Jeff Danielson

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Categories: Iowa Democrats | Iowa State Senators

Jeff Danielson (D) is currently serving his first term in the Iowa Senate. He was elected to the Iowa Senate in District 10 in 2004.

Senator Danielson is a member of the Economic Growth, State Government, Transportation, Ways and Means Committees and he is a member of the Economic Growth Budget Subcommittee. He also serves on the Senate Veteran's standing sub-committee, Elder Affairs Commission and Iowa Access Council.

Senator Danielson is a professional firefighter with the City of Cedar Falls. He is past President of the International Association of Firefighters Local #1366. He is a member of the Iowa Fireman’s Association.

Senator Danielson was born in 1970 at the former Schoitz Memorial Hospital on the corner of Kimball & Ridgeway in Waterloo, Iowa. He attended Cedar Heights Elementary in Cedar Falls, Kittrell Elementary in Waterloo, Edison Middle School in Waterloo, and graduated from Waterloo Central High in 1988 (the last high school graduating class). He met his wife Kim while they were both students at Edison Middle School. While in high school, he was a varsity letter winner in both wrestling and football. He earned Big Eight 2nd team all-conference honors as a defensive back in his senior football season and was voted the teams most improved player by his peers that year. Throughout high school Jeff participated in student government in various roles.

Senator Danielson served in the Navy from 1988 to 1994. He was assigned to the USS Vincennes (CG-49) and the USS Cowpens (CG-63), both home ported in San Diego, California. He completed two six month deployments to the Persian Gulf/Indian Ocean in support of U.S. operations in the Middle East region. During his enlistment, Jeff earned the Navy Good Conduct, Armed Forces Expeditionary, Southwest Asia and National Defense Service medals.

While serving Jeff distinguished himself by qualifying as a nuclear Tomahawk missile guard, held a Top Secret clearance, served as Officer the Deck and earned his Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist (ESWS). He was honorably discharged from the Navy as a Petty Officer 2nd Class/E-5.

Senator Danielson is a graduate of Waterloo Central High School. He earned an Associate of Arts from Hawkeye Community College, a Bachelors of Arts in Public Administration (Summa Cum Laude), a minor in Leadership Studies and a Masters of Public Policy from the University of Northern Iowa. He excelled academically throughout his college career, becoming a Golden Key International Honour Society member and earned UNI’s Purple & Old Gold award for meritorious scholarship as the highest grade point graduate in the Public Administration program.

Senator Danielson remains an active community volunteer giving his time to causes that he cares passionately about. He is a former commissioner of the Iowa Department of Transportation Commission and the City of Waterloo’s Planning, Programming and Zoning Commission. He currently serves as a board member of the Hawkeye chapter of the American Red Cross, the UNI Leadership Advisory Board and Black Hawk Economic Development, Inc. He is a life-member of the Cedar Falls Amvets Post #49 and the UNI Alumni Association. He is a member of the Waterloo Exchange Club, Cedar Falls Firefighters Association, the Iowa Firemen’s Association, Waterloo Elks Lodge #290, and the International Association of Fire Fighters.

Senator Danielson and his wife, Kim, have two children.