Keeping Up the Dialogue, Working to Strengthen Representative Government

The Senate was in recess this week, and I was in Iowa for 21 meetings with constituents in 20 counties.  I’ve now held meetings in 55 counties this year.

On Monday, I was in Dakota City, Fort Dodge, Laurens, Lake City and Wall Lake.  On Tuesday, I was in Alta, Aurelia, Primghar, Sibley, Inwood and Hawarden.  On Wednesday, the meetings were in Kingsley, Sergeant Bluff, Correctionville, Holstein and Spencer.  And, on Thursday, I traveled to Emmetsburg, Estherville, Spirit Lake, West Bend and Waverly.  Many of the events were town meetings, but I also went to a workplace for Q&A with employees, a rural health care provider network site, service clubs, and a couple of high schools.

All of these meetings give me a chance to talk directly with Iowans.  This dialogue, along with other ways of keeping in touch, is a big part of making representative government work.

This week, I heard about Medicare, the high cost of living, gas prices and energy, over-reach by the Environmental Protection Agency, education and the No Child Left Behind law, economic development and job creation efforts, and taxes.

I like to tweet from my BlackBerry as these meetings happen to let people know what’s being talked about. Whether it’s a meeting at the courthouse or dialogue online, the goal is to strengthen the process of representative government.