Rob Sand proposes raising minimum wage, expanding farm income streams

Sand, in a statement announcing his “Opportunities for All” plan, said he never felt a lack of opportunity growing up in a small town. 

“But today, our small towns and main streets are struggling, young workers and families are leaving for better opportunities in other states, and the Iowa way of life is becoming a thing of the past,” Sand said. “I want to change that.”

Sand is running for governor against Republican candidate Zach Lahn, who has also shared ideas on protecting Iowa land ownership and diversifying farm income.

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Sand’s policy proposal contains four main objectives: invest in Iowa’s economy and workforce, save the family farm, protect rural healthcare and build more housing.

In an effort to keep Iowa’s workforce in the state and in rural communities, Sand proposed raising the minimum wage from $7.25 to $12 to be more in line with neighboring states. As governor, Sand said he would also allow state employees to work from any of the 99 counties, provided the position allows, rather than just Iowa’s capital city.

He also called for expanded high speed internet access in rural areas and to streamline applications for programs that support small businesses. 

More farm opportunities

The policy proposal said “it’s not the farmers who need to work harder – it’s the farms that need to work smarter.”

Farms can work smarter, the policy proposal says, if they can implement multiple revenue streams, through things like agritourism, value-added commodities or equipment rentals. The policy also called for “more enterprises” that allow farmers to turn manure into “valuable bio-based products” like renewable natural gas. 

These policies align with suggestions that former governor and former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has said would support small and mid-sized farms. 

Sand’s policy also called for greater support of renewable energy production and local and regional food production efforts. 

The Democrat, currently serving as Iowa’s state auditor, said he would also establish a first-of-its-kind Office of Rural Prosperity, if elected governor, to give rural communities a “direct contact” and to “ensure an understanding of rural issues” across state departments. 

Lahn calls for anti-trust enforcement

Lahn has said he would bring anti-trust lawsuits toward “big ag” corporations to help farmer incomes. On an episode of the Iowa Podcast Wednesday, Lahn said he wanted to bring companies to Iowa that would support farmers who want to follow more regenerative farming practices.

“We’ve watched as for decades, things have not gotten better for the actual producers,” Lahn said. “I’m trying to provide other diversification options to actually add farm income to these producers.”

Lahn also advocated for a centralized food system that allows for things like on-farm butchering and direct sales.

Healthcare, housing

Iowa’s Medicaid population is currently managed by three managed care organizations — Iowa Total Care, Molina Healthcare of Iowa and Wellpoint Iowa inc. Sand has been critical of the state’s privatized Medicaid system and said in the policy proposal he would reverse the privatization of the system “day one” of his administration. 

Sand’s final pillar of the policy proposal would establish a rural housing task force to analyze new ways to build affordable housing in rural areas. The policy also calls for a higher tax on out-of-state landowners and to ban “hedge funds and LLCs from buying up too much Iowa land.” 

Lahn has also called for a higher tax on “institutional investors” buying Iowa property, confiscating Iowa land owned by China and giving exemptions to Iowans “living and farming the land.”

“We have problems right now and the biggest problem we have is that we don’t know who owns our farmland,” Lahn said on the Iowa Podcast.

In addition to land access, Sand said he would push for simplified permitting, fees and inspection processes to cut red tape to support building more housing and more types of housing. Sand said he would also ban landlords from using artificial intelligence algorithms to “price fix and raise rents.”

“This is personal to me – I’m raising my kids here, and I want them to have more opportunities than I had growing up, not less,” Sand said. “That’s why I’m releasing these new policies to support Iowa families, protect Iowa family farms, and ensure that communities across our state not just get by, but thrive.”

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