Gov. Reynolds: Iowa Remained Open While Being Safe and Responsible

RUSH EXCERPT:

REYNOLDS: “Absolutely. Sean, thank you for giving me the opportunity to be on with you tonight. If one thing I have been very consistent with the way that we managed Covid-19. That’s been really important for iowans. My number 1 priority from the beginning has to be to protect the lives of iowans and make sure thatter with managing and preserving our healthcare resources. I didn’t pursue aggressive lockdown strategies. Instead, I put my faith in iowans and Iowa businesses. We kept over 80% of our economy open. We’ve had our kids back in skill since August. We played sports this summer. In November when we hit a brief statewide spike, I spoke to iowans and I said I need you to work with me. Water going to implement strategies to bring down the numbers. If you do this, when we bring the numbers back down, we’ll roll them back. That’s what I did. The Covid hospitalization numbers are down 80% from where they were at their peak. The positivity rate is down. Iowans know how to be safe and responsible. Our businesses know how to responsibly take care of their customers. And because we remained open and had our economy working, we’re really coming out of Covid in a strong position. Our unemployment rate has dropped from 11% to 3.1%. We finished our last fiscal year with our budget balanced, cash reserves full and we have a surplus. So instead of talking about raising taxes or asking for a bail you’d from Washington D.C., we’re investing in education and broad band and cutting taxes. That’s what you do when you have a balanced targeted approach and trust the people that you serve. It’s been a year. They know what they’re doing and we’re going to continue to open up in a safe and responsible manner.”