Oct. 27—Name: Barb Kniff McCulla

City: Pella

Office sought: State Representative for HD 37

Occupation: Business owner

Education: BA Degree

Elected offices held: 0

1. Introduce/Reintroduce yourself to Jasper County voters and explain why you want to be the representative of Iowa House District 37.

Having been a small business owner for over 40 years and involved in many community, state, and national boards, I feel called to now serve in the Iowa Legislature.As a devout mother and grandmother, I want my children and grandchildren and your children and grandchildren to have opportunities to start or grow a business and raise a family in Iowa, just as I have.I am interested in pursuing legislation that helps Iowans do just that so our greatest asset — the next generation — will stay right here in Iowa.

2. Public education funding, educational savings accounts/vouchers and school choice were at the center of political discourse this pasty year. What is your overall vision for public education in Iowa? What worries you?

I believe in school choice. Parents have the fundamental jurisdiction to choose what style of education is best for their child, whether that is public, private, or home education. As for public education, I want to see more efforts in preparing our youth for the workforce. We have some great programs in place with STEM and with our community colleges career ready training. I want to continue to expand these collaborations.

Iowa is experiencing a workforce shortage. Because public education has a direct impact to workforce in Iowa, it is critical that we continue to partner with our community colleges and businesses to expand the pool of competent, qualified workers who are ready to fill these shortages.

3. Inflation is high. Iowans are feeling the effects of increased cost of living expenses in addition to supply chain issues and rising energy prices. How would you address this issue? Is cutting taxes enough to relieve this pressure?

Inflation isn't an issue the State Legislature can solve, although we feel it in almost every aspect of our daily lives from the grocery store and gas station to our interest rates.Cutting taxes offers short-term relief to our economy — as taxpayers (families) have a bit more money to spend as everyday items continue to raise in price.

4. Abortion has been debated more frequently in the state after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade this past summer. What are your views on abortion? What is the state's role when it comes to abortion?

I believe life begins at conception and that children are a gift from God. The State has a compelling interest in the protection and safety of its citizens, no matter how young or aged. Because abortion ends life without any due process, the State has no compelling interest in allowing it. Rather, solutions for unplanned pregnancy and unwanted children can be found through education, support centers, and adoption.

5. Water quality in Iowa continues to make no real improvements. More than half of the state's lakes, reservoirs, rivers and streams have impairments. What should the state do to protect its waters?

The water quality conversation has been a long one. The balance between conserving Iowa's water while improving the soil for Iowa's agriculture has not been an easy one to find. The Iowa Legislature created the Iowa Nutrient Research Center in 2013 and set aggressive goals in reducing nutrient losses under the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy. To that end, the Iowa strategy involved both point (wastewater treatment plants) and nonpoint (farm fields) for reducing nutrient loads. Since then, 127 fully funded or partially funded projects have been completed, representing a total of approximately $15 million invested in nutrient-related water quality research.

This proposed strategy was just the beginning and evolves as data is collected and new information is discovered. I believe we need to continue to find new approaches (methods like saturated buffer strips and bioreactors) to meet these goals and make recommendations to policymakers, farmers, wastewater plants, and corporation stakeholders.

6. In September, the governor announced Iowa has an almost $2 billion budget surplus from fiscal year 2022. This can be used to pay debt, reduce taxes or start or fund existing programs? Do you think the surplus should be used in any particular way?

As a legislator, I will keep a fiscally responsible budget. So I am not in favor of using one-time money for any newly-created or ongoing programs. That is not financially sound. Rather, I am amenable to returning the over-collection to taxpayers, so they are able to find relief in these hard economic times.