Sen. Chuck Grassley visited the Midland Power Boone administrative office April 24 during his annual 99-county tour.
The senator participated in a roundtable discussion of business and energy issues with staff and directors of several central Iowa rural electric cooperatives, local government officials, and staff and members of the Ames Regional Economic Alliance, who helped facilitate the meeting.
Among the items discussed were the importance of continuing to permit and build reliable, baseload generation resources to complement renewable energy technologies such as wind and solar power; how federal trade policies may impact our rural communities; and the value of continued funding of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant program.
“We always welcome the opportunity to engage with our lawmakers on both sides of the aisle regarding the issues important to our members and industry,” said Bill McKim, Midland Power Cooperative CEO. “It’s important we understand what’s happening in the halls of government, whether that’s in Des Moines or Washington, D.C., and that our elected officials understand how the policies they’re considering could impact us back here at home.”
Grassley, who is currently the nation’s longest-serving U.S. legislator, was first elected to the Iowa legislature in 1958 before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1974 and the U.S. Senate in 1980.
