T-R PHOTO BY LANA BRADSTREAM Gubernatorial candidate and U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa) delivers his stump speech at Legends American Grill during the Marshall County Republicans Pachyderm Herd meeting on Friday. He spoke about what he has accomplished in Congress and what he would like to do as governor for Iowa if elected in 2026.

Making a campaign appearance during the final week before Christmas, gubernatorial candidate and current U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa) shared Congressional accomplishments and his hopes for Iowa in Marshalltown on Friday.

He was the speaker for the regular Marshall County Republicans Pachyderm Herd meeting at Legends American Grill. Introduced by Rep. David Blom (R-Marshalltown), some light-hearted quips were thrown comparing Feenstra’s height to Blom’s after his speech.

Feenstra started by acknowledging the special place Marshalltown has in his heart right now because of the death of Sgt. William Nathanial “Nate” Howard, 29. Feenstra was present when Howard’s body arrived in the United States on Wednesday.

“It really hit home,” he said.”To be there and talk with his parents, there’s just something there that we always have to remember – how special it is to live in this great country.”

Feenstra said it will be next week when Howard is brought back home. He asked everyone to remember the family in their prayers during this holiday season.

Moving from the opening somber note, Feenstra said a lot has happened in the Capital. A healthcare bill passed the House of Representatives to lower premiums and he had conversations about tariffs.

“Think about where we’re at with tariffs,” Feenstra said. “Remind yourself of what has happened the past several decades. Countries have literally taken advantage of us.”

He said one example is visiting Europe. A person will not be able to see a single Ford or Chevrolet vehicle, but there are plenty of European vehicles driving American roads.The time for nice talks has passed and the time for pressure has arrived, Feenstra said. As a result, he said people can expect good announcements regarding pharmaceuticals and computer chips.

“It’s all because of tariffs pushing these multi-national companies back to the U.S.,” Feenstra said.

He would like for the companies to open manufacturing facilities in Iowa. Feenstra helped write the Big Beautiful Bill, and said he now wants to lead Iowa. Born and raised in Hull, he started his public service career in city administration and moved to county government as the treasurer. From there, Feenstra was elected to the state legislature before progressing to Congress.

“This is my vision for all of us – we are all in this together,” he said. “We’re all taxpayers. We have to be the most business and ag-friendly state in the country. . . . It starts with the economy. Number one, we have to lower property taxes and freeze them.”

Feenstra said regulations also need to be reduced and the government needs to be active in current manufacturing and ag industries while working to bring new businesses to Iowa.

He would also like to see a return to great education and would like to see the younger generations remain in the state after high school.

“They don’t have to go to a four-year college,” Feenstra said. “They can learn a skill and do very well and live the American dream like I did.”

He would also like to see great and affordable healthcare with people paying low premiums. Women traveling 50 to 75 miles for maternity care is wrong, Feenstra said.

“We’re Iowa. We’re better than that,” Feenstra said. “This is what I want. This is my vision. This is how we take Iowa to new heights. We need to become the best business and ag state in the country. We need to become world-class in education and make sure our kids stay right here.”

He ended his speech with a few jabs at Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand. According to Feenstra, Sand declared himself an “extreme liberal” several years ago and wants to turn Iowa into a version of Illinois or California. A tax cut passed by the state eight years ago was something Sand has spoken out about, Feenstra said.

“Wow. We really prospered,” he said. “. . . Look where our state is today. It’s incredible. There’s an extreme difference and we as Republicans have to make sure we are active and get out to vote. We have to make sure we keep our state moving and creating and growing to new heights.”

Feenstra did take a few questions after he ended his speech. A question was asked about if property taxes could be eliminated.

“In Iowa, property taxes fully fund the city, county and the state,” he said. “So, we can’t get rid of property taxes.”

It was suggested the system could change, and Feenstra agreed. Sales tax could increase to offset the property tax loss, but then how would the state compete with neighboring states?

“We can dramatically lower property taxes and we can freeze them,” he said. “We have taken the income tax down. When I first was in the Iowa Senate, the income tax was 9 percent. We created a mechanism to bring it down to 3.8 percent.”

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Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.