Edwin Skinner, a  powerful lawyer and former state lawmaker who was instrumental in the development of the Prairie Meadows horse track, died Monday night after a long illness. He was 78.

Skinner, a native of Runnells, was a forceful player in local and county politics and served as city attorney in several eastern suburbs.

“We lost a hero,” said Polk County Administrator Mark Wandro. “I loved him dearly,” said Wandro, who worked with Skinner on a variety of development projects and other matters over the past 28 years. “They don’t make them like Ed anymore.”

The Altoona Herald-Mitchellville Index reported that  Skinner graduated from Runnells High School and earned a law degree at Drake University in 1963. He practiced law in Altoona for decades.

Skinner served in the Iowa Legislature from 1968 to 1972, and on the Southeast Polk board of directors from 1981 to 1990, the newspaper reported. He also was involved in the Cooper Creek development in Pleasant Hill.

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