Senator Joni Ernst (R) visited Adair and Guthrie counties Wednesday as part of her 99 county tour.

She held a town hall meeting in Greenfield that afternoon and afterwards she visited Guthrie County Rural Electric Cooperative in Guthrie Center to receive the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s “Spirit of Enterprise” award and discuss current issues with local business leaders and community members. Ernst explains why she made her Guthrie County stop at Guthrie REC, “Well, so much of what we’re focusing on right now is a potential infrastructure package. And one of the issues they’re really, really interested in is rural broadband and how do we provide that to our rural customers and make sure they have the same benefits that you may find in a more metro area.”

Besides infrastructure, Ernst also discussed the potential for the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, trade talks with China, addressing the floods in southwest Iowa, and how the U.S. Department of Agriculture is seeking to prevent the African Swine Fever from affecting the U.S. pork industry. Ernst mentioned that when Congress resumes session on April 29th her priorities include passing a disaster relief package, a bill to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act which has already passed in the House, passing the National Defense Authorization Act, and continuing talks on a proposal for paid family leave.