John Cochrane decided to run for a seat on the Webster County Board of Supervisors to fight what he sees as an attack on the rural way of life by big urban areas.

“There is overall an attack on rural culture and the best place to stand up for rural culture and fight against that attack is on the county Board of Supervisors,” the Fort Dodge Republican said.

Big cities, he said, are trying to take the resources of rural areas.

He added that he is “very much against the pipeline,” referring to a pipeline that would transport carbon dioxide from ethanol plants and carry it through Webster County to a location out of state where it would be sequestered underground.

Cochrane is an instructor at Iowa Central Community College.

He is a native of Webster County. He graduated from Fort Dodge Senior High School and earned a Bachelor’s degree in education from Iowa State University in Ames. He was a teacher in Alaska for several years before returning to Fort Dodge.

Cochrane is unopposed for the Republican nomination in District 5. He will face Supervisor Nick Carlson, a Democrat, in the November general election.

District 5 includes western Fort Dodge, Clare and rural areas of northwestern Webster County including Deer Creek, Douglas and Jackson townships.