Clark Ray Rasmussen (July 11, 1934 – October 9, 2024) was an American politician who represented Polk County in the

Iowa House of Representatives The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly, the upper house being the Iowa Senate. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, formed ...

from 1965 to 1967 as a member of the Democratic Party.

Early life

Rasmussen was born in

Kimballton, Iowa Kimballton is a city in Audubon County, Iowa, United States. The population was 291 at the time of the 2020 census. History Kimballton was founded in 1883 when Hans Jensen Jorgensen opened a post office at the site. The town was officially e ...

, on July 11, 1934. He had four sisters, one of whom was his fraternal twin. He graduated from Elk Horn High School in 1952 and enrolled at

Grand View University Grand View University is a private liberal arts university in Des Moines, Iowa. Founded in 1896 and affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the university enrolls approximately 2,000 students and is accredited by the Highe ...

. He served in the 1st Cavalry Division in Japan from 1954 to 1956. He resumed his studies at Grand View upon returning and then attended

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The University offers over 140 undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, education, Legal education, law, and pharmacy. Drake U ...

, from which he graduated with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in 1958.

Career

Rasmussen worked as a claims supervisor for the Travelers Insurance Company after graduating from Drake. In 1964, he was elected to represent Polk County in the Iowa House of Representatives, where he served one term. He was one of 11 people who represented Polk County during the 61st General Assembly under the short-lived redistricting act enabled by the Democratic legislature that allowed for the state's most populous counties to elect multiple representatives. He then served as chairman of the

Iowa Democratic Party The Iowa Democratic Party (IDP) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Iowa. The party organizes the Democratic Iowa caucuses, Iowa presidential caucuses. In recent years, the party has l ...

until 1971, when he became an aide to senator

Harold Hughes Harold Everett Hughes (February 10, 1922 – October 23, 1996) was an American politician who served as the 36th Governor of Iowa from 1963 until 1969, and a United States senator from Iowa from 1969 until 1975. He began his political career as ...

. In

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

, he ran for governor of Iowa, but lost in the Democratic primaries, winning 16% of the vote. After his defeat, he opened Rasmussen and Sons Bicycle Shop in West Des Moines. He served as secretary of the

Iowa Senate The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly. There are 50 seats in the Iowa Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the Iowa, state of Iowa with populations of approximately 60,927 per constituency, . Each Senat ...

in 1975. He later served as clerk of the Polk County district court for 11 years before being elected to the Polk County Board of Supervisors in 1986, where he served one term.

Personal life and death

Rasmussen married Joanne Disterhoft in 1956 and had five children. He died in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

, on October 9, 2024, at the age of 90. Rasmussen was a member of

Delta Sigma Pi Delta Sigma Pi () (officially the International Fraternity of Delta Sigma Pi, Inc.) is a coeducational professional business fraternity and one of the largest in the United States. Delta Sigma Pi was founded on November 7, 1907, at the Schoo ...

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rasmussen, Clark R. 1934 births 2024 deaths Democratic Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives People from Audubon County, Iowa Politicians from Des Moines, Iowa Grand View University alumni Drake University alumni 20th-century American businesspeople Businesspeople from Des Moines, Iowa 20th-century members of the Iowa General Assembly