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On state tour, Boulton makes stop at Tosanak

Floyd County Conservation director Adam Sears and Sen. Nate Boulton, D-Des Moines, at the Tosanak Outdoor Recreational Area on Friday. Press photo by Kate Hayden
Floyd County Conservation director Adam Sears and Sen. Nate Boulton, D-Des Moines, at the Tosanak Outdoor Recreational Area on Friday. Press photo by Kate Hayden
By Kate Hayden, khayden@charlescitypress.com

Low temperatures and heavy-handed wind chill didn’t keep Sen. Nate Boulton, D-Des Moines, inside at the Tosanak Outdoor Recreation Area on Friday.

Boulton took a short tour of the grounds with Floyd County Conservation director Adam Sears, who shared some of the projects Floyd County has been working on since the county purchased the former Boy Scouts camp.

“We’re trying to see a lot of different aspects of things going on in different parts of the state,” Boulton said. “This is a part of the fit for potential economic development around natural resources.”

The team has visited rural hospitals and school districts, libraries and Main Streets in Iowa as part of the 26-day campaign tour.

Speaking with Sears, Boulton said it was important to maintain natural resources for both conservation and economic development and tourism in the state.

“We see opportunities for sustainable economic development, and it comes from some of the things that we have done in the past as Iowans to secure our economy,” Boulton said.

Boulton said he prioritizes education and skilled workforce training as a broader plan for economic development.

“When we see these ‘coupons’, these corporate credits and exemptions being applied in the Apple deal that put $20 million out in coupons for one of the wealthiest corporations on the planet, we could have funded 266 Main Street grants,” Boulton said, referring to the recent Apple development in Waukee. “We can help build local economies and create a lot more than 50 jobs at a time doing it.”

Boulton will be returning to Floyd County on Nov. 16 at 5:30 p.m., when Rep. Todd Prichard, D-Charles City, will host a meet-and-greet for Boulton and area residents.

“One of the things that’s striking to me … is how many issues that are top of mind issues for residents in rural Iowa, that are exactly the same issues for residents in urban communities,” Boulton said. “When we talk about education funding, it really is not an urban versus rural fight. It is an Iowa value that we see has been missing.”

“Infrastructure improvements, sustainable economic development, quality job growth, raising incomes …. Those are things that are just as stressful in rural communities as they are in urban communities,” he added.

 

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