Dale M. Cochran (November 20, 1928 – August 27, 2018) was an American politician from the state of
Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...
.
Career
Cochran was born in
Fort Dodge, Iowa
Fort Dodge is a city in, and the county seat of, Webster County, Iowa, United States, along the Des Moines River. The population was 24,871 in the 2020 census, a decrease from 25,136 in 2000. Fort Dodge is a major commercial center for North Cen ...
in 1928. He attended
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the ...
, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree, and is a former farmer. In 1952, he married Jeannene Hirsch, and has three children. Cochran served as a Democrat 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 1965 to 1987. He served district 62 from 1965 to 1973, district 45 from 1973 to 1983, and district 14 from 1983 to 1987. He was Minority Floor Leader from 1971 to 1974, Assistant Minority Leader from 1981 to 1982, Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee from 1983 to 1984, and Speaker of the House from 1975 to 1978.
From 1987 to 1998, he served as the
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture
The Secretary of Agriculture of Iowa is an elected position in government of the U.S. state of Iowa that was created in 1923 by the extra session of the 40th General Assembly. The Secretary of Agriculture heads the Iowa Department of Agriculture ...
. He died in 2018 at the age of 89.
References
1928 births
2018 deaths
Secretaries of Agriculture of Iowa
Democratic Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives
Farmers from Iowa
Politicians from Fort Dodge, Iowa
Iowa State University alumni
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