Ernst visits Fairfield CoLab

U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa paid a visit to Jefferson County Tuesday when she visited the Fairfield CoLab.

Ernst met with the co-lab?s board of directors and other co-lab members. Fairfield Economic Development Association economic project coordinator Joshua Laraby guided her through a PowerPoint presentation detailing the co-lab?s history, explaining how it was renovated and what it is used for today. He said about 3,000 volunteer hours had gone into the co-lab.

Laraby said members of the co-lab are taking advantage of Fairfield?s great internet infrastructure and its numerous tech-minded people and businesses.

Ernst said the co-lab was an unusual thing to see in a town of Fairfield?s size, since such entities are normally found in much larger cities. She was particularly interested in hearing why people joined the co-lab. Co-lab president Tai Ward said he got tired of his 1.5-hour commute in Chicago, which prompted him to move to Fairfield and work from his basement. After awhile, he got lonely, and decided he wanted to work around company.

Co-lab member Mark Cohen used to work at home, too, but he found the same problems there that Ward found at his.

?It was nice to get away from cats on the keyboard,? he joked. ?I wanted to retain talent in Fairfield, especially from the university.?

One of the purposes of the co-lab is to encourage networking. Cohen told Ernst that he became familiar with Kevin Riley by listening to him perform in a band. Since they are now both co-lab members, Cohen realized that he and Riley had similar interests, and are working on a project together.

Ernst heard from Troy Van Beek, co-owner of Ideal Energy Inc. Van Beek said his interest in renewable energy grew out of lessons he learned while a member of the United States Navy SEALs.

?Once we liberate energy, we?ll eliminate the need to send our brothers and sisters into harm?s way,? he said.

Van Beek said he came back to Fairfield ?knowing we can?t have a peaceful world unless we promote it at home.?

Ernst said her attitude was ?all of the above? on energy policy, and added that she felt renewable energy was very important.

Tom Edwards, also a veteran, spoke about his plan to purchase 2.5 acres that would host a gym where disabled veterans could exercise as part of their rehabilitation or just as a recreational activity.

?In war zones, we lifted weights to get stuff off our minds,? he said. ?If those things aren?t available, that?s when people turn to the bottle.?

Edwards said he?d like to make the gym available to the elderly and children, too, and have it include batting cages, yoga and a wrestling program. He hopes to contract with the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs to fund his plan.

Ernst said she liked the idea and appreciated Edwards?s commitment to helping veterans. Ernst was a lieutenant colonel in the Iowa Army National Guard.

During the question-and-answer session, Laraby asked Ernst what she could do about granting property tax exemptions to business incubation centers and similar programs to help start-ups get off the ground. Ernst said those exemptions would have to come through the Iowa Legislature, but she added that the tax code should be simplified at both the federal and state level.