This transcript was created with help from Ai. Please report errors to us and always refer to the video as your primary source.

Justin Brady: [00:00:00] When Randy Feenstra ran for governor, he left a gap. He left a gap for the House of Representatives, and to fill that gap is Chris McGowan, who joins us today in the Jethro’s Barbecue Studio. I’m, of course, Justin Brady. Thank you so much for coming on the show.

Chris McGowan: Well, Justin, thank you for the opportunity. Very nice to meet you, and I, I appreciate, uh, the occasion to be with you this afternoon

Justin Brady: Absolutely. Happy to have you here. Um, before we get started, everybody, you know the drill. If you want chicken wings, ’cause we love chicken wings, Jethro’s Barbecue is, of course, a sponsor. Go to Iowapodcast.com. Scroll to the top. There’s a banner up there. Click Jethro. If you buy a $100 gift card, rumor is they’ll send you a $30 gift card for free. It’s not a rumor that… It’s actually true. They’ll, they’ll actually do that. Uh, Chris, thank you so much for coming in here. Uh, during the primaries, you mentioned, ’cause the tariffs were kind of still a thing, trade with Canada’s still a thing at that point, and you’re like, “Let’s give some space to the president. Let’s get this worked out.” [00:01:00] Here we are. It’s August. We still have some trade issues. Um, i- is that enough time? Um, are rep- should Republicans be concerned at this point? Is it time for a strategy, or is it still time to stay the course?

Chris McGowan: Well, I think, uh, again, first and foremost, I wanna say thank you for the opportunity to join you on the Iowa Podcast, my first visit, and, uh, boy, we’re jumping right into the hard issues. Yes. And so, uh, tariffs- anybody’s time. are challenging. And, uh, I will tell you that I recently had the occasion, uh, to spend some significant time with the CEO and CFO of Sue Bee Honey, which is a century-old company headquartered in Sioux City. It’s the largest honey marketing co-op in the world, and they were expressing their concerns about tariffs, and their concerns stemmed from the timing. Uh, Justin, their perspective was, “We support the president. We support leveling the field.” So we’re all advocates. I shouldn’t [00:02:00] say all, but the vast majority of Americans are advocates for free trade, and you hear an awful lot of talk about free and fair trade. We’ve had free trade for a long time. The question is, have we had fair trade, and have foreign governments opened their markets to the United States’ manufacturing base the way that our country has opened our, our consumer to foreign goods and imports? And the answer is unequivocally no. The, the playing field is not level. This administration, under the leadership of President Trump, has worked diligently to try and level that playing field. Now, they’ve had some success. Let’s, uh, take a moment and look at what Apple recently announced in Texas. Mm. It’s a $600 billion capital investment. Uh, coincidentally, um, I was in Marshalltown last week for the Iowa Chamber Alliance, uh, annual board of directors retreat, [00:03:00] and I caught the news story on one of the Des Moines Metro stations, and, uh, they were interviewing the outgoing CEO of Apple, and they were asking the question, “Hey, is this really based on tariffs?” And he wouldn’t give a firm answer.

Justin Brady: Of course, yeah.

Chris McGowan: But the reality is, but for the president trying to drive manufacturing from overseas back into our country. So we’re concerned as Iowans about the price of corn and the price of beans and having, uh, the opportunity to export our goods and have more markets, and the tariffs are obviously affecting that at this time.

Chris McGowan: [00:04:00] [00:05:00] But we also must look at, the president is trying to restore the manufacturing base in the United States and bring some of the manufacturing that went overseas in the 1990s and maybe the early 2000s under NAFTA and some of those other agreements, um, in our manufacturing base. Let’s talk about, you know, Maytag in Newton, Iowa. It wasn’t that long ago, Justin, you and I both know that we manufactured washers and dryers in Newton, which is what? 45 minutes from, from where we’re at right now? Just a hop and a

