Lance was first elected to the House in 1998 when he defeated the incumbent, Bill Brand, by a whopping nine votes. Lance is an independent insurance agent in Marshalltown, and a partner in an insurance agency that employs 175 insurance professionals in Iowa, Illinois, and Ohio. Lance was born in 1958 on Valentine’s Day. His father, Ron, is a sales representative and his mother, Verlene, is an insurance agent. Lance has five brothers and sisters.

Lance grew up in the Grundy Center and Tama-Toledo area. He attended grade school in Grundy Center and graduated from south Tama High school in 1976. Following graduation, he attended Iowa State University, but left in 1980 after purchasing a flooring business.

In 1985, he married Jody. They have four children, Amy, Kendra, Missy, and Nick, and five grandchildren, Talon, Lilli, Korrinn, Sahara and Mason. All of his children and grandchildren live in Iowa.

Lance is of Catholic Faith.

He is a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, Independent Insurance Agents of Iowa, Iowa Farm Bureau, ABATE, and serves on multiple advisory boards for the insurance industry.