Chris Jones, author of The Swine Republic and one of Iowa’s leading water quality advocates, has created an exploratory committee as he considers a run for Secretary of Agriculture next year. “I think we need to rethink agriculture,” Jones told journalist Nina B. Elkadi. “Nobody’s happy. So why are we going to keep doing what […]
water
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa food companies routinely violate water pollution permits and rarely face penalties
Deb El Food Products LLC is one of hundreds of Iowa-based companies cited for violating its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit in 2025. Of these, 38 were food or agriculture companies. After months of dumping wastewater that exceeded the toxic compound limits set forth in the permit, the liquid egg company was cited […]
Posted inCommunity/News
‘Relatively minor’ and decreasing: Supervisors receive report on the status of Johnson County’s main groundwater source
The title of the report presented to the Johnson County Board of Supervisors during its work session on Wednesday was very technical: “Simulation of Groundwater Flow in the Silurian Aquifer, Eastern Iowa (2020–2045).” That was appropriate given the complex nature of its subject matter. But the report’s ultimate message about the groundwater supply much of […]