Justin Brady: Studio’s in Des Moines for those that don’t

Chris McGowan: Okay? And s- and so we’ve lost that, and the president’s trying to restore that. There’s going to be some [00:06:00] short-term pain. We all accept that. The question is, how long is this going to take? And I don’t think anyone knows the answer. So far be it for me, with my limited access to information, to pontificate about what it’s gonna take and how long it’s gonna take. I do know this. Iowans are concerned. There are some Iowans, especially in agriculture, who are hurting right now, and I’m acutely sensitive to that. But I also recognize that we’ve hollowed out our manufacturing base over the last quarter century, and we now have a president and an ad- and an administration that’s trying to bring some of that manufacturing back. And I would say that’s important for a couple of reasons. Number one, we need to restore the middle class in this country. We all talk about the chasm between the haves and the have-nots, that it’s growing more pronounced. But we’ve lost much of our manufacturing base. When I was a kid, we did manufacture washers and dryers in Newtons, in Newton, Iowa. Excuse me. When I was a kid, Zenith had a television plant in my hometown of Sioux City, Iowa. Those things aren’t here anymore. One of the [00:07:00] critical components of national defense is to make sure that we have a manufacturing base in the, in the event that we ever need to pivot to manufacturing arms, airplanes, and ships. And so I give President Trump an enormous amount of credit for attempting to restore that, um, but we also recognize there’s gonna be some short-term pain involved, and, uh, I do hear some of that from farmers. Uh, and as I started to say at, at the outset, when I met with the CEO of Suby Honey, he said, “Chris, perhaps there’s a way that we can apply tariffs so that they don’t impact us retroactively, that they only impact deals going forward, because when they’re applied retroactively, it messes up everything that we’ve done.” The cost is gonna get passed on to the consumer, the supplier, the producer, somewhere in the chain. But if the tariffs don’t apply retroactively, he said, “We’d be in a much better position, and I, and I hope that that’s something you might consider advocating for.” And I said, “I’ll be happy to, to deliver that message.”

Justin Brady: Hey, you were at [00:08:00] the fair today. This is obviously recorded in advance for the people that don’t know. But, uh, I think you may be, you may not be, you may be referring to Luke Lindberg, the USDA undersecretary. He acknowledged that Iowa farmers, this was today, um, that Iowa farmers kinda want a new trade agreement with Mexico and Canada. There have been ongoing issues with the USMCA, of course, that replaced NAFTA. Um, I’m assuming you’re kinda hearing the similar things from farmers you discussed, that the, of those that the support the president, they’re like, “Yeah, we get it. It’s, it’s a long road, but we’re kinda running out of patience.” Um

Chris McGowan: I, I think there are additional factors beyond just tariffs. Uh, the reality is, Justin, that we’re seeing, uh, spikes in the cost of diesel fuel, spikes in the cost of seed. The inputs are going up. Fertilizer is more expensive. Machinery and equipment is more expensive. Um, so there is a collective impact from more than just tariffs, uh, which I think is, is, uh, adversely, um, affecting our [00:09:00] farmers and our agriculture and value-added ag industry at this time

Justin Brady: You’re a small town business guy, economic development up there in the tri-state area. And w- I think sometimes the smaller medium market towns in this country are left out. Um, they’re left out of the discussions. So, um, government, maybe you agree or disagree with this, but sometimes it seems like from business owners, it’s like government does more to slow business than help it. So if you’re elected into Congress, what are some of those key things you’re gonna hone in on to alleviate the pressure surrounding business, especially in small, medium market towns, cities and areas?

Chris McGowan: Well, uh, as we record this on, uh, Friday the 19th of August, yesterday I celebrated my 23-year employment anniversary with the Siouxland Initiative and the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce, a chamber of commerce and an economic development organization headquartered in Sioux City. For the duration of my career, I have been focused on what we [00:10:00] can do to grow our economy, to help facilitate the creation of jobs, to attract capital investment. I’m proud of our track record. We’ve accomplished a great deal, but there’s an awful lot more work to be done. One of the things that I think that we have to pay very close attention to right now is our national debt. We’re 40 trillion. We’re Just short

