This week on The Exchange, we sit in on a legislative forum as Siouxland lawmakers discuss issues of gender and civil rights, rehauling the state's Area Education Agencies and eminent domain, to name a few. The forum was held by the League of Women Voters of Sioux City.
![](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b3842bb/2147483647/strip/true/crop/266x137+0+0/resize/880x453!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F35%2Fca%2F8dcf86b04c828d5a4d09e79351b5%2Fscreen-shot-2024-01-31-at-11-52-24-am.png)
The guests are District 7 Republican State Sen. Kevin Alons of Salix, District 1 Democratic Representative J.D. Scholten of-Sioux City, District 2 Republican Representative Bob Henderson of Sioux City, District 2 Republican Representative Ken Carlson of Onawa, and District 14 Republican Representative Jacob Bossman of Sioux City.
![Cynthia Farmer, of the Center for Rural Affairs](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/cef4239/2147483647/strip/true/crop/428x448+0+0/resize/880x921!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F70%2Fa3%2F2f33580b470a984c5d62af2e1c10%2Fscreen-shot-2024-01-31-at-11-54-59-am.png)
We also talk wiith Cynthia Farmer of the Center for Rural Affairs about a bill introduced in the Iowa Senate that would provide resources to small grocery store owners trying to survive amidst workforce and economic challenges and competition from big box retailers.
https://www.cfra.org/news-release/iowa-legislation-would-create-reinvestment-fund-small-grocers
And we hear another in a series Small Wonders about the 1888 Children's Blizzard by Jim Schaap.