On Nov. 13, Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks was seated in the U.S. Capitol's Visitor Center Congressional Auditorium listening to a panel on hiring staff, a duty that the new representative of Iowa's 2nd District will need to become familiar with as retiring Rep. Dave Loebsack prepares to leave office.
In a CSPAN video of the presentation, Miller-Meeks in a cerulean blazer is in the center of the audience leaned forward, writing in the margin of a handout.
"I took copious notes and then we got all kinds of information, all kinds of books. I wish I had not packed anything because my suitcase was full of books and information I was bringing back home," Miller-Meeks told the Press-Citizen in an interview last week. "I've learned from that experience and so when I went back to the second half (of orientation), I don't pack anything so I'd have some room for all the books."