Gov. Mark Dayton was elected vice chair of the Midwestern Governors Association this week in Washington D.C. 

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad was elected chair out of the nine regional governors present. 

In a statement Dayton said, "I want to thank Governor Quinn for his outstanding leadership of the Association during the past year. I look forward to assisting Governor Branstad with leading the organization through its 50th anniversary year. Working together as a region will help ensure that the Midwest continues to be a national and international leader in innovation."

According to the statement, Branstad will serve of the chair until February 2013. The meeting of the regional governors marked the 50th anniversary for the MGA.