Democratic candidate Dave Dawson visited Hampton Wednesday for a town hall at the public library as part of his Grow Iowa Together tour. Dawson, a Lawton resident and former state representative, is running for Iowa’s open Fourth Congressional District seat after U.S. Representative Randy Feenstra announced he is running for governor. He currently serves as a prosecutor in the Woodbury County Attorney’s Office.
The event gave residents a chance to hear Dawson’s plans for the district and ask questions about issues ranging from agriculture and education to healthcare and the use of artificial intelligence.
Dawson says access to healthcare remains a major concern for many rural communities.
“We need to reverse the budget bill last year that took nearly a trillion dollars in healthcare funding away from our country. That’s over 10% of the funding for the Medicaid system that small clinics and hospitals across the fourth district rely on. I’ve had conversations with the hospital CEOs that (it) might not lead to closure of the hospitals, but it’s definitely going to lead to staff layoffs and having less staff available to provide care. And it’s also going to impact rural nursing homes and will they be able to stay open? People who are in long-term care sometimes have to rely on Medicaid assistance to fund their stay in a nursing home and without that will nursing homes be able to stay open in small rural communities. So we need stronger health care funding and a better run health care system.”
Another issue raised during the town hall was Iowa’s high cancer rates. According to health data, Iowa has the second-highest cancer rate in the country, behind only Kentucky.
“I’m not a scientist and I’m not a doctor, but I think the federal government should be funding research to make sure we’re addressing the causes of cancer, the treatments of cancer and ways to prevent cancer. And I don’t know if our farm economy has something to do with that with regards to nitrate levels or pesticides or herbicides, or is it the radon levels that are high in the state of Iowa compared to other states? But if we have research and science funding to help get to the bottom of that, we can then implement better policies in all areas, whether it’s our healthcare systems or our farming practices, we need to have the best research and fund that research to get to the best answers.”
Iowa’s Fourth Congressional District includes Franklin and Wright counties, meaning voters in the broadcast area will help decide the race in November.
Full interview below
