Iowa House speaker names new top aide

Iowa House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha, has announced that former state lawmaker Doug Struyk will become his executive officer.

Struyk will replace Matt Hinch, who is leaving the speaker's staff to join the Des Moines Partnership.

Struyk, 41, served in the Iowa House from 2003 to 2011, including a stint as assistant minority leader. His time in the House was marked by his decision to switch parties. Elected as a Democrat, Struyk joined the Republican Party in 2004, a day ahead of the primary election.

After leaving the House he went to work for the Iowa Secretary of State's Matt Schultz, another Council Bluffs Republican. He has served as a policy advisor and legal counsel.

Struyk earned a bachelor's degree from Iowa State University and his law degree from

Creighton University. He has served vice president of his family's lawn care business -- Struyk Turf -- in Council Bluffs.