The St. Patrick’s Day holiday was marked in a special way today at the Iowa Statehouse. Representative Dolores Mertz of Ottosen is an Irish Catholic who happens to be one of the oldest members of the Iowa House. This morning, Mertz is decked out in green — she’s even wearing a green and silver boa — and she was the star performer in the House as she danced an Irish jig. “I could do the Irish jig before I could walk,” Mertz says. “My dad put me behind a chair and said ‘This is how you do this.'” After her performance, she was asked her how old she is. “I have to tell everybody in the whole world?” she asked, before confessing to being 76 years old. “And you’re still dancing?” I asked. “Yes,” Mertz said with a giggle. Representative Ed Fallon was part of the group playing for Mertz. “She’s amazing, isn’t she?” Fallon says. “Actually, we went on a verse too long, but she did very well. Normally, I try to just play one verse and then cut it off but the band was hot and so they just kept going, and so did Dolores.”
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