A group of local citizens recently hosted an event to educate and encourage Hispanic residents to get involved in the upcoming midterm election.

The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Council 317 in Columbus Junction recently hosted “What is a Caucus?” to assist voters in understanding the purpose behind a caucus and how to get involved. Council President Crystal Ambriz says this was the first time the council had hosted this type of event, “Many of the community members that attended have never gone to a caucus and didn’t know what a caucus was. It just gave them a better insight as to what to expect. We felt like it was something to provide to the community, something that our Spanish speakers would be able to understand. And it’s just something to get them involved with the community.”

Ambriz added that many of the participants were excited to participate with a few expressing interest in running for an elected office in the future. She says they hope to host more events like this to see further involvement in the community. The Iowa caucus is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. on Monday. More information on LULAC and Republican and Democratic caucus locations.