03-04-2025
Iowa DOGE Task Force meets for first time
IOWA (KCAU) — The Iowa Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, Task Force met for the first time Wednesday.
One of the members of the task force is Ryan Schaap, the chief information officer at Wells Enterprises. A full list of task force members and their affiliation is below.
Emily Schmitt – Sukup Manufacturing Co.
Nick Bowdish – Elite Octane
Brianne Schulte – Vermeer
Adam Keune – University of Iowa Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center
Craig Dozark – Crawford County Board of Supervisors
ReNae Arnold – Dallas County Recorder
Terry Lutz – McClure Engineering
Beth Tinsman – Twin State Technical Services
Kathy Kay – Principal Financial Group
Ryan Schaap – Well Enterprises
Dave Mulcahy – MABSCO Investments
David Spalding – Iowa State University College of Business
Reynolds Cramer – Fareway
Joe Murphy – Iowa Business Council
Hans Wilz (ex-Officio Member) – Iowa House of Representatives
Dan Dawson (ex-Officio Member) – Iowa Senate
The stated goals for the task force include maximizing return on taxpayer investment and further refining the workforce and job training program. The group now has 180 days to submit a report to the governor.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds' Office said she attended and spoke at the meeting. She provided the following statement after the meeting.
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I was honored to speak today at the first meeting of our Iowa DOGE Task Force. This task force is yet another opportunity to apply Iowa's proven formula of asking tough questions and making bold, transformative changes. I couldn't have more confidence in the talented members of this group, under Emily Schmitt's leadership, to build on our strong foundation and chart the course for more efficient government at all levels for Iowans.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds
After the meeting, Iowa Senate Democratic Leader Janice Weiner (Iowa City) issued a statement criticizing the task force for not including any public employees while including corporations and Republicans in the group. Read here full statement below.
It's obvious that tackling government waste and inefficiency is not Gov. Reynolds' priority with her new task force.
Representation on behalf of the minority party is nowhere to be found on this task force. Where are the public employees who could provide real, actionable advice? Is it the governor's position that only corporate entities and elected Republicans can spot waste and inefficiency?
The governor plans to run budget deficits for each of the next five years, her executive departments are actively withholding critical budget and oversight information from the Legislature, and Iowa taxpayers are paying hundreds of millions of dollars for families who already send their kids to private schools. If the governor wants to address government waste and inefficiency, she should start at home.
Sen. Janice Weiner (D-Iowa City)
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