Justin Brady: a record, I think. Yeah Yes, sure did

Chris McGowan: trillion. In fact, in 2024, for the first time ever, as, as a national government, we spent more to service the debt than we spent collectively on defense. Mm. Okay? That can’t continue. We need to slow the rate of spending, and there are only two ways that we’re going to attack this debt successfully. One, I just said, slow the rate of spending. The second is to grow the economy, and we grow the economy by unshackling the American entrepreneur and business owner. We have choked… Our, our greatest [00:11:00] opportunity to grow the economy is being choked by our federal government with taxes and regulations. So when I go to DC, my first priority is not to pass legislation. My first priority is to limit the growth of government so that we can get our national debt, begin to address our national debt. Now, I don’t have any illusions about how challenging that’s going to be. It’s hard for a politician to look a constituent in the eye with a sincere and real need and say, “I’m sorry, we don’t have the money for this bridge. We don’t have the dollars for this infrastructure.” Um, and I, I’m a fiscal conservative. I want to be clear about that. But I also recognize that we need investments in infrastructure, so we have to be more selective, and we have to learn to say no. And I will tell you, it may make me unpopular in some circles, but I will be an elected official who has the ability to look a constituent in the eye and very sincerely and sometimes compassionately say, “I’m sorry, but we just don’t have the resources to do these things right now.” We’re $40 [00:12:00] trillion upside down. We’re passing this on to our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and if we don’t get it under control, we’re gonna be at 60 trillion before we know it, and that’s just not acceptable.

Justin Brady: I know that like, uh, the president has run on this, but we’re– I think he’s spent more in his term than any president in history. Someone fact-check me on that, but it’s, it’s close. So people hear this story, and obviously, um, on, just because you’re in the same party doesn’t make you make, you, you make the same decisions. Parties aren’t a monolith. But people hear that, and they’ve been hearing it for decades, and at this point, they’re just kinda like, “Yeah, whatever.” Like, you know, people are still gonna go spend. Nothing we can do is gonna make any difference. So what is that convincing… And we can move on to other things,

Chris McGowan: No, I’m happy to talk about this

Justin Brady: convincing message where people are like, “How’s it gonna be different this time?”

Chris McGowan: So I believe that we have to advocate for and eventually pass a constitutional amendment to require Congress to balance the [00:13:00] budget. We do that in Iowa, Justin. Our legislators are limited to spend 99% of the revenue that we take in. That’s, that’s financial, fiscal, economic wisdom. Why can’t we take what works in Iowa to our nation’s capital? Now, there has to be bipartisan support for that. It won’t be easy. But I don’t believe that members of Congress collectively have the courage and the will right now to say no to their constituents. “No, we’re not gonna spend more money on this.” It’s easy to, to go on the campaign trail and say, “Oh, yes, more money for this project and more money for that project, and look at how much bacon I brought back to the district.” That’s how people get reelected. It’s also how we found ourselves with a $40 trillion debt. And so if we pass a balanced budget amendment which requires [00:14:00] Congress to live within its means, we can start to chip away at this horrible debt, the annual deficit, and maybe make progress and save this country in the long run.

Justin Brady: Yeah, needs saving for sure

Chris McGowan: think about this for… If, if we could for just one more m- minute before we go on. People talk about the lack of resources, financial resources in DC to fund important priorities that they believe should be funded. Imagine if the money that we’re spending to service the debt today were available to spend on those programs that are priorities for individual constituencies. That’s how you make a difference. But instead, I look at servicing the debt as a waste of money. It– we don’t get anything for that. So we have to do a better job. We have to be more disciplined

Justin Brady: Yeah, absolutely. Uh, you’re a military guy. Uh, thank you for your service, obviously. And I know a lot of your kids, absolutely, I know a lot of your kids are in the military, too

Chris McGowan: Yeah, we are definitely a military family. I’m very proud of my father. My father is a Vietnam veteran. He served in Phu Cat, [00:15:00] Vietnam from 1968 to 1969. I was two or three years old, but I do have some modest recollection of him returning. Um, I served in the Iowa Air National Guard in the 1990s and, uh, today, uh, my wife and I, my wife Kathleen of 27 years, we’re blessed with six wonderful children. Uh, the eldest five are serving in uniform today, and we’re very proud of each of them. and and, and we also have that sixth child, we’re proud of her as well. She’ll be a freshman at Bishop Heelan High School in Sioux City, um, this year. And, uh, people ask all the time if she’ll serve, and, you know, that’s a decision that she’ll make when she’s a little bit older. But, uh, so far, uh, her older siblings have all pursued a path, uh, to the United States Naval Academy, and we couldn’t be prouder

