Will Joni Ernst be my senator, too?

Dear Senator Ernst,

As the new Congress gets moving one of my heartfelt questions is whether you will be my senator, too. I know that legally you are, but whether you can represent me and what I hold dear in the fair state of Iowa - even with disagreements - is a different matter.

I spent some of my growing up on a farm. The farm, right along a river, taught me a lot about nature. My dad actually built up the soil rather than depleted it, and the water did not run off the fields save into a deeply-rooted waterway. So my question: Will the soil, air and water be better for your service in the U.S. Senate? I am pretty impatient with excuses for not improving the soil, air and water, not to mention diminishing the habitat for monarch butterflies and prairie flora and fauna. And I look to science about climate change rather than a 'belief” that makes it into some kind of religious value.

Second, quite a number of us helped establish a homeless shelter in our city; and our church with a number of other churches staffed an 'overflow” shelter in our church halls for those still on the street when temperatures gave rise to livestock warnings. I have come to appreciate the struggle many families go through to keep a household intact. Most of the people I met in the shelters were working at least one job, usually more, but the low wages were a big factor in their homelessness. As a farmer, you know the possible good effects of federal help in times of need. Will people such as these come to have household-sustaining wages because of your service in the Senate?

And finally, I like to meet strangers and at my best I enjoy talking with people who have different perspectives, different values and life experience, and even a different country of origin. How about you? Will you be the senator for all of us? Talking with people goes a long way to mutual understanding. If you visit my fair city I would welcome a cup of coffee or lunch with you. Meeting you in Washington D.C. is possible too, since that is where our grandchildren live and we see them often. Please tell me how.

My best wishes for your senatorial service to our country.

' The Rev. Mel Schlachter is a resident of Johnson County and Chair of Iowa River Friends. Comments: melschlachter@gmail.com