Central Iowa Water Works (CIWW) imposed a lawn-watering ban on Monday. This is the second year in a row the water utility has banned watering by its 600,000 customers in the greater Des Moines area and beyond. “The lawn watering ban is not due to a lack of water in our rivers or reservoirs,” according […]
nitrates
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University of Iowa launches new research project into state’s health crisis
The University of Iowa on Wednesday announced the launch of a statewide research initiative aimed at understanding how environmental exposures may be causing a range of dire health problems experienced by people around the state. With initial funding of $6 million and a goal for $10 million, the university said it will gather and analyze […]
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Central Iowa Water Works asks its 600,000 customers to ‘use water wisely’ as nitrate levels spike
It has been almost a year since Central Iowa Water Works (CIWW) had to impose an unprecedented outdoor watering ban on the 600,000 residential and business customers it serves in the Greater Des Moines area and beyond because of the high levels of nitrate pollution in the Raccoon and Des Moines rivers. Now, the water […]
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State Sen. Catelin Drey knows Iowa’s in a cancer crisis. She’s living it.
In January, state Sen. Catelin Drey stood at a podium on the Senate floor in front of her colleagues representing all corners of Iowa. She told them that she was about to speak candidly on a topic both “personal and political.” Behind her, legislators and staffers appeared to be half-listening, looking at their laptops and […]
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Iowa’s most important water monitoring network still has no state funding
Advocates of the state’s widest-spread and fastest-with-data water quality monitoring system are feeling frustrated by a lack of state support, and say appropriations that did make it through the legislative process won’t help every Iowan. The Iowa Legislature went back and forth on funding for water quality during the final days and hours of its […]
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A ‘skyscraper of risk factors’ are giving Iowans cancer
For the third year in a row, Iowa has the second-highest rate of new cancers in the country, according to the annual report from the Iowa Cancer Register (ICR) published in March. It’s also one of only three states where the rate of new cancers is rising, according to data from the National Cancer Institute. […]
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Farm runoff linked to elevated nitrate levels in drinking water serving more than 60 million Americans
More than 60 million Americans get their water from sources contaminated with elevated levels of nitrate pollution, which is most likely coming from agricultural manure or fertilizer runoff, according to a new analysis. The report from the Environmental Working Group (EWG) used federal drinking water data and found that roughly 6,114 US water systems that […]
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‘It’s clear we need to change’: Report identifies four environmental factors raising cancer risk in Iowa
“Cancer is not an abstract problem in Iowa,” oncologist Richard Deming told the people gathered in the Harkin Institute’s auditorium. “It’s not rare, it’s not declining and it’s not evenly distributed. Cancer affects everybody, but it doesn’t affect everybody equally.” Eighty percent of the 25 counties with highest cancer rates in Iowa are rural, according […]
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Democrat Wade Dooley ends his campaign for Secretary of Ag, leaving Chris Jones to face incumbent Mike Naig in November
Two months after announcing his run for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, Democrat Wade Dooley ended his campaign on Wednesday. “This is my first foray into statewide campaigning, and it’s been an eye-opener,” Dooley said in a written statement. “The amount of time, staff and money that it takes is truly daunting. And at this point […]
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More than 700 Iowa water segments are impaired, according to a new state report
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources released a draft version of its 2026 biennial integrated report Tuesday, which listed more than 700 segments of rivers, lakes or wetlands in the state as impaired. The impaired list looks at retroactive data and determines if a water segment meets, or fails to meet, designated criteria for uses […]
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Debates over property taxes, eminent domain and cancer rates expected during 2026 legislative session
Iowa lawmakers are heading into the 2026 legislative session with several new leaders — but many of the issues expected to take top priority are subjects left unresolved in 2025, namely eminent domain and property taxes. Lawmakers presented legislation on both of these issues during the 2025 legislative session, but neither became state law. Republican […]
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Shoreline work, dredging, algae prevention part of state’s 2026 lake restoration plan
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has about $9.6 million annually of state appropriated money to improve water quality and recreational opportunities at Iowa lakes. Most of these projects take several years to complete, but DNR’s annual report for 2025 and plan for 2026 show shoreline work, sediment removal, nutrient reduction and chemical treatments that […]
