DES MOINES, Iowa --- Iowa senators will begin their daily work with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance.

Senate President Jack Kibbie, D-Emmetsburg, the presiding officer when the Senate is in session, announced Tuesday that the change was approved following a request last week from freshman Sen. Bill Dix, R-Shell Rock.

Dix, formerly a House member for 10 years, was elected to the Senate in November.

Dix said he was surprised to find the Iowa Senate did not recite the pledge as part of its daily routine.

"I believe firmly that we're not Americans one day of the week. We're Americans every day of the week, and we should be saying the pledge," Dix was quoted previously.

The Iowa House begins each day with a prayer and the pledge. The Senate previously had a daily prayer but only recited the pledge on the opening day of each week.

Kibbie said the once-a-week pledge ritual dated to when Republicans controlled the Senate and the policy had not been revisited until Dix raised the issue. Kibbie noted no one objected to the change.