DES MOINES - Chuck Gipp said he never intended to go into politics, let alone serve nearly two decades as a representative in the Iowa House, holding several leadership posts along the way.

But that's exactly what he did.

After 18 years in the Iowa House representing the residents of Winneshiek County, Gipp, R-Decorah has decided not to run for re-election this November.

Gipp's road to the Iowa Legislature was an unconventional one. He graduated from Luther College in 1970 with a degree in physical education and then served six years in the U.S. Army Reserve. He stayed in his hometown, running a dairy farm with his brothers.

"I never took a poli-sci (political science) course, except a required government class, in high school," Gipp said.

He dipped his feet in the political pool only after a local issue spurred him to action, when he learned industrial waste oil, which may have contained a carcinogen, was being dumped in the local landfill.

Gipp and his neighbors began looking into the problem, and he soon found himself a member of the Winneshiek County Solid Waste Agency. "You think it to yourself, 'If you don't get involved, who else will?'" Gipp said.

Members on the panel appreciated Gipp's work, and soon, party officials asked him to run for state representative, he said.

He refused several times, but then started to give it some serious thought, weighing the good he could accomplish against the obvious drawbacks of the job, including time away from his family and dairy farm. Gipp's wife, Ranae supported his candidacy, but wanted to make sure he would spend quality time with his family on the weekends.

"She said 'OK, we can do this, but what I won't have you do is leave for Des Moines and then come home on Fridays, take your suit off, put your work clothes on, and then work on the farm all day long,'" Gipp said.

During his time in the Iowa House, Gipp tackled a number of issues - from infrastructure, to public safety to economic growth issues - and held several leadership positions along the way. He led the House Transportation, Capitals and Infrastructure Committee for several years, later serving as the assistant majority leader for several terms, along with five years as the House majority whip.

In 2002, GOP lawmakers selected him to serve as the chamber's majority leader. The position meant Gipp and then-House Speaker Christopher Rants, R-Sioux City, set the chamber's agenda.

Rants, now the minority leader, said Gipp was one of the lawmakers who took him, as a freshman, under his wing and mentored him. During the legislative session, the pair, who shared a condo for several legislative sessions, would discuss policy over evening bowls of chili.

"He took me in as a freshman lawmaker who needed adult guidance and supervision," Rants said with a smile. "I discovered from Chuck there's nothing you can't cook in a Crock Pot."

From the partisan spats between Republican lawmakers and then-Democratic Gov. Tom Vilsack to constitutional questions, Rants said he and Gipp tackled a host of contentious issues.

"People will miss his ability to listen and to build consensus," Rants said. "Chuck has always been the guy that people turn to to be a consensus-maker. That has always been his strength and his ability."

The hardest part of serving was not the workload but being away from his family, Gipp said.

"When you can't be home for your wife's birthday or your kid's birthday, that's tough," Gipp said. "Those are the tough times, when you're gone. You become public property when you're in office."

At the same time, Gipp said he's confident the experience has benefited his family by affording them opportunities they otherwise wouldn't have had.

"It's going to be interesting for me to adjust to the fact that you can actually go and have a pizza at Mabe's and you don't have three people stopping you and saying, 'I hate to bother you, but,'" Gipp said. "You've got to be accessible to people, and I don't begrudge that."

Gipp said he doesn't feel he's leaving the General Assembly with business unfinished because he knows other members will fill the void and continue to tackle the state's problems.

"There are going to be people who are going to try to build a legacy …. I don't worry about that," Gipp said. "People come and people go. It's like putting your hand in a pail of water and pulling it out. Nobody knows that your hand was in there. And I'm comfortable with that."

Contact Whitney Woodward

at (515) 243-0138

or whitney.woodward@lee.net.