Justin Brady: So Republicans won the Senate, they won the House, they won the White House, uh, complete Republican domination. But then this whole war with Iran thing started. Favorability’s not as good as it used to be. Uh, I know back when you first started recording interviews, we had just bombed Iran for a nuclear threat, and [00:16:00] at that time I think you said, ” It’s a good move. That was an immediate threat to us. It’s a good move.” Well, it’s continued a little bit longer than I think anybody probably anticipated. Do you still support, and it’s more of an aerial war at this point, but do you still support that and, or, or do you not?

Chris McGowan: So this is a very complex issue, and you’re correct. Um, this administration launched what was then described and called Midnight Hammer. Midnight Hammer was designed to go into Iran and to eliminate the threat from three different independent, uh, sites that our intelligence reported, uh, were developing nuclear, uh, pro- capabilities for war. And I, and I say that, I want to be very careful because we must distinguish that from nuclear energy for other purposes, okay? And I think that’s based somewhat on the amount of uranium that is produced and, uh, a little bit [00:17:00] beyond my chemistry capability, to be perfectly honest, Justin. Um, but Midnight Hammer was launched to end the production of nuclear grade– the development of nuclear grade weapons at three different facilities. Um, when those air assets in, in our military returned, uh, I believe there was nary a casualty. It was reported that those three sites had been, um, devastated, and we celebrated that success. Mm-hmm. What’s a little more confusing is a short time later, uh, this administration launched Epic Fury, okay? In contrast to, to, um, the, to the first operation, Midnight Hammer, Epic Fury is the mission that has gone on and on and on. And I do think that there has been a lack of clarity on exactly what that mission is, what the objectives of that mission are. Now, as you said, I have [00:18:00] been, uh, quite outspoken about my support for the men and women who serve in our armed forces, and I’ll add veterans to that as well. In this particular instance, um, we don’t have all of the intelligence that, uh, the House Armed Services Committee has, the Senate Armed Services, uh, Committee has, that the Pentagon, the Secretary of War, uh, the President of the United States. I have maintained throughout that the threat must be imminent. Again, I’m not a member of Congress today. I don’t have access to the intel that they have. I do think that, uh, as a default position, Americans should support the administration, regardless of political party, when they engage in a foreign, uh, exercise like this, or, um, you know, go a little bit further than that, when they engage in military conflict. So, um, yes, this has taken longer than I think anyone anticipated. I think the voters are eager to have a resolution- Mm-hmm … and to see [00:19:00] oil flowing freely through the Strait of Hormuz, uh, to see gas prices begin to come down. And, uh, you know, there’s a pinch going on right now. We talked about the increased prices in ag. We see increased prices at the fuel pump. Some people, um, are, are talking about how difficult it is to support, uh, the family with groceries on a weekly basis. So I recognize that there, there are people feeling this pain. Um, but again, I want to say, I will support our, our federal government, and I will support the men and women in tr- uh, uh, who are put in harm’s way. Um, that’s my own family. I mean, I want to be clear about this. When we’re talking about who we’re sending Uh, overseas to defend freedom in our country or to help accomplish our objectives to protect the United States, those are my own kids. Mm-hmm. So I better be paying close attention to this. Um, but I, I will also tell you that, um, [00:20:00] we have seen military conflict in this country for 250 years. Um, do I think it’s going to end anytime soon? I do not. Um, do I hope that we can have peace? Absolutely, and I grew up in the Reagan era, and Reagan’s mantra, as you may recall, was peace through strength. I think it’s critically important, um, that our military be as strong as possible, and that we make available the training, the resources, and the equipment, uh, that our troops need to be successful in the missions that we task them with. And, and let’s be reminded that everything that we ask the men and women in uniform to do comes from a civilian elected government. Remember that. I, I plead with, with your listeners to remember that the men and women who raise their right hand and swear an oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic, up to and including their very lives, are taking orders from military officers who are taking orders [00:21:00] from a civilian elected democratic republic. And so remember that and keep those men and women in your thoughts and prayers as they serve all of

Justin Brady: So the key there is imminent threat. So if you were elected into Congress and you’re like, “Guys, this is not an imminent threat. This is a grudge. This is something else. This is the…” You, you’re the ones that’s gonna say, “Nope, we gotta… I’m, I’m gonna call this out. We gotta knock it off. We can’t do this stuff.”

