Michael R. Lura (24 August 1948 – 4 May 2004) was an American politician. Lura was born in

Marshalltown, Iowa Marshalltown is a city in and the county seat of Marshall County, Iowa, United States, located along the Iowa River. It is the seat and most populous settlement of Marshall County and the 16th largest city in Iowa, with a population of 27,591 at ...

, on 24 August 1948, to parents Geahard R. Lura and Opal M. Herbert. He graduated from

Marshalltown High School Marshalltown High School (MHS) is public high school located in Marshalltown, Iowa and is home to 1,600 students in grades 9–12. It is a part of the Marshalltown Community School District. The district, and therefore the high school, serves a ...

in 1966 and married Susan Revell the next year. The couple raised four children. Lura served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

for four years during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. He studied accounting at

Columbus College Columbus State University is a public university in Columbus, Georgia. Founded as Columbus College in 1958, the university was established and is administered by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. History The university w ...

and worked for the Mississippi Gaming Commission as well as the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission. Lura was a Republican precinct committeeman for four years before serving the Marshall County Republican Party as finance chair from 1977 to 1978. He contested the legislative elections in November 1978, and won election to 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, forme ...

from

District 39 A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

. In 1981, Lura was seated to the

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

, as the legislator representing

District 20 A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

. In 1983, he was redistricted to represent District 36. Lura's resignation from the seat took effect on 30 June 1983. He moved to

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

, with his wife, and at the time of his death on 4 May 2004, was working for the Flamingo Hotel and Casino.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lura, Michael 1948 births 2004 deaths Politicians from Marshalltown, Iowa Republican Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives Republican Party Iowa state senators Columbus State University alumni United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Military personnel from Iowa 20th-century American politicians American accountants United States Army soldiers