(Radio Iowa) – The Republican candidates listed on the June 2nd Primary ballot have struck a common theme — that Iowa’s population has to start growing. Pastor Brad Sherman has said the big picture is Iowa’s next governor has to find a way to grow Iowa’s population and State Representative Eddie Andrews says state policy should be aimed at supporting growth in rural Iowa.
The June 2nd Primary is a week away, with a key race among five Republicans vying to succeed fellow Republican Kim Reynolds as governor. The Republican candidates for governor have struck a common theme on the campaign trail — that Iowa’s population has to start growing. Congressman Randy Feenstra has been promising to take Iowa to new heights. “We have to make sure that our communities are thriving,” Feenstra said, “that when our kids graduate from high school that there is a skill and a job waiting for them right away.”
The four candidates who participated in last week’s T-V debate made similar points. Businessman Zach Lahn says population growth is the ultimate answer to the systemic issues Iowa faces. “I’m all for low taxes, low regulation,” Lahn said, “but if our kids are leaving and our people are getting cancer. That’s not a winning scenario in our state.”
Lahn suggests businesses in urban Iowa shouldn’t be eligible for state grants and tax breaks and those incentives should all go to businesses in rural areas. State Representative Eddie Andrews agrees. “We have so many communities that there’s nothing but an elevator there,” Andrews said. Pastor Brad Sherman boils Iowa’s economic dilemmas down to this: “It’s the big picture. We have to grow our population.” He suggests one solution is a farming shift, to grow more of the food Iowans eat.
Former state agency director Adam Steen says population loss can be reversed in rural areas. “We’ve got to be recruiting new business into the state of Iowa to capitalize on the infrastructure that we have,” Steen says. Steen says promoting skilled trades like welding and plumbing would make the state cool again for young people looking for a place to live and raise a family.