Chris McGowan: I will be very, very careful with my due diligence and very critical of military exercises and actions that don’t address an imminent threat. Imminent is a, is a measure of time, and a threat is a measure of degree. They’re two different things, and they have to coalesce and come together for us to risk the lives of the young men and women who defend this country. And that’s critically important to me, and that will be something, uh, that, that remains consistent throughout, uh, my, my service, uh, in elected office

Justin Brady: of the, one of the interviews, I don’t know if it was KCCI or Channel 13, I watched both of the interviews, so thank you to the [00:22:00] journalists who did that. But, um, you mentioned that you would be fighting against radical elements, um, with, when, if elected, that there are radical elements at play in this country that you’ll fight against. I wanted to get some clarity on that. What are those radical elements?

Chris McGowan: Well, uh, I mean, those conversations were over a year ago, so you’ve watched them i- in a more contemporary environment than I recall doing those interviews. I did those, uh, the very same week that we launched our campaign, which was in, uh, late June, early July of 2025. That said, I’m gonna guess that, uh, without the context, uh, o- Of the conversation- yeah um, some of the things that I think are more fringe are the, are the conversations that we’re having about men participating in women’s sports. Listen, we’re Iowans. Let’s use some common sense here, folks. We know the difference between men and women. We know the difference between an XX and an XY chromosome. Um, I have four daughters, Justin. [00:23:00] I want to level the playing field for them. It is not my intent to exclude anyone from participating. I don’t think that’s anyone’s, um, goal or objective. Uh, and it’s certainly not my intent. But I do think that we have an obligation to protect young women and the opportunities that they have to compete. I think that some states have done an injustice to young women when they allow young men to compete with them head-to-head in sports, in state meets, when young women who’ve trained all their lives to be successful their senior year at a state track meet are pushed off the podium by young men. I don’t think that that makes me, um, a bigot in any way. Um, I’m going to do what I can to protect young women and their opportunities. Um, but those are some of the things that I, I think that, um, it, it’s not unfair to say that’s a radical idea. Um, these are ideas that have been with us, uh, for a very [00:24:00] short period of time. Um, if, if people want to compete in their specific category, um, hey, we, we want to set up some kind of competition for transgender athletes, that’s great. Nobody’s gonna have any issue. I can’t fathom that somebody’s gonna have an issue with that. Well, perhaps there are some that will, but I do think that we expect, um, as a soci- as a society, the men and women entrusted with leadership to apply some common sense. There’s a young woman from right here in Iowa named Ainsley Erzen. Ainsley was the, the track and field champion in the 800 meters for the Iowa girls five years ago, five or six years ago. She went on to compete in Division I soccer and track at Arkansas. When she was a senior in high school in Iowa and won the state, uh, high school 800 meters, which is the half mile, she went on to become the national champion in that race. Number one in the nation [00:25:00] But she wrote a column in the Des Moines Register and she said, “I plead with the leadership to protect girls in this, uh, unique time where young men are saying, ‘We wanna compete with you.’” And the reason that Ainsley cited was that she said of, of the 88 or 89 boys who competed in the state, uh, track meet that year in the 800 meters, 85 of them bested her time. She wasn’t just the best in Iowa, she was the best in the nation. And she said, “Please allow us to have a level playing field.” We’re back to the level playing field, just like we talked about with trade and tariffs. I think we have an obligation to make sure that we have a level playing field for our student athletes. And, and the radical ideas that come along and say, “No, we’re gonna change this,” I, I, I think we’ve divorced ourselves from common sense when we enter those conversations

Justin Brady: to men, women, transgender, is congressional action, is there a congressional [00:26:00] action you would take?

