For those politicians who claim they visit all 99 counties every year: Nice idea, but you should only get to count a visit to a county if you hold an open event and invite the public.

Joni Ernst visited five counties in my area April 7-8, and all were business tours. All were tightly controlled. You had to be an employee to attend and you needed to send an RSVP to her staff. None of those events should count in her fake 99 counties-every-year checklist. Why does her staff feel the need to control her so tightly?

No newspaper editorial board meetings before the election, and now no meetings with the public.

— JoAnn Hardy, Mason City

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