Cindy Axne

Cindy was raised in a tight-knit family on the South Side of Des Moines by parents who met at a church picnic. Cindy's childhood included weekends and summers spent on her maternal grandparents' farm in Warren County, 4-H activities, and playing 6-on-6 basketball for the Valley High Tigers. From 2005 to 2014, Cindy worked for the State of Iowa, hel... ping state agencies deliver government services more effectively and efficiently and saving tens of millions for Iowa taxpayers. Since then, she has focused on growing the digital design firm she runs with her husband John. In 2007, when her older son started kindergarten, Cindy learned that full-day kindergarten was not available to every child in West Des Moines public schools, with eligibility determined by a lottery. Cindy was outraged at the inequity of the system and concerned that students were being shortchanged. She spent the following academic year advocating and negotiating with principals, the school board and the superintendent. After nearly a year, her efforts paid off and full-day kindergarten was made available to all students in the district. Cindy is active in her church, Sacred Heart Catholic Church, and serves as a mentor with the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center at the University of Iowa. She lives in West Des Moines with her husband John and their teenage sons, Gunnar and Rafe. The 3rd Congressional District covers Iowa's south west corner, and includes Polk, Dallas, Guthrie, Warren, Madison, Adair, Cass, Pottawattamie, Mills, Fremont, Page, Montgomery, Taylor, Adams, Union and Ringgold counties.Read More