Max Mills Explained

Max Mills
State Senate1:Iowa
District1:24th
Term Start1:January 11, 1965
Term End1:January 8, 1967
Predecessor1:Jans Dykhouse
Successor1:John M. Ely
State Senate2:Iowa
District2:26th
Term Start2:January 9, 1967
Term End2:January 12, 1969
Predecessor2:Daryl Hallett Nims
Birth Name:Max Milo Mills
Birth Date:26 August 1920
Birth Place:Marshalltown, Iowa
Death Place:Marshalltown, Iowa
Party:Republican

Max Milo Mills (August 26, 1920 – October 6, 1998) was an American lawyer and politician.

Early life and education

Mills was a native of Marshalltown, Iowa, and could trace his ancestry to the homesteaders of Marshall County.[1] His brother Lawrence Ferguson Mills became an art historian and professor at Central College.[2] Max Mills attended the Washington University in St. Louis, Northwestern University, and Iowa State University before graduating from the University of Chicago. He earned a Juris Doctor from the Drake University Law School.[1]

Military, legal, and public service career

Mills served in the United States Marine Corps from 1942 to 1946, starting from the rank of private and retiring from active duty with the rank of major. He returned to Iowa following the end of the Pacific War, and began practicing law during the ensuing decade, including a stint as Marshall County attorney. Mills also served as vice president of a travel agency, a transportation company, and was a cattle breeder.[1]

Mills was a Republican member of the Iowa Senate from 1964 to 1968, representing the 24th and 26th districts for two years each.[1] In 1966, Mills was the Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Iowa,[3] and lost a close general election race to Robert D. Fulton.[4] [5] Mills again contested the Republican nomination for the same post in 1968,[6] [7] [8] which was won by Roger Jepsen. Governor Robert D. Ray appointed Mills to the Iowa Crime Commission. In 1969, Mills relocated to the Kansas City metropolitan area, and later returned to serve on the Iowa Development Commission.[1]

Death

Mills died in Marshalltown on October 6, 1998, aged 78.[1]

Notes and References

  1. News: Senator Max Milo Mills . April 29, 2024 . Iowa General Assembly.
  2. News: Lawrence Ferguson Mills . April 29, 2024 . Des Moines Register . January 15, 2017. Alternate URL
  3. News: Can't agree on method of selection . April 29, 2024 . Des Moines Tribune . July 22, 1966.
  4. News: Hughes, Murray issue statements . April 29, 2024 . Des Moines Register . November 9, 1966.
  5. News: Weber . Harrison . More lowans Voted for Governor Than Senator . April 29, 2024 . Iowa Dally Press-Citizen . November 11, 1966.
  6. News: Max Milo Mills of Marshalltown, Iowa, candidate for Republican nomination... . April 29, 2024 . Sioux City Journal . February 14, 1968.
  7. News: Iowa press favors Beck . April 29, 2024 . Fayette County Leader . May 9, 1968.
  8. News: Official Republican primary election ballot . April 29, 2024 . Hawarden Independent . August 22, 1968.