AASHTO Journal, 02 December 2016
Iowa Gov. Branstad named Mark Lowe as interim director of the state Department of Transportation, with Lowe taking over as former Director Paul Trombino served his last day Nov. 29.
Until now, Lowe has been director of the Iowa DOT’s Motor Vehicle Division since April 1, 2009. Before taking that position, he was the department’s general counsel.
The governor’s announcement said Branstad has not set a timeline for naming a new permanent director of the Iowa DOT, but that the position has been posted and his administration is now accepting applications.
Trombino was also 2015-16 president of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and presided over AASHTO’s annual meeting Nov. 12-15 in Boston, where he turned the presidency over to David Bernhardt, commissioner of the Maine DOT.
Branstad’s announcement about Lowe said that before he entered state government Lowe was an associate and then shareholder with the Hopkins & Huebner law firm in Des Moines, and that he had also been associate general counsel for Norwest Financial in Des Moines and worked as a planner at the Region XII Council of Governments in Carroll, Iowa.