Representatives Gearhart and Klimesh Hold Town Hall, Discuss Cancer Research, Vaping Tax, and Local Control

Shine a light on issues that matter—support local news with your gift today. LUANA, Iowa — At a town hall meeting on Saturday, held in the lower level of Luana Savings Bank in Luana, Iowa, State Senator Mike Klimesh and Iowa Representative Jason Gearhart addressed a range of legislative issues, including funding for cancer research, a proposed vaping tax, and ongoing debates about local control in Iowa. Klimesh opened the meeting by setting his expectations. "I take time out of my day to come and visit with you to answer your questions; all I ask is that we remain respectful. Once the respect stops, I will get up and go home," he said. "I'm not obligated to be here. I'm here because I want to visit you guys in a respectful manner. And I'll be respectful as long as you [are] respectful. So let's set those ground rules, and we'll have a great conversation." Cancer Research Funding and Vaping TaxOne of the central discussions of the meeting was Senate File 475, a proposed bill sponsored by Klimesh, to tax vaping products to generate funding for cancer research. "Iowa is one of the very few states that doesn't have taxation on vape products," Klimesh said. "Our estimates on the bill as presented now would generate about $5,000,000 for cancer research in the state." Klimesh acknowledged personal experience with tobacco use, saying, "I'm a smoker. I still smoke on occasion. I don't smoke vapes. I smoke cigarettes. And my taxation on a pack of cigarettes is high, and it's designed that way to disincentivize me to continue to smoke." However, he expressed disappointment in the American Cancer Society's position. "I was disappointed. The American Cancer Association actually is registered [as] undecided on this bill, of all places. I expected a fight with big tobacco. I didn't expect a fight with the groups that are usually aligned with cancer research." Debate Over Local Control and LibrariesAnother point of contention was legislation addressing public libraries. A constituent raised concerns about House File 521 (renumbered from House File 274), a bill authored by Representative Helena Hayes and introduced last month, which seeks to repeal Iowa Code section 728.7. Under the current law, accredited schools, public libraries, and educational institutions in Iowa are permitted to use appropriate materials for educational purposes, including exhibitions or displays of artworks. The law also defines "obscene material" based on community standards, considering factors such as prurient interest and lack of serious value. If passed, HF 521 would eliminate these exemptions, potentially impacting how educational institutions and libraries can provide certain materials to minors. "The House file, I don't know what that bill is," Klimesh admitted. "There were a couple [of] bills in the Senate dealing with libraries that were killed… There were some library bills again in local government that I worked to kill." Klimesh mentioned that he had great concerns about local government "meddling in the operations of library board operations," but clarified that the bill in question was currently in the House, and as such, there was nothing he could do about it until it made its way to the Senate. Gearhart claimed that he did not "understand the intent behind" the bill, as he did not sit on any of the committees that the bill went through. "I don't know [anything] about what they're trying to solve," Gearhart stated. "But I would agree with what Senator Klimesh said, that if it's about just banning certain books, I think that's a local control issue… Some people want it until they don't want it. I think some communities want the state to fix part of their problems until they don't want the state to fix their problems." Gearhart likened the issue to Governor Kim Reynolds seeking to impose cellphone bans in Iowa schools. "I think it's not our business to say. I think it falls on the school board. But a lot of schools want it. A lot of schools want the state to tell them they have to do it. To me, it's silly. The school board should be able to handle its own policy." Concerns Over Water Pollution and DNR OversightAn Allamakee resident raised serious concerns about water pollution caused by manure spills from a large dairy operation near her home. "For seven years now, they have had manure spills pouring down through my property," she said. "In 2018, they had three manure spills. They were fined $1,500 [and] never paid the fine. No late fee penalty, no interest was incurred." The resident claimed that state agencies had been ineffective. "Meanwhile, [the dairy operation] has received $1.4 million in government subsidies," she said. "The DNR has not given any support. The neighbor, when I asked him, said 'Please don't talk to the DNR; they are kind of a pain for us.'" She then offered a water sample to Gearhart and Klimesh, a sickly brown liquid in a plastic bag secured in a Tupperware container. She also noted that her own cattle go without water because of the pollution. Gearhart, who works as an environmental specialist for the Iowa DNR, responded, "It's unfortunate that happened to you. So, how it works in our field office, if anyone calls in a complaint, we have 14 days to investigate the complaint. We can't always come out that day, but depending on how egregious it is, we do try," Gearhart urged the resident to speak with him after the meeting to continue the conversation. Klimesh turned the water sample down, but stated that he would "love to continue the conversation on the senate side." Medicaid Work RequirementsDiscussion also turned to state funding for childcare and Medicaid work requirements proposed in Senate File 363. One attendee shared a personal story about the importance of Medicaid coverage. "In 2020, I was working a job. The job ended, and I applied for unemployment and Medicaid because I was out of a job. Several months later, I got diagnosed with a really rare and aggressive form of lymphoma. I was 30 years old. Medicaid saved my life… I wouldn't be standing with you today if it wasn't for Medicaid." The attendee urged Klimesh to reconsider his vote for "unjust work requirements for Medicaid," noting that during the period where she was sick, she was "bedridden for more than six months." Klimesh acknowledged the concerns but pointed out that many Medicaid recipients, including those in his own state, were not working. "So what we're talking about is the expanded Medicaid population in the state of Iowa. Currently, there's about 175,000 people on that. Sixty percent of them are not even seeking active employment," he said. "That program was intended to give folks just like you a safety net." Klimesh also assured the attendee that "we are a long way from having work requirements in the state of Iowa." He also noted that work requirements may face obstacles at the federal level. "We don't even know if the current administration is going to entertain work requirements. At the federal level, there's an ongoing conversation about Medicaid and CMS as a whole." The State of the Republican Party and Protecting Women and GirlsAs the town hall concluded, tensions rose over topics such as gender identity policies and environmental concerns. One Winneshiek County resident voiced frustration with the legislative priorities, stating, "I used to vote Republican, but recently the Republican party has gone off the rails. We need a two-party system that's balanced, so what can you do, as the reasonable person that I sense you are, to strengthen the Republican party and get rid of some of this craziness?" Klimesh responded, "I would respectfully say that we see a fair amount of crazy from both parties… There [are] a lot of folks; I would not disagree with you. In my interactions as a Republican legislator, I see a lot of extremism on the Democrats' side. The deal is, I can't convince my right-center colleagues to lead in any direction that they are. They go through election processes [the] same as I do. When we're down in Des Moines, we really try to work together, understanding that we have differences… It doesn't have to be one party against the other. In fact, I have taken Democrat bills and amended those onto my bills in Health and Human Services. Republicans or Democrats don't have a monopoly on good ideas." One attendee spoke up in response, "At least Democrats know that Russia isn't our friend." Klimesh responded that the issue of Russia was "above his pay grade." Another attendee brought up the rolling back of protections for transgender people at the state level, and called attention to the potential hypocrisy of using the "protection women and girls" as a rallying cry to justify these rollbacks. "I am a woman," the attendee began, "I've given birth to two children. I get harassed in restrooms. I get harassed in the street. People want to check my genitalia. What are you going to do about that? Why is that anybody's business ever? Why, as a woman, is that anyone's business?" Klimesh and Gearhart attempted to move on, but were called on by attendees to answer the question. "Call the police," Gearhart offered as a suggestion. The attendee then told the pair that the last time the police were involved, they had allegedly claimed that no hate crime had occurred, and did not pursue action. The attendee then stormed out of the building in frustration, to which Klimesh replied, "And that is why I don't answer questions like that." 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