Iowa Secretary of Agriculture candidate stresses clean water and local foods

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture candidate Sherrie Taha visits with Farmers Market exhibitors Dale and Margaret Suhr

Democratic Party candidate Sherrie Taha, who is running for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, stopped in Decorah Friday and Saturday.

Taha currently serves as a Commissioner for the Polk County Soil & Water Conservation District--a role in which she has seen the current procedures for handling soil loss complaints.  "We need to change our process," she says.  She notes that the current system allows only adjacent property owners to file complaints about soil erosion.  That makes filing a complaint against your neighbor somewhat difficult, so Taha says others ought to be able to file complaints, including those living downstream from the erosion.

Taha spoke to decorahnews.com during her visit to the Winneshiek Farmers Market.  She says as Iowa Secretary of Agriculture she would push to promote local food production.  An increase of 10 percent in the consumption of local foods in Iowa would create "an economic boon."

Taha is a native of Creston, Iowa.  She earned a degree in Art Education from the University of Minnesota, has a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Drake University and a Master of Public Administration degree from Drake.