Iowa District 11 Republican Senator Tom Shipley, of Nodaway, was in Atlantic earlier this week, attending the Cass County Fair. Shipley, who has served in the Iowa Senate since 2015 and is seeking re-election in November, said he’s been keeping busy while the legislature is in recess. That included two meetings Monday on some current issues. Shipley said with regard to the Trump administration’s imposed Trade Tariffs, people he’s spoken with, are not “cautiously optimistic,” nor are they “pessimistic.”

Sen. Tom Shipley

“They’re just cautious on how this is all going to play out. I don’t know if the tariffs are really going to do any of us much good, but maybe in the long term [things will improve]. I think that’s what the President’s thought is. Too often Americans think in terms of short-term benefits. I think there’s a lot of things going on behind the scenes that people don’t even know about, and you can’t negotiate out in public. I suspect – I’ve been told – that we’re very close to getting a new NAFTA accord done, which will be key.” Shipley acknowledged that grain prices weren’t very good to start with, and this (the tariffs) “Certainly haven’t helped them….it’s just a matter of ‘we shall see.” He said also his brother Bill, who is President of the Iowa Soybean Association, was in Europe this week, working on those markets across the pond.

When the legislature reconvenes in January, one of the issues he hopes they will address is the school SAVE (Secure an Advanced Vision for Education) fund. Otherwise, he said, they’re just waiting to see how the election turns out before they can take action on some previous matters that the legislature didn’t have time to address. Shipley says they still need to work on the Opiod crisis and water quality issues. He also hopes they’ll address one of his pet projects: Industrial Hemp.