Photo Credit: Nicole Meacham

The Rural Restoration Project, a 501(c)4 nonprofit sponsored a five-county listening tour for candidates seeking Iowa’s First Congressional District seat on the theme of childcare needs and issues. Democrat Christina Bohannan, a University of Iowa law school professor, visited childcare centers across the area and met with local leaders and experts. Bohannan met with Kerry Hadley, chairman of the Richland Area Child Care Organization board, which raised funds for the facility, and board member Pat McReynolds.  McReynolds gave some background on the project, “In March of 2022, the Pekin School Board showed up at our Community Club, because they were begging us to consider opening a daycare in Richland because there is a waiting list at the Pekin daycare of at the time there were thirty five children waiting on the waiting list to get into their daycare.”  The community broke ground on the center in 2023, thanks to a major donation from former Richland resident Jerry B. Robinson, a Washington County Riverboat Foundation grant, and numerous other contributions. When it opens this fall, it will enroll as many as 65 children. Bohannan spoke with KCII News stating,  “Mariannette Miller-Meeks, they reached out to her, and her congressional office, and she refused to talk to them, refused to do anything at all to support this, even though, this is clearly a child care desert in one of the rural counties in this district.” Miller-Meeks campaign reached out to KCII News to refute this claim stating, “We expeditiously launched a review and to our knowledge, our offices in Davenport or Washington have not received a formal funding or support request from the Jerry B. Robinson Child Care Center. Our office is always willing to hear from constituents and groups in the district.”