E. Thurman Gaskill (April 4, 1935 - March 7, 2023) was an American politician who served as an Iowa State Senator from the 6th District and Assistant Majority Leader of the Iowa Senate. Gaskill was a grain farmer and a

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

of Meta Financial Group, Incorporated (), a

bank holding company A bank holding company is a company that controls one or more banks, but does not necessarily engage in banking itself. The compound bancorp (''banc''/''bank'' + '' corp ration') or bancorporation is often used to refer to such companies as w ...

. He served in 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 ...

1997–2007. He also was a commissioner of both Iowa's Department of

Economic Development In economics, economic development (or economic and social development) is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and object ...

and its

Department of Natural Resources This article lists subnational environmental agencies in the United States, by state. Agencies that are responsible for state-level regulating, monitoring, managing, and protecting environmental and public health concerns. The exact duties of ...

, president of Iowa Corn Growers Association, president of

National Corn Growers Association The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) is an association that represents and advocates for the interests of corn growers in the United States. It is distinct from the American Corn Growers Association, a competing organization set up in 1 ...

, chairman of the United States Feed Grains Council, and held other agriculture positions. In his last term Gaskill served on several committees in the Iowa Senate, the Agriculture committee; the Appropriations committee; the State Government committee; and the Natural Resources and Environment committee, where he was the

ranking member In United States politics, a ranking member is the most senior member of a congressional or state legislative committee from the minority party. On many committees the ranking minority member, along with the Chair, serve as ''ex officio'' members ...

. He was ranking member of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee. Gaskill was re-elected in 2004 with 17,192 votes (58%), defeating

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

John Drury. He did not seek re-election to the Senate in the

2008 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2008. * Electoral calendar 2008 * 2008 United Nations Security Council election Africa * 2008 Angolan legislative election * 2008 Anjouan presidential election * 2008 Republic of the Congo Senate elec ...

. He supported

Rudolph Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani ( , ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and disbarred lawyer who served as the 107th mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General fr ...

in the 2008 Republican presidential primary campaign as Iowa chairman of Farmers for Rudy, and as a national co-chairman. In 2009,

Wallaces' Farmer Farm Progress is the publisher of 22 farming and ranching magazines. The company's oldest publication began in 1819. Farm Progress Companies is owned by Informa. Farm Progress has the oldest known continuously published magazine, ''Prairie Farmer ...

magazine honored Mr. Gaskill and his wife Gerry, along with three other families, as Iowa Master Farmers. He graduated from Corwith High School in 1953 and attended

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricult ...

."Corwith High School Graduates"
''IAGenWeb.org website'', IAGenWeb Project, 2020. Retrieved February 4, 2023. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

1954-1956. He began farming in 1958 on rented property and expanded over the years, purchasing his own land.Christian, Rebecca
"Farmer's interests span the globe"
''

Globe Gazette The ''Globe Gazette'', known locally as the ''Globe'', is a daily morning newspaper published in Mason City, Iowa, in the United States. History The Globe Gazette traces its history back to July 17, 1858, and a weekly newspaper called ''The Cer ...

'', Mason City, Iowa, volume 116, number 201, August 23, 1975, page 6. He was inducted into the Agricultural Hall of Fame in the Spring of 1975.

References

External links

Iowa General Assembly - former Senator E. Thurman Gaskill
official IA Senate website * *''Follow the Money'' - E. Thurman Gaskill
2006200420001998
campaign contributions {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaskill, E. Thurman 1935 births 2023 deaths American business executives Businesspeople from Iowa Republican Party Iowa state senators Methodists from Iowa People from Hancock County, Iowa People from Algona, Iowa Farmers from Iowa Iowa State University alumni United States Army soldiers 20th-century members of the Iowa General Assembly 21st-century members of the Iowa General Assembly