Chris McGowan: Um, I, I don’t see myself initiating that, but I will absolutely, as a member of Congress, support a level playing field and fairness for our female athletes. Listen, that’s what Title IX was all about- Mm … right? I, I’m not exactly certain what year Title IX came about. I think it’s about 50. They

Justin Brady: We can Google it, We can Google it,

Chris McGowan: anniversary of Title IX a short time ago, and that was to ensure equality of opportunity for women in an educational environment. And, and it was primarily focused, or it became enacted and, and executed primarily in women’s collegiate sports. Um, here we are a short time later talking about now letting men, who I think we can all agree have a biological advantage competing against women… Um, Martina Navratilova, a, a international tennis [00:27:00] sensation, has stated as much. There are top-tier female athletes saying, “Can you please protect women’s sports?” And I will be an advocate for doing just that

Justin Brady: Um, one of the things you’ve brought up, I think it was the soapbox, is civility. And I n- I- at the risk of hearing eye rolls on the other side of the camera and people think, “Justin, we wanna hear the tough issues,” I honestly think this may be one of the tough issues of our generation right now. You mentioned having a conversation with your opponent and you guys having a good relationship or having a good conversation, and this is something that I actually care quite a bit about, and I think people maybe should care more about it. We had two issues. We had some people harassing Representative Miller-Meeks, of course, at the Iowa State Fair. We also had people from Turning Point harassing Rob Sand at the fair as well. Um, does this stuff need to stop? And, and how… If you were elected into Congress, what’s something you would do to get this stuff to stop and bring back civility?

Chris McGowan: [00:28:00] So, um, I’m not familiar with the harassment at the state fair. Mm. And, um, I don’t know what characterized the behavior of those involved. What I can tell you is that I was campaigning at the Woodbury County Fair a couple of weeks ago. Um, my opponent, and I want to underscore the word opponent, um, I have an opponent who is the Democratic nominee for Congress in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District. Um, he is not my enemy. He is someone who has the courage to put his name on the ballot and to go out and try and make this a better country. And I think that, uh, anyone who’s willing to endure what transpires in the wake of announcing they’re a candidate for public office deserves a little bit of credit. I’m 59 years old. I’m a first-time candidate, so I’m not trying to take credit for this. I’m trying to recognize those who have preceded me and say, “Folks, we’re better than this.” My [00:29:00] opponent and I, um, caught one another’s eye. Um, we walked behind our respective booths at the county fair, um, and then walked toward each other. We exchanged a handshake. Uh, I congratulated him on his primary win. Uh, he wished my children, who are serving in the armed forces, the very best. He introduced his father. And, uh, we agreed that we’re going to run a campaign that’s rooted in respect, and that we will engage in civil discourse, and we will try and be role models and set an example for others. Doesn’t mean that we’re not going to disagree, Justin. We’re going to disagree. There’s no doubt. He’s a Democrat. I’m a Republican. We’re going to have very sharp and distinct policy differences. That’s okay. What we’re going to aim to do is to disagree without being disagreeable, to end ad hominem attacks, and to focus on issues and priorities in our agenda. Uh, I’m committed to that. I’ve asked my supporters to remain committed to that, and my opponent, I [00:30:00] believe, has done the same

Justin Brady: And hopefully, uh, if you’re elected to Congress, you can set that example for other people in Congress, ’cause some people are at, you know, why are they acting like this? I’m like, well, because they acted like that, and then you voted them into Congress, so that’s why it’s happening. So hopefully you, e- either one of you can set a positive example in this

Chris McGowan: and listen, um, I, I don’t want to come off as holier than thou, right? And I’m sure my opponent doesn’t either. We’re human beings just like everyone else. Um, he’s a father of three, I believe. I’m a father of six. Part of this is being an example to our own children, and my hope is, um, that throughout this campaign he can hold his head high in front of his children and not have to worry about what people are saying about him on social media or the attacks. And I wish the very same for my own family. Uh, I don’t think that that’s a, an absurd idea, um, but we have definitely seen a level of politics in the last couple of years that has, uh, [00:31:00] had more vitriol, and unfortunately that’s led to more violence, and that must end

Justin Brady: Yeah, I completely agree. Uh, last question. This can be a short one, obviously, ’cause we’re running up to the end of the time. But, um, of all things, data centers and AI has been, like, people are really, really concerned about it now, which is crazy ’cause I’m on the tech side and I’m used to everyone just ignoring the things I care about. Um, are you on the ban side of data centers, or are you on the, “I don’t really have an opinion on it”? Are you in the, “Gotta pay your fair share”? Where are you on terms of data centers? Are these a menace? Are they a good thing? What do you think?

