Protests, storytelling and rapping highlight Kim Reynolds' 'Fair-Side Chats' Saturday morning

Hundreds of Iowans attended three of Gov. Kim Reynolds' "Fair-Side Chats" at the Iowa State Fairgrounds Saturday morning.Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy were on the stage near JR's SouthPork Ranch to discuss their campaigns with Reynolds.Vivek RamaswamyThe morning started with Ramaswamy saying how important young voters will be in the upcoming election."I expect to be the nominee. I expect they will not let Joe Biden run against me," he said. "Whoever I'm running against though, it needs to be a landslide, and the difference between 50.1 and a landslide is actually young people in this race."He also shared how he plans to end the United States' relationship with China."We depend on communist China for the way we live our lives. That doesn't work over the long run," Ramaswamy said.Nikki HaleyThen, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley spoke about reducing the national debt by managing government spending."We will stop the spending, we will stop the borrowing, we will eliminate the earmarks," she said. "I will veto any spending bill that doesn't take us back to pre-COVID levels."She also spoke about improving the treatment of veterans after they return from war."33,000 of our heroes in this country are homeless. One in three veterans suffers from PTSD or thoughts of suicide," Haley said. "We have to remember you don't just love your military when they're gone. We have to love them when they come back home, too."Ron DeSantisAs Florida Gov. DeSantis began his chat with Reynolds, protestors blew whistles and shook cowbells, making it difficult to hear him speak.In response to the protestors, Reynolds said, "We're in Iowa, and in Iowa, we're Iowa nice. So let's give everyone the opportunity to hear our candidates."Law enforcement would later walk the protestors out.DeSantis continued his chat by praising Iowa's school choice law and vowing to push for it at the national level."I think we need to give these kids an opportunity to be liberated from failed school systems and give them an opportunity to go to a school of their choice," he said.He also shared his stance on allowing transgender athletes to compete in women's sports."We don't think it's fair that if they want to participate in sports that someone would try and jam a man or a boy into competition with them," DeSantis said. "We're going to protect girls and women athletes."The "Fair-Side Chats" will continue Wednesday morning with Asa Hutchinson at 8:30 a.m., Ryan Binkley at 9:30 a.m. and Tim Scott at 10:30 a.m.