Joe Biden (file photo)
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is focusing on his ideas to revitalize rural economies as he travels through Iowa on his eight-day, 18-county “No Malarkey” tour.
He spoke to about 150 people in Carroll early Sunday afternoon. “It shouldn’t matter whether you grew up in a Manhattan skyscraper or whether you live right in here Carroll or you live on a farm,” Biden said Sunday. “The fact is, you deserve the same opportunity, the same hope that everyone else does.”
His bus tour kicked off Saturday with stops in Council Bluffs and Denison and concludes Saturday. Biden called rural America the backbone of the country’s prosperity. He cited an Iowa State University report suggesting 44 percent of farmers struggled to pay their bills last year –and Biden warned a crisis is brewing.
“We have to make sure we restore the middle class in rural America,” Biden said, “…and put them in a position where you’re actually able to make it and grow and grow families.”
Biden promises to invest in net-zero emission farming practices, expand wind and solar energy and set aside at least $20 billion in federal funding to expand broadband access in rural areas.
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren campaigned in eastern Iowa Sunday. Warren spent most of the time at an event in Marion answering audience questions. Warren defended her call for getting rid of the Electoral College, saying she wants to be the last president selected by the Electoral College and she wants to be elected to a second term by the popular vote.
Warren will hold a town hall meeting on the University of Iowa campus this afternoon. Biden has events scheduled in Emmetsburg and Algona.
(By Nathan Konz, KCIM, Carroll)