KINGSFORD — State and federal candidates offered contrasting views on inflation and other issues at a forum hosted Thursday by the Iron Mountain-Kingsford chapter of the American Association of University Women.

Dr. Bob Lorinser of Marquette, a Democrat running for Congress in Michigan’s 1st House District, said rising prices are mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s war on Ukraine.

“Don’t blame a Republican, don’t blame a Democrat,” he said. “(Government) spending wasn’t the cause.”

Global shortages can be linked to COVID-19 lockdowns in many nations, including China, Lorinser told an audience of about 35 at Kingsford High School Auditorium. Avian flu and drought have added to food costs, and a lack of infrastructure investment has made the economy less able to withstand the shock, he said.

State Sen. Ed McBroom, R-Waucedah Township, who is seeking a second four-year term, disagreed.

“Government spending and printing of money are without a doubt the chief cause of inflation,” he said.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s decision in 2020 to borrow $3.5 billion for road and bridge repairs has contributed to a steep rise in costs, McBroom said. Contractors now know there’s money available to meet their prices, he said.

The Working Class Party was represented by Liz Hakola of Pelkie, who, like Lorinser, seeks to unseat U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Watersmeet.

When corporations hike prices, rewarding wealthy stockholders, it’s workers who suffer, she said. “It’s the working people who have taken the wage cut,” she said. “Workers didn’t cause this (inflation) and they can’t be taking the hit.”

Bergman didn’t attend Thursday’s forum, citing a previous commitment in Lower Michigan. McBroom’s Democratic opponent in the Nov. 8 election, John Braamse of Marquette, also was unable to attend.

Melody Wagner of Forsyth Township, Republican candidate in the 109th House District, said government benefits sometimes contribute to economic problems, rather than ease them. “There’s people with too many food stamps,” she said. “We have to get people back to work.”

Wagner’s Democratic opponent, Jenn Hill of Marquette, called for an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit, which is designed to help working families. “It should be restored back to what it was,” Hill said, noting state lawmakers in 2011 cut Michigan’s EITC value from 20% to 6% of the federal credit.

Wagner and Hill are seeking a seat now held by state Rep. Sara Cambensy, D-Marquette, who is leaving office due to term limits. Under redistricting introduced for this year’s election, the 109th District includes eastern Dickinson County — the city of Norway and Breen, Felch, Norway, Waucedah and West Branch townships. The other counties are Baraga, Marquette and Alger.

Hill said that with $6 billion of Michigan’s budget still unallocated, housing should be a priority. “We need to be building housing yesterday,” she said.

Wagner countered there are too many people occupying homes “that we’re paying to keep them in.”

Dickinson County was previously part of the 108th District, where incumbent Rep. Beau LaFave, R-Iron Mountain, is also term-limited. Redistricting now puts the western part of Dickinson County — the cities of Iron Mountain and Kingsford and Breitung and Sagola townships — into the 110th District.

State Rep. Greg Markkanen, R-Hancock, seeking a third term in the 110th, said he’s disappointed that Whitmer, a Democrat, has often insisted on her own proposals rather than accepting ideas from the GOP-led Legislature. President Joe Biden’s plan to release more oil from strategic reserves to hold down gas prices is “not a very good idea, economically,” he added.

Markkanen voiced strong support for building an underground tunnel to house Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac. “Pipelines are the safest ways to transport fuels,” he said.

Markkanen’s Democratic challenger, Casey VerBerkmoes of Hubbell, informed organizers he was unable to attend because he had to work.

A question about “reproductive freedom” was answered mostly along party lines, with Republicans saying they were pro-life and Democrats promoting privacy and access. Medical decisions, Hill said, should be “between you and your doctor.”

Wagner said the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in June has been the source of “50 years of a decline of morals.”

“Life begins at conception,” she said, adding, “There’s so much out there for birth control.”

On the subject of affordable child care, Hill applauded the Tri-Share program in Michigan, where costs can be shared by an employer, the employee and the state. “It’s a question of getting more employers to sign on,” she said.

McBroom said over-regulation contributes significantly to higher child care costs, but Lorinser said he believes regulations are only a minor contributor to a lack of affordable care.