The Hot Dish

For Heidi, the reflecting pool on the National Mall in D.C. is more than a tourist attraction; it's a metaphor for how Washington handles problems. Years of algae, cloudy water, and expensive repairs reflect a familiar pattern: ignore an issue until it becomes a crisis, then spend money on a temporary fix rather than addressing the underlying cause. She believes rural America has been treated the same way for decades.

In this quick episode of The Hot Dish, Heidi talks about how low crop prices, tariffs, and bad policy keep hurting the people who actually farm the land. She also gives a peek at upcoming conversations with Joel.

The Hot Dish is brought to you by the One Country Project. To learn more, visit OneCountryProject.org, or find us on Substack (Onecountryproject.substack.com), and on YouTube, Bluesky, and Facebook (@onecountryproject)
  • (02:00) - - Metaphor of the reflecting pool and impulsive government decisions
  • (04:30) - - Challenges of unqualified decision-making and resource management in rural infrastructure projects
  • (07:00) - - Impact of national policies on rural economies and farmer communities
  • (09:00) - - Importance of balanced political messaging and leadership recovery
  • (11:15) - - Strategies for rural economic diversification beyond farming
  • (14:00) - - Reflection on America's democracy and upcoming celebrations of the nation's founding
  • (16:20) - - Closing remarks and optimism for future rural prosperity

Creators and Guests

Host
Heidi Heitkamp
U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp served as the first female senator elected from North Dakota from 2013 – 2019. he is the founder and Chair of the One Country Project, an organization focused on addressing the needs and concerns of rural America. Heidi was recently named the Director of the Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago, a university she has long been committed to and a place where she enjoys engaging with students over civic discussions while encouraging them to seek opportunities in public service to our country. Heidi also serves as a contributor to both CNBC and ABC News.
Editor
Ismael Balderas-Wong
Head of Production at Voxtopica
LA
Producer
Laura Anderson
Producer
Richard Fawal
Richard Fawal is founder and CEO of Voxtopica.

What is The Hot Dish?

Former U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp and her brother, KFGO radio talk show host Joel Heitkamp, engage in animated discussions with newsmakers, elected leaders, and policymakers who are creating new opportunities for rural Americans and finding practical solutions to their challenges. Punctuated with entertaining conversations and a healthy dose of sibling rivalry, The Hot Dish, from the One Country Project, is informative, enlightening, and downright fun.

Heidi Heikamp (00:00)
Welcome back to the Hot Dish, Comfort Food for Rural America. And this is typically when you would hear Joel, after I said I'm Heidi Heikamp, you would hear my brother say, I'm Joel Heikamp, but he's a little limited on technology. Although I'm sure he's going to be very mad I said that because he's having a little trouble connecting. And so unfortunately, we aren't going to be able to do a full podcast for you. So I thought, well, you know, I'm used to on a drop of a hat, you know, filibustering.

And I know we've gotten lots of questions about the filibuster, so I'm gonna filibuster you and talk about what's ⁓ what's happening this week. And so, you know, I I don't think there's a better metaphor for what's happening to our government than the reflecting pool. I mean, you you think about this out of the blue, this has got to happen tomorrow, right? So impulsive, first first thing, an impulsive decision to do something.

Rather than actually sitting down with people who know what they're doing, who've worked with the pool before, in fact, saying, I got a pool guy, I'll bring him in. So we we have a decision based on impulse. We have a bunch of synca fats, including the former governor of North Dakota, who's now the Secretary of Interior, basically saying, just do whatever you want to this historic landmark. ⁓ he brings in his pool guy, who, by the way, is a huge donor.

Has been convicted of fraud, and ironically, his company is called Greenwater. So you can't make this up. they lay down, they lay down the foundation thinking that's gonna solve the problem of the algae. And guess what? It's hot and swampy, and it's a low pool. And now they've heated it up by putting a blue bottom on it, and algae just blooms like ⁓ whatever. Anyway, so now you've got ⁓ this.

pool full of algae. So they decide they're going to use hydrogen peroxide and dump it in to kill the algae. And by the way, it also lifted the polymer or the paint or whatever we're going to call it that's on the bottom of the pool. And now we've got chunks of this blue stuff floating around in ⁓ in the ⁓ pool. Okay. So this quick fix didn't work. It's it was naive to begin with.

It was not done with experts or people who understood the science of what was happening. And then of course, when something goes wrong, blame someone else and arrest people. I don't know. Honestly, I I know it's it's small potatoes in the grand scheme of of what's happening here. and but but it is really a metaphor. It's a metaphor for what's happening. And

Yeah, I don't think you can take a look at what's happening throughout the world, whether it's picking an unnecessary fight with the Prime Minister of Italy, or basically not telling the American public what kind of deal you negotiated with Iran, whether it is ⁓ you know, continuing to blame other people and not focusing on the things that are important to the American family and to ⁓ the American taxpayers. And

You know, ⁓ there's a story out this week, going to kind of the rural part of this, that Trump's favorability has fallen thirty-five percent in rural America. Now I don't know that I I believe that, and certainly that doesn't mean that these thirty-five percent are just gonna rush out and vote for the Democratic candidate, but they're beginning to be disillusioned, and they're disillusioned because the promised assistance hasn't come.

⁓ the problem is only getting worse in rural America. ⁓ and on top of bad commodity prices, bad policy coming out of Washington, whether that's tariffs that increase input costs and have decreased our markets, which is a double whammy for our farmers, ⁓ whether that is bad tax policy that gives to the richest among us and doesn't help those small ranchers and farmers that need help.

not paying attention to screw worms and and what needs to happen there because that whole program got doge. So let's put all of that aside. The the bottom line is things aren't good and they they are getting worse out here and people are feeling more and more the challenges of what's happening. And so ⁓ you know we're we're gonna be back talking about these things, but also examining what's happening in rural America.

What are maybe some of the ideas that can help? We've had a lot of guests on, quite honestly, who are really ⁓ working very, very hard in rural America to bring ⁓ some new ideas, ⁓ some new prosperity. ⁓ it can't all be about ⁓ about agriculture. And I always remind people there's more in about rural to rural America than just simply farming. It's a huge backbone of the economy, but it's the only not the only leg of the economy. And so

next week we're gonna be joined by ⁓ my brother Joel, if he can figure out how to turn on his computer. Just kidding, he knows how to turn on a computer. ⁓ but we'll be joined by Joel. We will be ⁓ taking a look at the issues of the day. But in the meantime, I want you all to ⁓ really begin to believe that things can change and things can change for rural America with the right kind of leadership.

That we can bring a different message, that we can bring a more balanced political perspective to the parts of the world that we care about. And so thank you all for joining us on the Hot Dish, Comfort Food for Rural America. You can see us on Substack, Blue Sky, and a number of other platforms that ⁓ we broadcast on. And next week, hopefully Joel will be with us and we will have a great lineup of guests.

To help celebrate leading into this amazing 250th anniversary. And just as a reminder to all of you, don't let what's happening in politics destroy your joy for what's happening in this country, that this democracy, that no one gave any chance of surviving 250 years ago, and much less winning the Revolutionary War, enacting a constitution that ⁓ is the envy of the world.

I wouldn't say it's a perfect document, but it's about as it it is it it has been an example for the rest of the world. And so go out and begin your plans for your celebration, whether that is walking in a protest march, whether that is just simply, you know, putting together a potato salad and ⁓ barbecuing ⁓ some hot dogs and some hamburgers, you know, celebrate this great country. It's not just about Donald Trump.

And so thank you so much for joining me for this little filibuster. We can talk about the filibuster when we come back next week ⁓ here on the hot dish.

Let's stop it though.