Chris McGowan: So I will tell you that, uh, having, uh, served as an economic development professional for 23 years, one of the most important considerations, um, that we have is how we create more jobs, how we bring more capital investment. And incidental to that has been an ongoing conversation is how we renew economic development in rural Iowa. Well, data centers are bringing that opportunity. Now, [00:32:00] what we must do in my organization, the Siouxland Initiative, which is the economic development arm of the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce, put out a statement from our board of directors a week or so ago, and it said the single biggest mistake that you can make in evaluating a data center is to say yes too quickly.

Justin Brady: Mm-hmm.

Chris McGowan: The second biggest mistake you can make is to say no too quickly. We need to have a dialogue, and I’m gonna tie this to another very controversial economic development opportunity in Iowa right now. That’s the Summit Pipeline. Mm. Okay? Uh, very controversial, and I’m an advocate for dialogue. Okay? When it comes to a data center, you have to have a dialogue. You have to bring in the citizens, the landowners, um, the educators, uh, the city officials, the elected officials, and we need to have a dialogue, and we need to discuss the pros and the cons, right? We can’t overreact, whether it’s no [00:33:00] or yes, without doing our due diligence of saying, “What’s best in the long run?” The data centers are coming. The question is, are they coming to our communities in Iowa, or are they gonna go somewhere else? And is the juice worth the squeeze? But back to Summit As the president of the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce, in January of this year, when we had our Siouxland Chamber Day in Des Moines, over the noon hour, our keynote presentation brought in Doyle Turner from Free Soil and Joe Griffin from Summit, and the two of them engaged in civil discourse, a forum. And I’m very pleased to say that reports that I continue to receive say that dialogue is ongoing. Are they gonna find a solution, a mutually beneficial resolution that everyone’s satisfied with? I don’t know. But I do know this, Justin, we’re never gonna get there if we don’t have dialogue. And so I’m proud to be, uh, one who facilitated that dialogue, who called for that [00:34:00] dialogue, who got the two parties to agree to come together and to begin the conversation. I think the same thing applies to data centers. We can’t dig our heels in and say, “Absolutely not,” or, “We must do this,” without sitting down and talking, conversing, talking about the pros, the cons. Listen, I know there are people that have very, very real concerns, okay? Those very real concerns may be related to light, noise, the electrical grid, but there are also people who are very concerned and say, ” But what opportunities do we have to grow our community and our tax base?” The only way we answer these questions is through communication, and so I’m a very strong advocate for communication, cooperation, collaboration to get to a mutually beneficial resolution, and I hope that can be the case both with Summit and with the data centers in Iowa

Justin Brady: Chris McGowan running for Congress. Uh, what is the website if people wanna reach out to you and learn more about what you stand for?

Chris McGowan: Well, thank you for asking. Uh, they can learn more about our campaign at [00:35:00] McGowanForIowa.com. Uh, there’s an awful lot of information. My biographical profile is there. Uh, learn a little bit about, uh, what I’ve spent my time doing as a professional, uh, also my educational background. And you might be surprised to learn that, uh, I was actually a congressional intern 39 years ago for Congressman Fred Grandy, and there’s a photo of Fred and were four? I. I was actually- uh, 20 years old. I’d just finished my, my sophomore year of college and, uh, went to DC for the summer to, uh, to work for Fred Grandy, who was a, uh, just a terrific guy. I’ve recently reconnected with him. Uh, just learned that he’s in, uh, Charlotte, North Carolina, and I look forward to crossing paths with him again. Uh, it’s been, uh, over a decade since we’ve seen one another

Justin Brady: Chris, thank you so much for coming on the Iowa Podcast

Chris McGowan: Justin, thank you for having me, and continued success

Justin Brady: Absolut [00:36:00] [00:37:00]