Year In Review: Kim Reynolds Wants To Be Known As More Than Iowa’s First Female Governor

*This storyline was voted as one of the top storylines of 2017 by Gazette staff. Other top storylines include the debate over the defunding of Planned Parenthood, Iowa’s opioid abuse issue, and Branstad’s new role as ambassador to China.*Kim Reynolds says she doesn’t want history to remember her as Iowa’s first female governor.But she wrote herself into the history books when she succeeded the nation’s longest-serving governor, Terry Branstad, when she was inaugurated the state’s 43rd governor on May 24.After serving as Branstad’s lieutenant for six years, Reynolds, 58, stepped in when he resigned to become the U.S.