In this episode, we talk with Tiffany Mast, owner of Decker’s Hitchin Post in Garrison, Iowa, about what her business means to her rural community and the challenges she has faced in the midst of a pandemic. Our not-a-pundit Darvin joins us to discuss Iowa’s obsession with its first-in-the-nation caucuses and why that needs to change. Let us know your thoughts about the discussion, or suggest possible guests or topics for future episodes.

Episode 2 cheat sheet for part 1, our conversation with Tiffany Mast, owner of Decker's Hitchin Post in Garrison, Iowa:
2:47 History of Hitchin Post—chicken hatchery, carwash.
8:05 Surviving 2020, losing her grandpa.
9:30 History of Garrison including volunteer fire department.
12:15 "The way everything is going in rural America...we're eroding away."
12:30 How do we bring people to rural, small town Iowa? >>outdoor rec!
13:27 One bar owner's opinion on #RaiseTheWage.
14:20 "I think I've lived on $4.35 an hour for the last 20 years of my life."
18:30 "I've wiped out my savings, I've cashed in everything."
19:40 Jeopardizing small business owners' lives by not masking up.
22:15 "If Tiffany would have been governor, damn, a lot of things would have been different."
24:40 Rural food deserts: "I've had girls calls, 'hey, do you have any Doritos, cause I'm making walking tacos'...yeah, come on down."
30:30 Famous back bar from Prohibition-era speakeasy.
32:30 Out of touch politicians in Iowa. #WorkingPeople
Details on what to expect in the first part of this episode. Ruby says she has never enjoyed a chat so much; Søren agrees it was a good one.
Cheat sheet for part 2, our conversation with our not-a-pundit Darvin:
32:53 Caucus talk—what will happen if it goes away?
39:50 Running on scorched earth.
40:20 What the hell is the Iowa brand in terms of Democratic politics?
40:50 Why can't we be a party for local Democrats before the national candidates?
42:30 Jane Kleeb and her book Harvest the Vote; funding state parties.
44:30 Truman Fund operating out of an "old Hardee's"?
45:10 "We don't even define ourselves; we're a rural state that ceded our rural lands and its people."
45:50 What is an Iowa Democrat?; Farm crisis everlasting impact on our communities.
47:40 We forgot about the little guy; "we should have been there with those people."
49:00 Lutherans and Democratic county parties.
52:00 "The caucus carcass."
54:00 Your space, your life, it all matters—plus you happen to be a Democrat.
We also continued our conversation with our not-a-pundit, Darvin Graham. We always appreciate his insights from rural America on Iowa politics.