Mertz, a Democrat from Ottosen in Kossuth County, was “an example of what is missing in politics today,” said former state Rep. David Tjepkes, a Republican from Gowrie.

He described her as a “great bipartisan working partner.”

The former lawmaker was a strong voice for rural Iowa and farming, according to Jerry Fitzgerald, a former state representative who became a lobbyist in Des Moines.

“She was an incredibly effective legislator who made sure that the views of rural Iowa and farmers were heard,” he said.

Mertz served in the state House of Representatives from 1989 to 2011. She was the chairwoman of the House Agriculture Committee from 2007 to 2010.

Among other things, Mertz was known for her mastery of the state laws governing agricultural drainage.

She had a reputation as a conservative Democrat.

“She always said she was a blue dog Democrat,” said former state Rep. Helen Miller, a Democrat who once represented the Fort Dodge area.

Miller recalled that Mertz also knew how to have a little fun in the state Capitol. She said on one occasion, the two got some beignet mix mailed to them from New Orleans, and then went to the kitchen in the Capitol to make the pastries for everyone in the House.

“We made them up and put them on a big old tray,” Miller said. “Then I had the doorman put the coffee mix that I received in the coffee machine.”

Mertz began her political career as a Kossuth County supervisor in 1983, when she was appointed to complete the unexpired term of her husband, Pete Mertz, after he died of heart attack.

In 1988, she was elected to the state House of Representatives to serve a district that initially included all of Humboldt County and parts of Kossuth, Palo Alto and Pocahontas counties.

“She had more charm than anybody ought to,” Fitzgerald said. “She had this charm that allowed her to work across the aisle and talk with people who disagreed with her.”

“She commanded respect,” he added.

Tjepkes said Mertz was a “very good friend of agriculture.”

Mertz decided not to run for re-election in 2010. That decision did not end her service to the state, however.

Gov. Terry Branstad appointed her to serve on the Iowa racing and Gaming Commission in 2012.

Funeral arrangements have not been announced yet.