The NSP recruited North Scott FFA students Taylor Mayhue and Dylan Engelbrecht to interview Iowa’s Second Congressional District candidates.
The pair led Zoom online interviews Oct. 13. Rita Hart was at home on her Wheatland farm, and Mariannette Miller-Meeks spoke while being driven to the Scott County Republican Reagan dinner that evening in Bettendorf.
Excerpts from each candidate’s 40-minute interview are presented here. Find the full audio with these stories online at northscottpress.com.
Q: If elected, how would you alleviate stress and economic hardship for students?
Miller-Meeks: She described herself as “a huge supporter of community college programs as far as cost.” She touted state legislative support of concurrent enrollment, and emphasized the need for more vocational training support. “Not every student is meant to go or should go to college.”
Hart: She prefers government support for private loans tailored to fit different education models, not just four-year college. Education and training costs differ tremendously by discipline. “What kinds of loans make sense? What expenses should they expect? … I don’t think the federal government ought to be making money off student loan debt.”
Q: What is your best advice for students continuing their education in four-year, two-year or a right-to-work program?
Miller-Meeks: She first commended the students for FFA participation. “You’re kind of learning on the job.” She counseled lifelong learning. “Never give up. You may not want to know what you want to do now. In the United States, you have the option to go in and out of the education system. That doesn’t happen in other parts of the globe.”
Hart: “In general, you’ve got to get as much experience as possible. Talk to people who have the kind of jobs you might be interested in. Take internships, paid or unpaid.”
Q: How do you plan to keep students in Iowa, regardless of degree level? What will you do to maintain a steady job market?
Hart: “Young people have to have hope there is a place for them in Iowa.” Hart prescribes government support for “high-speed internet everywhere across the state. She also said, “Invest in trails. Provide recreational opportunities. Quality of life and entertainment are important if we want people attracted to and want to stay in Iowa.”
Miller-Meeks: She prescribed “skills training, apprenticeships for jobs to grow our economy.” She advised listening to business leaders. “Elected officials don’t necessarily know what are going to be the jobs we’ll need for the future.”
She commended Gov. Reynolds’ leadership on Future Ready Iowa, and the college-level coursework available to Iowa high schoolers. And she noted a need for more government support of trails and parks.
As important? “Easing the “regulatory burden and tax burden to allow entrepreneurs to come forward and start new businesses, to continue making Iowa a place where young people want to stay.”
Q: Schools across Iowa have taken different steps to return to school during COVID times. What congressional action needs to be taken to not only beat the pandemic, but balance student education?
Hart: “The most important thing is to get the general infection rate down.” She said local school districts need more autonomy to effectively respond. “Not every district is the same. You saw at North Scott, it started the school year, and had to shut down two weeks.”
She said Congress should provide more funding for school nurses and medical staff, and technical support to improve online accessibility for those learning at home.
Miller-Meeks: “I do think Iowa has taken the right approach to going back to school.
She said students belong in school. “Students are lagging behind … There’s a social aspect to education and school that’s very important to students for their health and well-being.
She said Congress should help provide sufficient personal protective equipment, fund broadband access, and do what it takes to keep kids in school while a vaccine is developed. “The president and our scientists are working very diligently at getting a vaccine. If you’re in the FFA, you probably know about vaccines and herd immunity. So it’s very important, I think, for our schools to get back to our normal interaction and have a vaccine available.”
Q: Iowa famers are receiving government compensation for conservation, ethanol, trade wars and even unusual weather events, like the derecho. How comfortable are you with these levels of ongoing assistance? Which should continue? Which should end?
Miller-Meeks: “I think all of them should continue and in a variety of different ways.” She advised pursuing agriculture subsidies that benefit all Iowans, not just farmers. Conservation subsidies, for example, improve the environment and recreation.
“There are other ways to support farmers other than asking them not to plant crops. Help them develop energy sources, solar or wind, to help with overhead costs. And those also are cleaner sources of energy.”
She welcomed the pandemic farm aid and applauded President Trump’s order reopening meat-packing plants closed by the pandemic.
“The president had to make a declaration our meat processing plants were essential entities and had to stay open.”
Hart: Farmers would love to operate in a free market system without assistance. We hear the expression, ‘We want trade, not aid.’”
Hart favors ag subsidies that create ongoing value for Iowa producers, not just compensating past losses. “Compensate farmers for things that make a difference on water quality, soil health and carbon sequestration. And I’d like to see farmers leading that conversation.”
Q: With the President’s trade approach, what should Iowa producers expect going forward? What is Congress’ role now and the session to come?
Hart: Congress has final approval. We all want to hold China accountable. We all want to make sure ongoing trade agreements are helpful to the American farmer and crucial to the world.”
Hart says America needs to cultivate partners for its trade stance with China. “I would approach China a little differently and find other countries with similar interests and priorities and join with others.”
Miller-Meeks: She said the House took too long, nearly a year, to pass USMCA, before it won quick passage by the Senate.
She trusts President Trump’s leadership, and credited Iowa farmers, who “clued me in that China was not a good trading partner. “Farmers were the first ones to aggressively stated to me we need to do something about China, and President Trump is the one president willing to take on the burden of China.”
Q: How do you study for your job? What is your technique for learning and processing information for your constituency?
Miller-Meeks: “The best way I learn is to make myself accessible.” She said her cell phone number is and would be accessible to all.
“I’m a life-long learner. I read The Wall Street Journal. I listen to the Big Show on the radio to hear agriculture dialogue.”
She named a list of Iowa Senate colleagues she relies on. “They help educate me in ag issues that may not be my strongest suit or for which I need information.”
Hart: Hart said she grew up with a Democratic dad and Republican mom who filled their Charles City dairy farm home with books, newspapers and magazines. Hearing diverse opinions helped her form her own.
“I listened, and learned how to have opinions myself,” she said.
She described an ever-present stack of reading materials on her home work desk and said she seeks out opinions from others, and reviews them later. “I’m always writing notes as people talk to me. The thing I enjoy most is working with local people on local problems.”