Democratic women from each of Iowa's five congressional districts recently gathered in Des Moines to take part in an Iowa Women's Summit hosted by DAWN's List (Democratic Activist Women's Network).

The main purpose of the Summit was to discuss strategies on electing Iowa's first female congresswoman and first female governor. Iowa remains one of only two states in the nation (the other being Mississippi) that has never elected either a woman to the U.S. Congress or as governor. An additional focus was the election of more progressive Democratic women to public service at all levels.

Keynote speaker for the event was U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democratic woman recently elected to represent Minnesota. Several local and state female elected officials from across the state also took part in panel and round-table discussions.

Sandy Galer of Cedar Rapids (pictured above) and Lynda Waddington of Marion (pictured below) attended the event to hear what women from around the state had to say about getting more progressive Democrats elected to office, and to share their experiences as grassroots activists. Waddington also served on a panel with representatives from a variety of informal women's groups.