Democrat treasurer nominee makes stop
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
By Jeff Snyder
MOUNT AYR, Iowa — John Norwood, Democratic candidate for Iowa Treasurer, stopped by the Mount Ayr Record News office last Saturday to discuss his views on the race for this important seat within the states government.
Norwood covered everything from the primary responsibilities for the office to his own person beliefs on the important issues facing Ringgold County residents. Norwood explained the position of state treasurer as the Iowa CFO (chief financial officer) as well as the bank president.
“I think one of the challenges we have in the state here is population decline especially in the rural areas,” he said. Norwood understands that the smaller population counties, such as Ringgold, have limited resources to draw from, making budget planning very difficult. Agriculture is still the predominant industry in Ringgold County, but that limits the amount of tax revenue the state can extract.
Norwood went on to explain that he thought one of the ways counties like Ringgold could help their revenue futures was to diversify their crop production. Norwood pointed out that the vast majority of the crop investment in Iowa as well as Ringgold County are spread between two crops — corn and soybeans. Adding another cash crop could increase revenues to the farmers while sustaining farm futures. Oats was one of the crops that Norwood was speaking of. He also touched on the benefits of crop rotation of the soil’s health and the impact these crop rotations ultimately have on the water quality in Iowa.
Norwoods’ belief is that crop diversity is the key to being competitive in global markets. He also touched on the cattle industry as well. He indicated that he was working with a cattle finishing company in Akron, Iowa whose preference for where the cattle they grow up comes from, was southern Iowa. They indicated to Norwood that cattle from this area have superior bone structure and result is a better finished cow when all the growing is complete. He also indicated that they prefer the origin locations, like Ringgold County, because of the proximity of the cattle to their locations. Lower shipping and transportation cost lead to higher profits which make Ringgold County a prime destination for breeding centers.
Norwood also discussed the new proposed steel manufacturing plant that is under consideration for Lee County, a medium sized county located in the extreme lower southeast corner of the state.
The company, Mesabi Metallics, is expected to spend $15 billion to build the plant, which would add 1,750 permanent jobs and would be the largest steel plant ever built in the United States. The plant, when complete is expected to add $95 billion of revenue to the state of Iowa over the next 10 years. While this plant will have minimal impact on Ringgold County, it speaks to the overall appetite the state has for adding advanced manufacturing to Iowa going forward. Norwood said that he understands the plight of the smaller rural communities like Ringgold County and pledged to give the rural communities the attention they need if he were to be elected to office in November. Upon completing his interview with the Record News, Mr. Norwood was off to a gathering at the Iowa State Extension office where he participated in a meet and greet with Democratic state senator candidate, James Uhlenkamp who is vying for retiring Republican senator Tom Shipley open seat this November.