Two candidates enter Iowa Senate District 30 race

Two candidates are vying for an open seat in the state senate in Black Hawk County.

Amy Petersen and Tom Ralston are running for Senate District 30.

Petersen is a special education professor at the University of Northern Iowa.

Ralston has worked at John Deere and was elected president the UAW Local 838.

The winner in the special election would replace former senator Jeff Danielson. The Democrat resigned from the senate and his job as a Cedar Falls firefighter last week.

Danielson says he resigned because of the recent move to cross-train police officers as firefighters.

He plans to announce sometime this week his job plans for the future. But he says he will not seek another elected position.