Story County Supervisors Graduate Statewide Continuing Education Program

Story County Supervisors Lisa Heddens, Linda Murken and Latifah Faisal have been recertified as Certified Iowa County Supervisors. The Iowa State Association of County Supervisors (ISACS) honored its second class of Certified Iowa County Supervisors during a ceremony in Des Moines on August 22 that was held in conjunction with the Iowa State Association of Counties (ISAC) Annual Conference.

Board Chair Lisa Heddens was first appointed to the Board in 2019 and was elected in 2020 and re-elected in 2022. Linda Murken was elected in November 2018, began serving January 2019 and was re-elected in 2022. Latifah Faisal began her term as County Supervisor in January 2020 after being elected the previous November.

The Certified Iowa County Supervisor program was created and is administered by county supervisors for county supervisors to create a culture of Iowa county supervisor leadership development through a well-rounded continuing education program with the overall goal of bettering county government in Iowa through education. Certification requires a two-year commitment and 30 credit hours. Recertification necessitates 15 hours.

"I am extremely proud of the commitment that was made by the graduates of this program. They have put in a lot of time, energy, and effort on behalf of their constituents to become better public servants through education," said Jayson Vande Hoef, ISACS President, Osceola County Supervisor, and Certified Iowa County Supervisor. "Certified Iowa County Supervisors are educated leaders!"

"County supervisors are responsible for making decisions on an incredible range of issues and the learning curve can be pretty steep," said Latifah Faisal, Story County Board of Supervisor. "Participation in the Certified Iowa County Supervisor program has provided me with a framework for ensuring I am well informed, that I know about upcoming issues and I have tools and resources available to me to find answers when I need them. Going through the Certified Iowa County Supervisors program is a time commitment, but it is truly an investment in our county and in good governance."

County supervisors in Iowa are elected to a four-year term by a vote of the public and serve as a member of a three or five-person board of supervisors. In Story County, the format of the Board is a three-person board of supervisors, elected as "at-large" representatives to serve all of Story County. The board of supervisors is the governing body of county government. A county supervisor's duty is to "protect and preserve the rights, privileges, and property of the county or of its residents, and to preserve and improve the peace, safety, health, welfare, comfort, and convenience of its residents."

More information about the program and a full listing of graduates can be found at https://www.iowacounties.org/programs/certified-iowa-county-supervisor/.

Contact:
Crystal D. Davis
County Outreach and Special Projects Manager
Story County
900 6th Street
Nevada, Iowa 50201
(515) 382-7251
[email protected]