Iowa City’s senator has announced his intentions to seek a fifth term in Des Moines.

Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City, announced Wednesday he will run to represent his district, which includes Iowa City, University Heights, East Lucas Township, and Hills.

“Iowa is at a crossroads. We can become a prosperous state where people want to live and raise their families or Iowa can become an impoverished, low-wage state that people want to escape,” Bolkcom said in a press release.

Bolkcom is the majority whip in the Senate, where Democrats hold a one-vote advantage.

The former Johnson County supervisor chairs the Ways and Means Committee in addition to serving on the Senate Appropriations, Commerce, Natural Resources and Environment, and Human Resources Committees.

— by Brent Griffiths