows it’s time to rotate the crops in state government. He’ll be a great partner on the trail and an even better lieutenant governor for the people of Iowa.”

Muhlbauer, 42, a son and grandson of former state representatives, the late Dan Muhlbauer and Louis Muhlbauer, farms corn, soybean and rye and raises cattle and hogs in Manilla, at the southern edge of Crawford County. All three Muhlbauers have served as Democrats on the Crawford County Board of Supervisors —Dave Muhlbauer for eight years.

“I am in tune with what the people of my community are saying and asking and their concerns,” Muhlbauer said in an interview with The Iowa Mercury.

Muhlbauer described Sand as “grounded” and “compassionate.”

“It’s not about one side or the other,” Muhlbauer said. “It’s about doing what’s right versus wrong. I know he says it a lot, ‘not redder or bluer, but better or truer.’ That is so true.”

Muhlbauer’s father, the late State Representative Dan Muhlbauer, represented Carroll, Crawford, and Audubon counties. He died October 1, 2020 at age 62.

“This is very personal to me. Growing up farming and being in a farm family, taking care of the land, and doing what we do, is deeply embedded in our DNA,” Dave Muhlbauer said. “That’s the same to me with what grandpa and dad did with serving as a Crawford County supervisor, and later, legislator. I grew up campaigning for my grandpa when I was just a little kid.”

Several members of Dave Muhlbauer’s family — sister and brother in law Robert and Megan Riesselman and cousin Jared Muhlbauer — are engaged in the farming-agricultural operation just a stone’s throw from Shelby County and close to the Carroll County city of Manning, where Muhlbauer’s wife, Linda, is the library director.

“I first and foremost think there should be a place for any size farm,” Muhlbauer said. “Every farmer is a little bit different with how they operate and what they want to do or don’t do. We need to see the state work hand in hand with farmers on policies that are best practices.”

“I myself do cover crops because I feel that greatly helps my soil and water quality and helps with the fertility of the land and the health of the soil. I think we need to have more communication with farmers on how to make practices at hand more available to them.”

Dave Muhlbauer at his farm in 2021, when he was a candidate for the U.S. Senate (photo by Douglas Burns)

Muhlbauer said at the core he and Sand have the same goals for the state and are equipped with the electoral track records to end a decade of one-party control in Iowa by Republicans.

“For us, it’s about making government work for the people and fixing a broken political system,” Muhlbauer said.

As a local elected official, Muhlbauer lives among the people he represents in Tuesday morning supervisors’ meetings at the Crawford County Courthouse in Denison.

“People are upset, they don’t feel like government represents them,” Muhlbauer said. “They don’t feel like their voice is being heard. They feel like legislators are more interested in special interests and powerful insiders. To me, it’s about giving that voice back to people.”

Through the years, Muhlbauer has often described himself as an “old-school farming-labor Democrat.”

Muhlbauer ran for the U.S. Senate in the 2022 cycle but left the race before the primary to spend time with family after the death of his 4-year-old nephew Jed Riesselman in an accident. The Riesselmans have established a non-profit foundation, Stables 4 Jed, and developed a mental-health/grief facility, one with a focus on horse therapy, right on their farm, 5 miles southwest of Manning, on the east side of 370th Street just north of Dave Muhlbauer’s home.

Dave and Linda Muhlbauer have one son and two daughters: Chas, 18; Ava, 17; and Roslyn, 15, all high school students.