Mark S. Shearer (born August 11, 1952) is an American politician who served as a member of both chambers of the

Iowa General Assembly The Iowa General Assembly is the legislative branch of the state government of Iowa. Like the federal United States Congress, the General Assembly is a bicameral body, composed of the upper house Iowa Senate and the lower Iowa House of Repre ...

Early life and education

Born in Burlington, Iowa, Shearer was raised in

Washington, Iowa Washington is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Iowa, Washington County, Iowa, United States. It is part of the Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City metropolitan area, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,352 at the time of t ...

and attended the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

, majoring in journalism, business marketing and music performance.Mark Shearer's Biography
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Career

Shearer began his career as a broadcast journalist and on-air talent in several Iowa media markets. While a student at the University of Iowa, he was appointed manager for the university's student radio station KICR / KRUI, and served on the board of directors for the Iowa Broadcast News Association. Shearer was editor of ''The Columbus Gazette'' in Louisa County, Iowa for 20 years. Appointed by Gov. Terry Branstad as a member of the Iowa Arts Council Board of Directors in the 1980s, he chaired the council from 1985 to 1988. Shearer represented the 55th district in Southeast Iowa 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 1989 to 1993, and the 49th district 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 ...

from 1999 to 2003. He joined the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship in 2004 as director of emergency programs. In his current position at the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, he served for eight years as national coordinator of the Multi-State Partnership for Security in Agriculture.

References

1962 births Living people People from Burlington, Iowa University of Iowa alumni Editors of Iowa newspapers Democratic Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives Democratic Party Iowa state senators 20th-century members of the Iowa General Assembly 21st-century members of the Iowa General Assembly {{Iowa-politician-stub