Recently appointed Iowa Lt. Gov. Chris Cournoyer says she is ready to lead the state alongside Gov. Kim Reynolds. Reynolds appointed Cournoyer to the position Monday. This comes a little more than three months after former Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg resigned. Both Reynolds and Cournoyer sat down with KCCI Wednesday for their first television interview together, where the governor says Cournoyer is the right person for the job because of her expertise in business, innovation and technology. Cournoyer is a mother of four children. She’s also a fifth-generation Iowan from LeClaire in eastern Iowa. The lieutenant governor says she’s honored to be second in command of the state.Cournoyer began serving in the Iowa Senate in 2019. “I have been very supportive of the governor’s agenda since I’ve been in the Senate. I think we align very, very well there. You know, my school board background, I’ve done a lot of education bills. I think my experience as a school board member, as well as a substitute teacher, I’ve brought a lot of good insights,” said Cournoyer, who also mentioned her children are in the K-12 system. “I think I’ve had some good contributions to the legislation that we’ve brought forward, but also with my technology background and my business background.” Cournoyer told KCCI she never had an interest in politics until 2012 when the Sandy Hook shooting occurred. She had children in the first grade at the time. According to Cournoyer, the tragedy shaped her passion for school safety. “We’ve certainly come a long way since December of 2012 in terms of just the physical security of schools, but also adding SROs, mental health, anti-bullying and so many programs that I think are important to make sure our kids are safe at school,” said Cournoyer. “Because if you don’t feel safe, you can’t learn. That’s really been an ongoing priority of mine.” Reynolds says energy, infrastructure and maternal health will be some of the big priorities in 2025. The governor believes her newly appointed lieutenant governor will help further those priorities. “I love the fact that she’s a business owner, so she has experience in the private sector as well as state government. She’s a get-it-done kind of person,” said Reynolds. “When you combine all of that, that’s somebody that I was very excited about having a part of my team. We’re both very competitive. We love getting in there and making a difference, and really trying to make things better, leaving it a little bit better than we found it.” Reynolds says she’s working with Senate leadership to call a special election to replace Cournoyer’s Senate seat. A date has not been set yet.» Download the free KCCI app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google PlayGet the latest headlines from KCCI