Senator Ernst makes stops in north Iowa

(ABC 6 News) – Senator Joni Ernst toured north Iowa Tuesday making stops in Hancock, Cerro Gordo, Worth, Mitchell, and Black Hawk Counties.

Ernst says she’s taking the opportunity to meet with different businesses across the state to get a better idea of the challenges they face every day.

From the factory owners to the employees, Ernst says she’s gaining a better understanding of how she can serve her constituents across the state.

“Learning from these various businesses across the state of Iowa, the challenges that they might have with federal regulations or if there are pieces of legislation that will be coming up in our new session. It’s just good to know the impact to the business to industry across the United States but also the employees and local communities” Ernst explained.

Ernst says she anticipates being on the same committees she served on in the last session of Congress but her priorities are agriculture and supporting the military.

She also says she hopes to be on the small business committee, a particularly impactful role seeing as 98-percent of businesses in Iowa are small businesses.

As the tour continues, local businesses are welcoming the incoming senator hoping they can give her an understanding of the day to day life of an Iowan.

“Concrete is ultimately what their cement goes into is the second most utilized material building material in the world it’s going to be here and as we look at the future as we look at the growth and development not only here in Iowa but across the United States and the world we’ve got a need to have durable and resilient infrastructure.,” said David Perkins, VP of Government Affairs and Communications, Heidelberg Materials.