Iowa Senator stopped in Mt. Pleasant as part of 99 county tour

On Wednesday, Sen. Joni Ernst made a stop in Mt. Pleasant as part of her 99 County Tour for 2022. Ernst made stops in Clinton, Scott, Des Moines and Henry counties.

Ernst met Eric and Sue Sorensen, owners of The Grange, a restaurant and brewery in Mt. Pleasant. Ernst toured the establishment and talked with the Sorenson’s about what it took to start up the restaurant during the pandemic, and their upcoming startup of the brewery.

After the tour Ernst was asked about what she has seen across the state and the impact of COVID-19 on businesses.

“The pandemic has been very hard on business, and one of the issues that Eric and Sue brought up are the supply chain disruptions that are taking place everywhere,” said Ernst. “I have heard of this from every business that I have visited.”

“I talked to a furniture manufacturer yesterday,” said Ernst. “And the containers coming from overseas are sitting way too long at the port facilities. The cost for shipping the containers has more than tripled from what it was a few years ago. There are issues like this going on everywhere.”

Ernst also addressed rising heating prices.

“Like everyone else, I was warned that our heating bills would be increased 50 to 100 percent. And sure enough, my rate doubled. I was floored,” said Ernst. “We have really pulled back on American production of energy. We have become more reliant on our adversaries to supply energy resources to the nation. We need to open back up, here in the United States, a way to provide cheaper, reliable energy sources to consumers. I don’t see it getting better if we don’t invest more in American energy.”

When asked the pressing question of American troops presence in Ukraine, Ernst said, “The Biden administration announced 8,500 troops be ready for deployment to Ukraine. We were concerned that they were being sent to the area as a preparation for battle. That is not the case.”

“The troops are being sent to the region as part of a NATO force. Right now, Germany, Turkey and France are pushing back against such a move to the area,” said Ernst. “I do think that an invasion is likely.”

“We need to prevent such an invasion,” said Ernst. “We do not need to have a conflict with Russia, unless they invade. There are a number of agreements, such as the Budapest Agreement and the Minsk Agreement that call for United States to get involved.”

“Russia sees Ukraine as part of the former Soviet Union, and they want that breadbasket, if you will, back within the fold,” said Ernst. “Russia sees it as resource rich, it would be a very valuable country for them to regain.”

“They are a democracy,” said Ernst. “They are a sovereign country that needs to be defended if invaded. The more that we see democracies threatened around the globe, with no push back from other democracies, then we will see the spread of Socialism and Communism. The world is much more stable with democracies in place.”