Iowa Agri

The 2022 Southeast Iowa Rural Democrat Showcase was held on the campus of Iowa WesleyanUniversity on Wednesday, October 5, 2022. The showcase was hosted by Mike Heaton,candidate for District 87 of the Iowa House of Representatives and involved interviews withother candidates on the ballot in November. The featured keynote was Iowa gubernatorialcandidate Diedre DeJear.The showcase was not your typical campaign whistlestop event. The KILJ stage in the ChapelAuditorium at Iowa Wesleyan was set up like a talk show with Heaton and local communitymembers interviewing candidates. Mount Pleasants Luis Aranda was the Master of Ceremoniesand kept the audience engaged with jokes and introductions. We have three goals tonight,Aranda said. We hope to inspire Democrats to get engaged, show moderate voters that RuralDemocrats are a great option in November, and to encourage you all to get out and voteregardless of your party affiliation. Aranda and Heaton outlined what it meant to be a RuralDemocrat. We are pragmatic, Heaton stated. We are focused on issues that actually impactpeople. We dont get caught up in the culture wars and fear-based politics.The highpoints of the evening were performances by country music artists Cali Wilson and ChrisHousman. Wilson is a native of Salem, IA and a Mount Pleasant Schools alumni. Both traveledto Mount Pleasant from Nashville to perform their latest hit songs. I owe a lot to the MountPleasant Music Program said Wilson, Mrs. DePriest pushed me to keep singing at everyopportunity. Wilson and Housman also took a moment to sit down with Heaton and discusscountry musics slow but increasing acceptance of LGBTQ+ artists. We still have a lot of workto do, but it is getting better. said Housman.Christina Bohannon, who is running for Iowas First Congressional District, was interviewed byHeaton and Sarah Perkins, a student at Maharishi International University in Fairfield. It is2022 and we are still having to defend our bodily autonomy, our privacy, and our right tochoose, said Bohannan when quizzed about the topic of abortion. The U.S. Supreme Courtoverturned Roe vs. Wade this past summer, handing over control of abortion legality to thestates. Bohannon advocated for policies that would return those rights to women.Fairfield native Dr. Sarah Ledger interviewed John Norwood, candidate for Iowa Secretary ofAgriculture. Dr. Ledger noted that she drafted her questions with the help of her father Joe