A long-awaited scientific report commissioned by Polk County says farm pollution threatens the ability to drink clean water and to safely interact with central Iowa streams, Iowa Capital Dispatch reports. The county announced its Central Iowa Source Water Research Assessment in 2023 and heralded it as a first-of-its-kind, unbiased and comprehensive examination of the watersheds […]
Jared Strong, Iowa Capital Dispatch
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Bill awaiting governor’s signature has ‘enormous loophole’ for meetings
A bill adopted by the Iowa Legislature this year that is meant to more harshly penalize open meetings violations might also enable city councils, school boards and others to deliberate in secret, according to the Iowa Public Information Board (IPIB). HF 2539 would increase the penalties for violating a state law that generally requires governmental […]
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Many Iowa rivers are brimming with nitrate
Nitrate contamination of Iowa’s rivers has surged in recent weeks amid heavy, widespread rainfall, according to data collected by the Iowa Water Quality Information System. Concentrations of nitrate in several large waterways — including the Boone, Cedar, Iowa and Turkey rivers — have recently reached four-year peaks, the data show. Further, many of the affected […]
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Feds: A dozen Iowa water suppliers need to fix ‘forever chemical’ contamination
At least 12 community drinking water supplies in Iowa are unacceptably contaminated with enduring chemicals linked to various health ailments, under new restrictions announced Wednesday by federal regulators. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency implemented a new drinking water standard that limits certain perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances — commonly known as PFAS or “forever chemicals” — […]
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More than half of Iowa’s tested streams and lakes are ‘impaired’
There are at least 721 water body segments in Iowa that do not meet water quality standards for recreation, public water supplies and the protection of aquatic life, according to the state Department of Natural Resources. The DNR has drafted its latest list of “impaired” waters that it is required to submit to the U.S. […]
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Pipeline opponents seek procedural halt in Iowa after North Dakota decision
State regulators should postpone a final hearing for a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline in Iowa because North Dakota rejected the project route, opponents of the pipeline say. The Sierra Club of Iowa and landowners have asked the Iowa Utilities Board to pause the permit proceedings for Summit Carbon Solutions. Its evidentiary hearing is poised to […]
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State lawmaker accuses some educators of promoting socialism
An Iowa House subcommittee advanced a bill Wednesday that would require high school teachers to hold class discussion comparing political ideologies “that conflict with the principles of freedom and democracy that were essential to the founding of the United States.” House File 12 specifically mentions communism and totalitarianism. Iowa Rep. Steven Holt, a Republican from […]
