Ernst Holds Town Halls, Meets with Students, and More on River to River Tour

RED OAK, IOWA – Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) is committed to hearing from Iowans in every corner and county of the state. Recently, Ernst visited Dallas, Union, Guthrie, Polk, Boone, Jasper, Marion, and Warren Counties to meet with students, small business owners, FFA members, first responders, and more. She also held two public town hall meetings in Boone and Marion Counties to hear directly from constituents and answer their concerns.

Throughout her visits across Iowa, Ernst makes it a priority to speak with members of the local media and answer unfiltered questions for their listeners and readers.

Click HERE to download photos from Ernst’s visits.

Raccoon Valley Radio featured Ernst’s Dallas County visit in Adel, where she held a roundtable on rural child care challenges with local leaders: “All the states are in a similar situation with what we call our ‘child care deserts.’ It’s just finding the right solution that works for the right communities. We don’t have a one size fits all solution because we know it won’t work for every community across the United States.”

As reported by Creston News Advertiser, Ernst visited Afton and met with East Union FFA students to celebrate National FFA Week: “She encouraged the students to not be afraid to ask others about their community, projects, and how they can plan their adult lives. ‘You need to be involved,’ she said as to one reason why she has been in government. ‘You need to have a seat at the table.’”

Racoon Valley Radio highlighted Ernst’s visit to Panorama High School in Panora, where she spoke to an assembly of high school and middle school students: “She talked about her background of growing up in rural southwest Iowa, how she came to join the military after an ag sharing trip to Ukraine during the reign of the Soviet Union, and how she stepped into the political realm by first becoming a senator in the Iowa Statehouse, and then the U.S. Statehouse.”

KCCI attended Ernst’s visit to Des Moines Public Schools’ Central Campus, where she heard from students and administrators about the importance of their many career and technical education programs: “While at the Central Campus on Friday, Ernst met with students in the Junior ROTC program and had lunch with students and staff. The senator also toured the marine biology department and other skilled trades available on the campus.”

Iowa State Daily covered Ernst’s visit to Boone, where she held a town hall for community members to voice concerns and get questions answered about everything from border policy to the negative impacts of federal agency telework: “‘We have veterans’ suicide hotlines that the calls are not being answered,’ Ernst said. ‘I actually talked to a veteran that had called and did not get a response so he tried to kill himself, but he’s still with us.’”

KWBG highlighted her oversight of federal agencies: ”Ernst also pointed out to those attending the Town Hall that there continues to be real issues with the federal workforce in Washington. She has been critical of federal agencies allowing employees to take advantage of the system by working remotely.”

The Des Moines Register and We Are Iowa caught up with Ernst in West Des Moines where she presented local heroes Jasmine Morris and JaCora Lashale Morris with a Carnegie Medal — the highest civilian honor for heroism. KCCI reported, "'These are not given out every day, and so thank you, ladies, so much for your service to those who needed you at a split second,’ Ernst said.”

The Oskaloosa Herald reported on Ernst’s town hall meeting in Pella: “During the hour-long town hall, which was held at Pella High School, Ernst answered questions from the audience, with the topics varying from local to global. ‘I appreciate the time and attention to what’s going on in our federal government,’ she said.”

Ernst also discussed her advocacy for year-round E15 with Brownfield Ag News: “Ernst says if the Biden administration doesn’t grant an emergency waiver for sales this summer it will negatively impact retailers. ’They want to know that the product is there to sell, provide those consumers choice at the pump and if it’s not there, they have invested heavily and won’t see returns on it until next year.’ Ernst says she will continue supporting legislation in Congress that would expand year-round sales of E15 nationwide.” Learn more about her visit in KNIA-KRLS and the Ottumwa Courier.

The Indianola Independent Advocate joined Ernst’s roundtable at the Iowa Distilling Company in Cumming, where she chatted with local stakeholders and business owners about rural tourism development: “Ernst wanted to know what the federal government could do better and what things were working well. ‘The federal government cannot be the end-all, be-all, do-all and we shouldn’t be,’ Ernst said. ‘But we can be a complement to state and local programs.’”

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