Congressman Dave Loebsack tests out one of the new math classroom desks at Mid-Prairie High School. Photo by Sam McIntosh.

Congressman Dave Loebsack (D) visited the Mid-Prairie School District Thursday as part of his “Iowa First” tour.

Seniors Katie Frantz and Katie Palmer gave Loebsack a tour of the high school and the recent upgrades to different classrooms and facilities. Loebsack says, “It’s important to visit schools, and certainly rural schools because I have a lot of rural areas in my congressional district. I have 24 counties. There obviously are issues that cut across all the schools whether it’s mental health or resource issues. Whatever the case may be all schools are under stress in that sense. But rural schools even more so because there aren’t as many students, there’s not as big a tax base. So making sure that the federal funding for various programs that have an effect here are funded, that’s my job at the federal level.”

Seniors Katie Frantz and Katie Palmer gave Congressman Dave Loebsack of Mid-Prairie High School. Photo by Sam McIntosh.

Loebsack also mentioned he wants to ensure that the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is implemented in Iowa schools. Loebsack had a sit down discussion with the Mid-Prairie principals and superintendent. One key issue that Alternative Learning Center director Amy Shalla brought up with Loebsack was a lack of mental health support in the state. Loebsack has long been an advocate for mental health issues, as his mother struggled with mental health. Loebsack said that the best thing he can do is try to remove the stigma surrounding mental health.