The Obama administration will continue to fight for a comprehensive immigration solution that includes AgJobs and a stable workforce for our farms.

The future of healthcare security should include flexibility from the federal government to allow us to serve the state's most vulnerable citizens.

Local and regional food systems are about opportunity.

I don't think the face of the Democratic Party is Nancy Pelosi.

Hillary Clinton was in rural America during the Iowa caucuses, but I think the nature of a campaign makes it more difficult once you become the candidate. There's a messaging opportunity here throughout, not just in the election season, but before the election, the opportunity to underscore what government is doing in a positive way in partnership with rural folks. I think it's a messaging issue. It's being there physically, talking to folks, listening to people, respecting and admiring what they do, and then making sure that they understand precisely what the partnership is.

I think President Barack Obama is going to be treated very, very well by history in terms of his ability to save the economy. And that's certainly true in rural areas. The unemployment rate is substantially reduced, the poverty rate is down, and in large part because of the investments that were made during the Recovery Act and thereafter, historic investments.

We have a long tradition in this state of caring for our neighbors - it is truly an Iowa value.