{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.ernst.senate.gov/news/press-releases/ernst-names-small-business-of-the-week-pipers-grocery-and-homemade-candies", "Ernst Names Small Business of the Week, Piper\u2019s Grocery and Homemade Candies", "2026-09-08", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "Senate", "IA", "Joni Ernst", "E000295", "www.ernst.senate.gov", "ernst", "https://www.ernst.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "RED OAK, IOWA \u2013 U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Chair of the Senate Small Business Committee, today announced her Small Business of the Week: Piper\u2019s Grocery and Homemade Candies of Lucas County. Throughout the 119th Congress, Chair Ernst plans to recognize a small business in each of Iowa's 99 counties.\n\n\u201cPiper\u2019s Grocery and Homemade Candies has sweetened the Chariton community for more than 120 years, preserving generations of tradition that make Iowans keep coming back,\u201d said Chair Ernst. \u201cFrom handmade candies crafted with time-tested recipes to locally made products that support surrounding shops, Jill and her team have maintained a business that is truly a treat for Chariton.\u201d\n\nPiper\u2019s first opened in downtown Chariton in 1905 when Joe L. Piper began serving the community with fresh meats, bread, and everyday essentials. His son, Bob, later took over the business and introduced homemade candies using recipes and techniques that are still used today. After longtime employees Anne and Jim Kerns purchased Piper\u2019s in the 1980s, their daughter, Jill Kerns, took ownership in 1988. Today, Jill and her team continue making Piper\u2019s famous candies in small batches while offering deli meats and cheeses, fresh sandwiches, groceries, Iowa-made foods, and locally crafted products.\n\nStay tuned as Chair Ernst continues to recognize outstanding Iowa small businesses with her Small Business of the Week award.\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-09T09:27:09Z", "2026-09-09T09:29:04Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.ernst.senate.gov/news/press-releases/ernst-names-small-business-of-the-week-pipers-grocery-and-homemade-candies"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4355718158185482, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}