Truck driver Rodger Botosh, 60, of Iron River, Wisconsin voted in the last election and plans to vote in the midterm elections because he wants to see the country continue on its current path. He voted for President Donald Trump and considers gun control and the economy to be the most important issues right now.
"We all want a good economy. You look around and I haven't seen this in years," he said. "I haven't seen it the way this is since (President Bill) Clinton was in there even though he's a Democrat, and I voted for Clinton. But, it's nice to see people can get a job where they want a job and whatever. It hasn't been that way for a long, long time."
"Who do you think is giving them the food they need? ... Who do you think supplies them with the paper and the materials to build their houses?" asked Iron River resident Rodger Botosh.
In more recent years, Botosh feels there have been so many environmental regulations in Wisconsin and the nation that it’s preventing economic prosperity.
"I'm not saying some of them don't belong there, you know. But, mining, farming — it's all being picked on by people that I don't understand where they're coming from or how they're surviving because where do they think all this stuff is coming from?" Botosh said. "Who do you think is giving them the food they need? Who do you think is making the paper I logged for 24 years on my own before I was a truck driver? Who do you think supplies them with the paper and the materials to build their houses?"
When it comes to local elected officials, Botosh doesn’t feel they’re representing him well.
"It's hard for them because they're being stepped on by the regulations that are put down by the state, that are put down by the federal," he said. "Poop flows downhill. You know, that's what I'm trying to say, and we're the ones that are taking the bulk of it."
As for Bayfield County in particular, he feels some people who are serving on the county board are out of touch with residents who have lived in the area their entire lives.
"They move here. A year later, they're on the board, and they're going to try to change the world and change everything," he said.
"When you try to make a living, you're treated second. You’re secondary," Botosh said. "If you don't try in this society, you're treated great."
Botosh wonders about what the future holds for his grandchildren. He fears there’s a lot of abuse in the system where people are living on welfare programs rather than looking for jobs to provide for their families. Botosh said he’s not against government assistance, but he feels the system punishes people who don’t seek help.
"When you try to make a living, you're treated second. You’re secondary," he said. "If you don't try in this society, you're treated great."
No matter where he looks, Botosh sees examples of government overreach or waste.
"We'll spend $2 billion for this or $2 million for that. Drive on your roads," he said. "That's one thing I'd like to talk to them about. The roads ain’t been very good."
Flooding this year has damaged some roads that had been replaced in the last flood a couple years ago, but he said that’s just life. As for climate change, he’s not a big believer in that either. He recalled the Dust Bowl and other events over time, saying changes today are being blown out of proportion by one side. He wished people could come together to find a happy medium.
"Everything is so far on the left and far on the right, it's crazy ... There's no more getting along," he said.