An Iowa Native

McKinley was born on November 12th, 1980, the third of four sons belonging to Doug and Nancy Bailey. He was raised in Webster City where his father worked as a travel agent and insurance salesman and currently serves as a county supervisor. His mother has been a teacher at Webster City Middle School since 1995 and was a teaching assistant there before that.

Family

His oldest brother Derek works in construction at sights around the Midwest. The second of four, Kip, is a teacher in Eagle River, Alaska where he resides with his wife Jane and their three children Isabelle, Aiden and Tobias. His younger brother Tim is a gunsmith for Gander Mountain in Joliet, Illinois.

Education

McKinley attended High School for one year in Arequipa, Peru where he was a Rotary Foreign Exchange Student. He graduated from Webster City High School in 1999. In 2004 he received an A.A. from Methodist College in Fayetteville, NC and received a B.A. in International Studies with a concentration in International Business from the University of Iowa in May of 2006.

Serving His Country

A veteran of five years of service in the United States Army, McKinley was a paratrooper with the elite 82nd Airborne Division. He led his Tactical Signals Intelligence Intercept Team on more than 120 combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Serving His Community

While growing up in Webster City McKinley was a volunteer with the Webster City Schools Special Olympics and Exceptional Persons Camp at Camp Wesley Woods in Indianola. He was also active in the Webster City Community Theatre and Faith United Methodist Church.

Serving Others

McKinley founded and served as President of the University of Iowa Veterans Association. The Association is a non-partisan organization dedicated to helping returning Veterans adjust to University Life and supporting all those who still serve. He also served as a Veterans Advisor in the University of Iowa Veterans Center, an entity that the University created in part as a result of lobbying by the Veterans Association.

In November 2006 McKinley was elected to his first two year term in the Iowa House of Representatives serving House District #9.