By Gubernatorial Candidate Christian Fong...
I went to Ringgold County to see how small-town Iowa can thrive. Iowa’s small towns are pillars in my economic development plan and my 2020 Vision plan for Iowa.
As Governor, I’d fight relentlessly for their future.
Redding, Iowa is barely four miles from Missouri, and might as well be a million miles from the power lunches and elite circles of the big city. Common sense and homegrown Iowa values are the core of people’s character. Last Wednesday, Tracee and Steve Knapp were gracious hosts for the evening house party, after being my tour guides through Mount Ayr in the afternoon.
This is first-name sort of country. So to Russ, who heads up the school district, and to Gordon, the hospital administrator, and to Larry and Todd, who are building a wind-energy business that will soon employ 100-150 people, I say thank you. Thank you for tours of facilities and for showing how small towns work best. Thank you for collaborating together to create such a dynamic town.
Mount Ayr, the county seat of Ringgold County, the second smallest population county in Iowa, will make it. If state leadership in Des Moines will stop getting in the way, that is.
In Mount Ayr, local businesspeople, having been turned down by Des Moines’ economic development bureaucrats said, "Who needs them? We’re going to build a business anyhow." Kudos to Heartland Energy, which through determination and technical innovation, refused to believe they would lose. This up-and-coming company will soon employ 100-150 people.
The schools are wireless, accommodating the "1-to-1" plan where every middle schooler gets a laptop. Superintendent Russ Reiter’s kids have closed the digital divide and are trained to win in the Internet age. The elementary school is putting the finishing touches on a dedicated science lab, which will host kids from around the region, showing how great resources can be shared, rather than duplicated. The best and brightest kids in the world are coming from Iowa due to these efforts.
The new Ringgold County Hospital will open in December as a state-of-the-art facility that will draw patients from both southern Iowa and northern Missouri. The facility is not a monument to ego or unnecessary spending. Gordon Winkler made sure every design aspect, from the rounded corners in patient rooms (easier to keep germ free) to the location of nurses stations (to be able to see down multiple hallways) are focused on community health and efficiency. Mount Ayr is ensuring great rural access to medical care, so that people don’t have to drive to Des Moines, Iowa City or Kansas City. Fortunately, it was built to easily expand to new wings. I believe that sort of optimism is self-fulfilling.
A town needs more than services and jobs. It needs a soul. Emotional hooks that keep kids from moving on. Mount Ayr has a thriving square with upbeat restaurants and stores. The Princess Theater, right on the square, is beautifully renovated and runs the newest movies. Or for $100, you can rent it for the evening and show your own home movies to 120 best friends. The new Lucky Lanes Bowling Alley with 6 lanes sits near Sweet Escapes Salon, where chairs were filled by clients and the air filled by friendly chatter about statewide events. It all left me wondering if I could bring my family to for a day.
Mount Ayr is a great town. It, and Ringgold County, are going to make it.
"Leave No County Behind."
Let me share some thoughts about Iowa’s small towns:
· Of Iowa’s 99 counties, just 14 have grown since 1980. 85 counties have been left behind by an economic development policy that rewards large cities at the expense of smaller towns. I am committed to turning that around. By the year 2020, we can see every county grow in jobs and population.
I call it my "Leave No County Behind" plan.
· ISU found that the number one predictor of small-town growth is new business creation. Let’s revamp our economic development system! Picking winners and losers from Des Moines simply does not work, and is the sort of "central planning" philosophy that failed in communist countries, and caused their economic collapse. In Mount Ayr, Heartland Energy was turned down by those central planners, but is going on to succeed! I have proposed that we replace the tax credit-driven system with a low-tax, level playing field that rewards Iowa-based companies, and especially our entrepreneurs. The centerpiece is my proposal that by 2020 we eliminate the state personal income tax.
· Schools and hospitals are being nickel and dimed to death by regulation, at Iowans’ expense. I’ve heard countless examples of rules that are not needed, often don’t work or simply are at odds with existing rules. Sure, it is only $5000 here, or $10,000 there. But in 30 seconds, a superintendent described to me a handful of unnecessary regulations that had cost him a classroom teacher. It makes no sense, and is bad for Iowa. It is why I have proposed that we conduct a full and on-going review of mandates, to simplify, streamline and "de-clutter" regulations. This will return the authority, responsibility and resources to the local level.
· We have to give our kids a reason to stay. Mount Ayr’s schools give them workplace ready skills. Businesses give them career opportunities. And the town itself gives a quality of life that allows both financial and emotional roots to grow deep. By 2020, my goal is to reverse the Brain Drain from both the state and our small towns, so that our kids can stay with us, and Iowa can be a magnet for the next generation.
Iowa needs a Governor who sees why we need strong small towns. Iowa needs a Governor who sees how to reverse the decline of our outer counties. Iowa needs a Governor who can make sure the Iowa Dream is attainable in every part of Iowa.
I believe in rural Iowa, and I want to be that Governor.
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