U.S. Senator visits Hampton last Saturday, meets with local business owners

Hampton business owners Saturday had the chance to show United States Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) firsthand the impact COVID-19 has had on their operations.

Ernst, along with Iowa House District 54 Representative Linda Upmeyer, visited downtown Hampton Saturday as part of Ernst’s 99 county tour through Iowa. Ernst said she was in town to speak with business owners in rural Iowa and see how they have adapted amid the pandemic.

One example she cited was Rustic Brew, and how owners Joel and Kathy Heuer had utilized the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to keep staffers employed and continue to operate despite temporary governmental restrictions. The PPP provided federal loans to small businesses who kept payroll during the pan-demic. Ernst said that the PPP allowed countless small businesses throughout Iowa the opportunity to serve their communities despite a significant drop in business and new mandates by which to abide.

“Businesses would’ve really struggled if they hadn’t had the extra support to keep employees on payroll, so it did provide a break, but they still are not where they were pre-COVID,” she said. “Maintaining the viability of our small businesses across Iowa was really important and I’ve heard, I can’t tell you how many business owners, who have said it’s really been their lifeline.”

Ernst said that she’s also been able to keep tabs on how small businesses have been able to provide added protection for employees and customers and how owners have been able to protect their businesses from liability is-sues.

Aside from businesses, Ernst said her tours through-out Iowa have also shown her the impact COVID has had on non-profit organizations, which are also eligible for PPP loans. She said she’s been impressed with non-profits that continue to serve their communities despite the significant loss of funding and programming opportunities.

“A lot of them are really stepping up during COVID and providing for those who are most in need with our families but they’re not able to do the same level of fund-raising activities they have done in the past,” she said. “I’m encouraging people to remember our non-profits, our charities and because they’re not able to do the fundraising, please, if you are able, help support those because they are supporting our communities.”

Moving forward, she said, she has heard from small business owners the need for a second pass of the PPP, which would benefit businesses that still have yet to open from the initial shut-down in the spring. Outside of governmental action, she said the easiest way to help small and rural businesses recover from COVID damages is to simply buy local.

“Especially with our restaurants and others that have been hardest hit, supporting them with those takeout orders and so forth is really helpful,” she said. “We just all need to pitch in together.”

Ernst said she’s encouraged by what she’s seen not just in Hampton but through-out communities she’s visited to this point. By stopping in these businesses, Ernst said she’s not only able to see the impact COVID has had, but can also discuss other issues that aren’t easily able to be addressed from her office.

“I find when I’m able to visit with them face to face…often times they have a point they want to share with you, but then we can go well beyond that and we can cover so many other topics and hear additional concerns or opportunities they’ve experienced,” she said. “It’s good to have that human interaction and physically see what’s going on in their businesses because sometimes, an email can’t adequately cover that.”