There’s a unique opportunity available for area teenagers who want to see firsthand how their state government works.

Each year, the Iowa Senate and the Iowa House of Representatives employ a number of young people to do all kinds of odd jobs that are necessary to keep the legislature functioning. These teens are called pages. Their daily duties include everything from answering the phone, delivering messages, making copies, and sometimes even bringing a cup of coffee to a lawmaker.

State Rep. Ann Meyer, R-Fort Dodge, described the role of pages this way: ”The Legislative Page program is a great way for high school students to get their foot in the door and see their state government in action.”

”If a student has any interest in going into any government job, this would be a great learning opportunity,” she added. ”It’s really seeing it come to life instead of sitting in the classroom.”

Pages start their workday in the state Capitol at 8 a.m. and work until 4:30 p.m.

In 2019, the pages will work from Jan. 13 until the legislative session ends in the spring.

Pages are paid and may be able to get high school credit for their work.

A number of Fort Dodge teens have served as pages over the years. The most recent local pages were Liam Conrad and Haley Ledford, who served in 2018.

To get information on how to apply for a page position, visit legis.iowa.gov/careers.

We believe serving as a page could be an interesting and exciting experience that could lay the groundwork for a future career.

We urge area teenagers to give serious consideration to serving as a page. We also suggest that parents and grandparents let the teenagers in their lives know about the page program.