Feenstra highlights energy, broadband and workforce in Jones County economic development visit

ANAMOSA — Standing before rural utility leaders in Jones County, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra sketched an ambitious vision for Iowa’s future: turning the state into “the most business-friendly ag state in the country” by marrying cheap, reliable energy and high-speed rural broadband internet service with a homegrown, high-tech workforce to lure manufacturers back from overseas.

Feenstra, a western Iowa Republican and gubernatorial candidate, laid out that pitch Monday during a roundtable discussion in Anamosa with leaders from Maquoketa Valley Electric Cooperative and Jones County Economic Development.

Feenstra said his platform centers on four goals: lowering and freezing property taxes to attract investment; ensuring world-class education from preschool through college; expanding career and trade opportunities to keep young Iowans in the state; and improving access to affordable, high-quality health care.

Feenstra is one of five Republicans running for the 2026 GOP nomination. The others are state legislator Eddie Andrews of Johnston, former state agency director Adam Steen of Runnells, business owner Zach Lahn of Belle Plaine, and pastor and former state legislator Brad Sherman of Williamsburg.

On the Democratic side, state auditor Rob Sand and West Des Moines political consultant Julie Stauch are seeking their party’s nomination for governor.

Iowa will elect a new governor this fall after Gov. Kim Reynolds, who has held the post since 2017, announced she will not seek another four-year term.

Manufacturing push and global outreach

Feenstra said his economic strategy centers on attracting manufacturers back to the United States and positioning Iowa as a top destination.

“And for me, it's not only growing broadband, which is so important, it's also, how do we get new manufacturers coming this way?” Feenstra said. He pointed to his role helping draft federal tax policy included in Republicans’ sweeping tax and spending bill signed into law last summer aimed at reshoring production.

“The big thing there was to change the international tax format and incentivize companies to come back,” he said.

As part of that outreach, Feenstra said he recently traveled to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to meet with pharmaceutical executives on moving production from China to Iowa.

“I said, ‘You’ve got to come to Iowa’,” he said. “’Think about Iowa. We have a great workforce. We have education. We have everything that it takes’.”

Coupled with tax changes, Feenstra argued the approach could help Iowa reclaim lost manufacturing jobs while keeping young people in rural communities like Jones County.

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Utility territories and rural investment

From the utility side, Maquoketa Valley Electric Cooperative CEO Jeremy Richert stressed the importance of Iowa’s long-standing electric service territories, which date back to 1976.

“But in recent years, there's been a little bit of a push to go against them, to encroach upon them,” Richert said.

He warned that weakening those guarantees could undermine rural investment.

“We're serving rural areas where there's incentives for us to build a system that can serve an area that might be on the fringe edge,” he said. Without guaranteed territories, utilities would be less likely to invest heavily at the edges of the grid.

Feenstra agreed, calling service territories “so important,” and emphasized partnerships between utilities and communities to support growth.

FEMA funding and disaster recovery

The discussion also turned to disaster recovery and the pace of federal reimbursement after storms. Feenstra said he is working with state and federal partners on a plan to push Federal Emergency Management Agency funding administration down to the state level.

“I mean, right now, there are RECs that have been waiting two and a half years for dollars that have been approved but the dollars have not been allocated yet,” Feenstra said. “And I think if we can, as a state, draw down FEMA without having the federal government always on our back, we hopefully get dollars a lot faster.”

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He said faster reimbursement would reduce interest costs utilities carry while repairing infrastructure after tornadoes or derechos.

“I mean, you're carrying the water on that,” Feenstra told Richert, who added: “Ultimately that adds,” from interest charges incurred by taking out loans while awaiting federal disaster relief funds.

Richert said FEMA dollars have already helped the cooperative not only recover from storms but also harden the system. “We were able to take advantage of mitigation work so where you could build up those future areas of your system … to better withstand future wind events,” he said.

Broadband and the last mile

Broadband funding drew significant attention, with Richert describing both the benefits and shortcomings of federal grant programs. Maquoketa Valley Electric Cooperative tapped the federal Connect America Fund beginning in 2018, securing millions of dollars to support a broadband build out that started in 2016.

One challenge, Richert said, is that grant programs often fail to distinguish between technologies. “All providers were treated equal,” he said, even though some deliver lower speeds. “We need to make sure that they're held accountable, because they're not all providing the services they promise to.”

Serving the “last mile” remains the biggest hurdle. “Typically, it comes down to cost,” Richert said, noting the cooperative serves about five meters per mile compared with roughly 50 for investor-owned utilities.

“So the revenue that you're collecting over the infrastructure you put in just makes it hard to get to those last mile members,” he said.

Feenstra said accountability and targeting are key.

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Energy generation and siting

Energy generation and siting delays were also raised as constraints on growth. Richert cited stalled solar and wind projects and challenges siting new natural gas facilities.

“You can't use more energy and not generate more energy,” Richert said.

Feenstra agreed, saying economic development depends on faster approvals.

“We're shooting ourselves in the foot,” he said. “We've got to make this faster, quicker and easier.”

Workforce pipeline in high schools

On workforce development, Derek Lumsden, executive director of Jones County Economic Development, described a pilot program training high school students in computer science and programming through a nonprofit partnership.

The goal, he said, is for students to graduate with “the equivalency of a four-year college degree,” followed by a capstone project tied to real-world companies. Funding, however, remains a barrier.

“For Jones County, for the two schools total, it's $200,000 for that three year startup, and then it's self sustaining,” Lumsden said, adding that no existing grant program neatly fits the model.

Feenstra said the program aligns with his broader vision.

“So it does two fold: It keeps our kids here with a job, with a skill (and) with a great education,” he said.

Property taxes and local services

Asked about his pledge to lower and freeze property taxes without cutting essential services, Feenstra said reform must start with understanding how levies and valuations interact.

“We don't want to cut any essential services,” he said. He pointed to Tax Increment Financing as one area needing scrutiny. “When your whole town is TIF, that means you're starving your general fund.”

For Feenstra, the themes discussed Monday — energy, broadband, education and collaboration — all tie back to his gubernatorial message.

“You guys are the foundation, when you think of growing economically and expanding what you have currently,” he told local leaders. “ It starts with energy. Starts with broadband.”

Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com