Bernie Sanders planning three-day trip to Iowa in February

Alex Hanson

Bernie Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont, is planning a three-day trip to Iowa as he considers a possible presidential run.

Phil Fiermonte, outreach director for Sanders, said Jan. 15 that the senator is still thinking about running for president in 2016 and is planning several stops while in Iowa.

The mid-February trip starts Thursday, Feb. 19. Sanders will speak with the U.S. Student Association, a student organization supporting higher education and social change, at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.

On Feb. 20, Sanders will be at Drake University for a town meeting at noon. Later in the evening, Sanders will deliver the keynote address at the Iowa Citizen Action Network in Johnston.

On Feb. 21, Sanders will start the day in the Cedar Valley, meeting with the Linn Phoenix Club in Cedar Rapids at noon and community members in Tipton at 2:30 p.m.

Sanders will then deliver the keynote speech with the Story County Democrats in Ames on Jan. 17.

“The 2015 Soup Supper” will take place on Feb. 21st at Collegiate United Methodist Church on Lincoln Way in Ames, the Story County Democrats announced in an email to supporters January 10th. Sanders’ office confirmed the Senator will be attending and speaking at the event.

Sanders, who describes himself as a “Democratic-Socialist,” has recently expressed interest in running for president in 2016. At a December event in Ames that drew a crowd of over 200 people, Sanders said he would only run if he has grassroots support of millions of Americans who are ready to launch a “political revolution.”

The liberal Senator is the longest serving independent in Congress and has spent his time in the Senate focusing on income inequality, combating climate change and expanding Medicare coverage to all.

The February trip will be Sanders’ fifth to Iowa as he considers as presidential run.