Iowa Ad Campaign Targets Candidates' Rural Neglect; National 80- 55 Coalition Sponsors Radio and Newspaper Ads to Rally Advocates

1/8/2004

From: Dee Davis, 606-632-3244, or Jerome Uher, 202-331-4323 ext. 3036, both for the 80-55 Coalition

DES MOINES, Iowa, Jan. 8 -- Amid the clamor of political advertising leading to the Iowa presidential caucus, a new voice is asking voters and candidates to confront the challenges facing America's rural areas.

In the weeks leading to the Iowa Democratic Caucus, the 80-55 Coalition is reaching out to Iowans through a statewide media campaign. Radio and print advertisements sponsored by 80-55 are asking Iowans to get involved in the fight for rural America. The coalition is running ads in 20 daily and weekly Iowa newspapers. In addition, a 60-second radio spot produced by the coalition is airing on stations across the state through Jan. 17.

The ads ask voters "who lost rural America?" and point out that despite all the promises made by both parties, rural communities in Iowa and nationwide are seeing tougher conditions and fewer economic opportunities.

"No candidate from either party can run on a platform of 'rural America is better off,'" said Dee Davis, president of the Center for Rural Strategies, one of the 80-55 coalition members. "The truth of the matter is that rural poverty rates are up, small towns and rural counties across the country are struggling, and opportunities for families and young people are disappearing."

The ads are part of a national campaign to encourage candidates to formulate rural policy beyond established farm programs and to develop solutions for the endemic lack of job opportunities, health care and education in small towns nationwide. The coalition is also building membership by reaching out nationwide to the numerous organizations that advocate on behalf of rural issues.

The 80-55 Coalition is named for the 80 percent of America's land and 55 million people that are rural. The coalition is a growing nonpartisan group of advocacy, policy and research organizations dedicated to strengthening rural America. The coalition draws attention to what rural America has in common with the rest of the country, what it contributes and what it needs to remain a vital and contributing part of the nation.

To see and hear the advertisements visit the 80-55 Web site at http://www.8055.org.