During his visit to the high school Senator Grassley addressed the student body in the gym. PHOTO BY JONATHAN MEYER

On the brisk, breezy morning of April 5, Iowa’s senior U.S. Senator, Republican Chuck Grassley of New Hartford, made a stop at South Tama County High School during his annual 99 county tour for a question and answer event with local students. During his 45 minutes of prelect, students were given free rein to ask various questions about issues that mattered to them, covering a broad spectrum of topics and issues from school shootings to the banning of TikTok.

One question had Grassley explaining the ins and outs of Senate hearings, from the witnesses that talk to the length of different hearings. The last question posed by one of the many high schoolers sitting on the bleachers of the gymnasium was about term limits.

Grassley, who has served in the Senate since 1981, explained the different limits for different government positions. There are no current term limits for senators, who serve six-year terms.

“I voted twice, maybe three times, for constitutional amendments to set the limits at two six-year terms for senators and six two-year terms for the house,” he said.

After the high school students were dismissed and leisurely walked back to their regular classes, the Tama-Toledo News Chronicle was allowed some time with Senator Grassley to ask about a few local and national issues.

“There’s several ways to look at it,” the senator said when asked about the indictment of former president Donald Trump on 34 felony counts of falsifying New York business records.

The senator wondered if it was a political move or a legitimate prosecution, he said, from a district attorney that ran on a platform of “I’m gonna get Trump.”

“Another issue that comes up is with this misdemeanor and whatever the misdemeanor applies to,” Grassley said.

Whether it was the alleged hush money payout to porn star Stormy Daniels or if he fudged his books, the two-year statute of limitations should be enforced since this took place back around 2016, the senator stated.

“You gotta wonder if the guy’s really got a case,” Senator Grassley said about the New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

The Senator went on to state that a lot of questions are being raised about the case.

When asked if the Restrict Act, which would ban Tiktok, is just another version of the Patriot Act, the Senator said it is from a couple of standpoints — the protection of privacy and how the legislation doesn’t allow the Freedom of Information Act, stated Grassley, before saying, “I’m very much an advocate for the Freedom of information act.”

A representative for Grassley wanted it to be known that the Senator’s staff is working on strengthening the bill based on the concerns heard from Iowans.

“I’m in favor of doing something with Tiktok, but I’m also in favor of protecting people’s privacy,” Grassley said.

Senator Grassley, who fathered the wind energy tax credit thirty years ago, said when asked if he had any comment on the local Tama County Against Turbines (TCAT) group that the federal law has nothing to do with where the turbines end up. That is a state and or local issue, Senator Grassley argued.

“I have no opinion on that. All I’m doing is making it possible through my legislation that if people want alternative energy, that wind is one of the possibilities,” he said.

“I don’t give opinions on state legislative issues,” the senator said when asked about the current proposed bill that would lead to the banning of books in Iowa schools. “I don’t know the details of it, All I know is what I read.”

Leaving the high school, Grassley and his team slipped into the wind off to another county and another after that. This is the Senator’s 43rd trip around the state to talk to Iowa citizens, and with the annual 99 county visit coming.

Once a year, the Tama-Toledo Chronicle will wait patiently until the next time we are honored with a visit from Senator Grassley.