State Sen. Dennis Guth, R-Klemme, is pictured with state Rep. Shannon Latham, R-Franklin County, District 89, left, and Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird during the Hamilton County Republicans' Chili Cook Off Saturday at The Links in Webster City.

State Sen. Dennis Guth made no secret of his disdain for those who would use eminent domain for private gain when asked for his opinion Saturday during the Hamilton County GOP Chili Cook Off.

He began by talking about the proposed Summit carbon capture pipeline that may go through some counties in his district when asked about some of the biggest issues he sees facing the state.

“That’s been a really big deal and it’s not just the carbon pipelines, but just the use of eminent domain for things that are not bringing a public benefit to the people of Iowa. It’s really important that we don’t have our eminent domain used for private gain for things that aren’t going to serve the average citizen out here.”

Guth, R-Klemme, is seeking re-election to Senate District 28, which includes all of Franklin, Hamilton, Hancock, Humboldt, and Wright counties, as well as Story City and Roland.

He has openly voiced his opposition to the use of eminent domain with respect to the proposed Summit project. A portion of that project would impact Hamilton County.

“If we have a natural gas pipeline come through, that’s going to allow people to heat their homes. It’s going to allow us to run factories and do that sort of thing. But when we’re taking CO2, which is in our atmosphere already — not a poisonous thing at all — if we are taking that and compressing it and piping it clear out of state, it’s not doing anyone any good. (It) may actually be harming our crops because our crops need CO2. So I think it’s a really dumb idea.”

The lunchtime event at The Links in Webster City was attended by nearly 100 Hamilton County Republicans, Tyler Raygor, Hamilton County Republican Party chairman, said later.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, in her keynote address, talked about her office’s efforts to protect the state from “federal overreach.”

“I don’t keep score; it’s not like a football game,” she said. “I do what’s necessary to protect the liberties of Iowans.”

State Rep. Shannon Latham, R-Franklin County, who represents House District 89, also attended. She is running for her seat unopposed.

Two Hamilton County Supervisor candidates spoke, though only one of those races is a contest.

April Ely, of Webster City, is running to fill the District 2 seat that will be vacated when Dan Campidilli retires at the end of this year.

Mary Clausen, of Webster City, is challenging incumbent Supervisor Jerry Kloberdanz for his District 1 seat.

Clausen was asked about the issues she felt she could impact as a supervisor.

“Well, first thing is cut property taxes and the other one is protect Hamilton County,” she said. “Then I would like to support small businesses because that’s what I’ve always done.”

She added, “And I hope to help the farmers too. I mean, the farmers need all the help they can get to, you know, they help pay a lot of taxes in our county.”

Guth, after the chili was taste-tested, elaborated on another topic of concern.

“We’re always going to be talking about education and I think that something we’re getting a lot of pushback on right now is what happened with the AEAs last year. But I think it’s a little too early to say. Is that a good idea or a bad idea? I want to wait another year, I think, to see how that all comes out. So that’s an important issue.

“I think our freedoms in general are my second issue. Freedom is a big thing with me and I think our freedom to choose whether or not we’re going to be vaccinated or have some medical procedure pushed upon us is very important. We need to be able to make our own decisions. We need to be able to have information.

“From both sides, I am very concerned about our First Amendment rights being curtailed by government or by media itself. I don’t want to poke at you guys, you are media, but it’s just important that we are able to get both sides of all the issues and have all the information. Our society only works when the average citizen is allowed to have that information and make decisions that are well-informed, so I really appreciate what America was founded on and I am concerned how we seem to be moving away from that and I would like to restore those things.

“I guess I’m a very constitutional guy and studying our Constitution and understanding how it applies and how our founding fathers came up with the Constitution. The things that they based it on, primarily the Bible and then John Locke and a couple of other people that they read and used that information, so it’s important that we know where we come from in order to be able to do a good job of plotting where we’re going.”

Mary Clausen, of Webster City, is running for District 1 Supervisor in Hamilton County against incumbent Jerry Kloberdanz.