Des Moines Native Interns With Iowa Pork Producers Association

June 9, 2023

Maddie Orewiler of Des Moines started in mid-May as a legislative intern at the Iowa Pork Producers Association in Clive.

As part of her internship, she will spend four weeks in the Washington, D.C., office of Iowa’s U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, then will wrap up the summer helping with Iowa Pork Tent preparations and operations for the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines in August.

Growing up, Orewiler became interested in agriculture while helping with her grandparents’ horses and on friends’ farms. She spent two years at Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines before transferring to Pleasantville High School, to participate with agricultural projects offered there. She also showed sheep.

Orewiler will be a senior this fall at Iowa State University (ISU) in Ames, where she is pursuing a bachelor’s in agricultural business, along with a minor in animal science. She earned an associate degree in agricultural business from Southwestern Community College (SWCC) in Creston in May 2022.

At ISU, she has held leadership roles with the Agricultural Business Club; Bacon Expo, a student-run bacon event; the Block & Bridal Club; and Sigma Alpha, a professional agricultural sorority. At SWCC, she served a yearlong term as president of the Ag Club, and was chairwoman of the Spartan Cattle Battle, a cattle show the club hosts annually in Afton. In addition, she was named the Marion County Miss United States Agriculture in 2020.

Orewiler is the daughter of Penny and Robey Orewiler and a 2020 graduate of Pleasantville.