Iowa Rep. J.D. Scholten, D-Sioux City, is getting back on the mound.
The first-term legislator, and former professional pitcher, announced early Thursday morning he'd signed a contract to play professional baseball in the Netherlands with the Oosterhout Twins, a team in the "Honkbal Hoofdklasse," an eight-team Dutch league with a schedule running from April through September. Scholten said the team, which plays in the southern Netherlands town of Oosterhout, needed an additional pitcher because of injuries to the roster and an issue with a Japanese player's visa.
"It’s an honor to be playing baseball in the Netherlands, especially knowing my ancestors came from here. At my age (43), I am grateful to not only be playing the game but also to be able to compete at such a high level," Scholten said. "I’m pitching the best I have ever been in my life, along with being the most complete pitcher I have ever been. I am extremely grateful to the Oosterhout Twins for giving me this opportunity."
Sioux City native J.D. Scholten said he's running for Iowa House District 1 in 2022 because: He wants to give back to the city he loves.
Scholten, who was elected to represent District 1 in the 2022 cycle, is the lone Democratic legislator from Northwest Iowa serving in the statehouse in Des Moines. As a freshman representative in the minority party, Scholten has said previously he often felt the cards were stacked against him.
Sioux City legislators take questions about eminent domain, teen labor and books at League of Women Voters forum
Before the term started in January 2023, Scholten, whose dad was a teacher, said education was his top priority.
When legislators were tasked with voting on the "Students First Act," which establishes taxpayer-funded educational savings accounts families can use to cover the cost of private school tuition, Scholten voted no. In explaining his vote, he talked about the perception of Iowa as a state with a rock-solid public education system.
"My fifth-grade best friend, his family moved from Texas in order to have an Iowa education. You don't hear about families doing that anymore. And then, after this, it's definitely not going to be the case," he said.
Siouxland legislators, including two former educators, explain vote on "school choice" bill
Scholten, who's done work as a paralegal focused on civil litigation, also made a labor issues a focus of his time in office thus far.
At a February forum for Siouxland legislators, Scholten suggested that a plan to overhaul child labor laws in Iowa was a way for big business to get out of paying fair wages for strenuous work.
"Why pay someone $30 an hour when they can put in a high school kid who doesn’t know any better?" he asked.
And, in March, about two months before Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the bill loosening child labor laws, Scholten appeared at a rally held by United Food and Commercial Workers Local 222. After the event wrapped, he said that multinational corporations have too much of a say in state politics.
'Too young': Sioux City union chapter rallies against proposed changes to Iowa child labor laws
As a baseball player who pitched in seven different countries, Scholten has also agitated for Major League Baseball to end its television blackouts in Iowa.
In March, he introduced House File 577 with Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, which would prohibit a sports broadcast platform from stopping paying customers in Iowa from being able to watch MLB games. During the session, the bill was not passed.
Sioux City Rep. J.D. Scholten pitches legislative ban on MLB television blackouts in Iowa
Scholten ran unopposed in 2022 and, as of now, there isn't a Republican candidate running for the District 1 seat.
The first-term legislator, and former professional pitcher, announced early Thursday morning he'd signed a contract to play professional baseball in the Netherlands with the Oosterhout Twins, a team in the "Honkbal Hoofdklasse," an eight-team Dutch league with a schedule running from April through September. Scholten said the team, which plays in the southern Netherlands town of Oosterhout, needed an additional pitcher because of injuries to the roster and an issue with a Japanese player's visa.
"It’s an honor to be playing baseball in the Netherlands, especially knowing my ancestors came from here. At my age (43), I am grateful to not only be playing the game but also to be able to compete at such a high level," Scholten said. "I’m pitching the best I have ever been in my life, along with being the most complete pitcher I have ever been. I am extremely grateful to the Oosterhout Twins for giving me this opportunity."
Sioux City native J.D. Scholten said he's running for Iowa House District 1 in 2022 because: He wants to give back to the city he loves.
Scholten, who was elected to represent District 1 in the 2022 cycle, is the lone Democratic legislator from Northwest Iowa serving in the statehouse in Des Moines. As a freshman representative in the minority party, Scholten has said previously he often felt the cards were stacked against him.
Sioux City legislators take questions about eminent domain, teen labor and books at League of Women Voters forum
Before the term started in January 2023, Scholten, whose dad was a teacher, said education was his top priority.
When legislators were tasked with voting on the "Students First Act," which establishes taxpayer-funded educational savings accounts families can use to cover the cost of private school tuition, Scholten voted no. In explaining his vote, he talked about the perception of Iowa as a state with a rock-solid public education system.
"My fifth-grade best friend, his family moved from Texas in order to have an Iowa education. You don't hear about families doing that anymore. And then, after this, it's definitely not going to be the case," he said.
Siouxland legislators, including two former educators, explain vote on "school choice" bill
Scholten, who's done work as a paralegal focused on civil litigation, also made a labor issues a focus of his time in office thus far.
At a February forum for Siouxland legislators, Scholten suggested that a plan to overhaul child labor laws in Iowa was a way for big business to get out of paying fair wages for strenuous work.
"Why pay someone $30 an hour when they can put in a high school kid who doesn’t know any better?" he asked.
And, in March, about two months before Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the bill loosening child labor laws, Scholten appeared at a rally held by United Food and Commercial Workers Local 222. After the event wrapped, he said that multinational corporations have too much of a say in state politics.
'Too young': Sioux City union chapter rallies against proposed changes to Iowa child labor laws
As a baseball player who pitched in seven different countries, Scholten has also agitated for Major League Baseball to end its television blackouts in Iowa.
In March, he introduced House File 577 with Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, which would prohibit a sports broadcast platform from stopping paying customers in Iowa from being able to watch MLB games. During the session, the bill was not passed.
Sioux City Rep. J.D. Scholten pitches legislative ban on MLB television blackouts in Iowa
Scholten ran unopposed in 2022 and, as of now, there isn't a Republican candidate running for the District 1 seat.
