Hillary Clinton to visit Keota school, Fairfield Tuesday

Hillary Clinton plans to make good Tuesday on her promise to visit a tiny eastern-Iowa high school.

Clinton is scheduled to speak at 12:15 p.m. at Keota High School. She agreed to appear there after a committed group of students repeatedly invited her. The students wrote letters, posted Tweets and traveled to Clinton’s campaign rallies to press their case.

The students want to talk to Clinton about the trends driving down rural populations and endangering small schools. She agreed to speak about those things, while noting that local and state governments make most decisions about whether individual schools remain open.

The Keota students’ efforts already have drawn visits from two other presidential candidates – Democrat Martin O’Malley and Republican Rick Santorum.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who is a former Iowa governor, plans to accompany Clinton to the Keota event and a 4:45 p.m. appearance at Fairfield’s Community Arts Center. Both events are open to the public.

Tuesday evening, Clinton is to meet privately with volunteers in Bettendorf.