Jeff Rich: Standing with Rural Iowa
Jeff Rich grew up on a century old farm near Glidden in Carroll County. He graduated from Glidden-Ralston High School - Go Wildcats! After high school, Jeff moved to Omaha and became a certified welder and began his construction career. His employers appreciated the dedication and Iowa work ethic which resulted in overseeing highly skilled welding projects all over the USA.
Once retired, Jeff and his wife, Sue, promptly moved back to their treasured small-town living in Glidden, Iowa and a desire to do something helpful for the state he loves and the people that live there. That's what being Iowa nice is all about.
In early 2024, Iowa Rep. Brian Best from District 11 announced that he will not be running for re-election this year. That is when it occurred to Jeff what he can do to help rural Iowa in the coming years. While Jeff has not been a politician in the past, his family has served the public many times over the years. Jeff's father, Lewis Rich, was a Carroll County Supervisor from 1972 to 1992. His grandfather, Clyde Rich, also served as soil commissioner for 20 years. Because of that family history, Jeff has always been interested in politics and the good things that can be accomplished for the people of Iowa when acting in good faith.
Jeff decided enough was enough and it was time to get involved with Iowa politics after watching the first Republican presidential debate earlier this year. Although it didn’t involve the state, Jeff said the rhetoric and “incivility” from the Republican candidates motivated him to get more involved. “My thought is we can do better as public servants than what I saw that night,” Jeff said. “I traveled a lot and I had to have an understanding of people in different areas,” he said.
EDUCATION: Jeff knows that our state and our small towns must be more tolerant and inviting to help bring back younger Iowans and attract businesses to areas beyond Des Moines. Within the past year, one of the legislations signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds was the Students First Act, which helps provide public funding for families choosing to enroll their children in private schools. As the topic has become more prevalent in the state, Rich said he’s against school vouchers after learning more about it. “Kim Reynolds seems to be wanting to drive young, talented Iowans out of the state,” Jeff said.
HEALTHCARE: Having both his mother and sister residing in local care facilities, rural medicine is another issue Jeff hopes to improve upon. According to a story from Iowa Capital Dispatch, over 20 nursing homes have closed in Iowa in the last few years. Because of these closures, Jeff said elderly residents need to travel further for necessary services. “This is an issue within all states but in a more rural setting, it’s much more important because the distances keep growing in between healthcare facilities and what people can do,” Jeff said. In terms of finding a suitable place for his mother, Jeff said he’s experienced challenges with nursing homes. Based on experiences of family members who work in healthcare, Jeff said he often hears about the difficulties coming out of the field. “Too many corporations own nursing homes now, strictly to run for profit, so care has become a secondary proposition for some of these facilities.”
OTHER ISSUES: Being a gun owner himself, Jeff also believes in responsible gun ownership with proper background checks and training to obtain one. He primarily uses his guns for hunting and Jeff firmly believes that assault rifles have no business in hunting environments or on our streets. For handguns, Jeff would help preserve the right for residents to own one with prerequisites such as shooting classes and a reasonable waiting period to ensure criminals do not get access.
Other areas that Jeff believes the legislature can be of value are clean energy solutions such as solar, electric and wind power. He also supports a woman's reproductive rights and democracy itself. Jeff Rich supports initiatives that will make casting your vote easier, not harder.