This week in Iowa organizing…

Written By Katie Bryan

Well, Joni Ernst said that.

To be honest, we didn't expect her to be a staunch defender of Medicaid. But her non-apology the day after should be an insult to each and every Iowan regardless of party affiliation.

Ernst's job is to engage her constituents on our concerns, not demean and poke fun at Iowans who simply want to know how our government is working for us, not corporations and billionaire interests. If this is how she's going to behave, maybe she should find a different job.

Sen. Ernst may fancy herself a comedian to rile up her base (a base that will, again, also be impacted by cuts to Medicaid and SNAP). But as Laura Belin points out, let's be sure not to fall for other lies about what the "big, bad, horrible bill" will do to safety net programs.

On the good news front, our friends and allies at Iowa Farmers Union, Iowa Environmental Council, Dakota Rural Action, Food and Water Watch, and Environmental Law and Policy Center had a big win last week – protecting fundamental conservation practices and everyone downstream who rely on rivers, lakes, and streams for drinking water.

Lots of events and ways to take action in the coming weeks, read on for more!

 

Matthew Covington
Strategic Operations Director

 

Take action

 

Tell Gov. Reynolds to sign HF 639

Governor Reynolds has until June 13 to sign bills into law or veto them. She has not yet signed HF639 into law, despite the legislature finally passing a bill addressing CO2 pipelines and eminent domain abuse. It's not a perfect bill, but it's definitely a step in the right direction toward protecting communities and land from these dangerous pipelines.  

Please take a few minutes to call her office at 515-281-5211 and urge her to sign HF639. 

June 5: Farm Aid film screen and discussion

Join Farm Aid for their upcoming popular education lunch and listen series this Thursday at 12pm. They will be screening “Out of the Shadows,” a 20 minute film reflecting on the mental health crisis in rural America followed by a discussion with special guests and resource sharing led by Farm Aid’s Hotline Team. Register to join here.

Breaking Bread: Lunch and Listen features stories that uplift the shared history of food and farming, and the organizing and resistance that’s got us to where we are now. These stories help inform the future we want for each other as it relates to farming and agriculture, food, culture and rural communities. 

June 11: first book club of 2025

There's still time to read and join our book club discussion on Wednesday, June 11 on Zoom. This time we picked The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by bestselling author Robin Wall Kimmerer.

The book is small in size - fits in the palm of your hand - and just under 100-pages, and can easily be read in a sitting or two.

Elizabeth Gilbert writes, Kimmerer is “a great teacher, and her words are a hymn of love to the world.” The Serviceberry is an antidote to the broken relationships and misguided goals of our times, and a reminder that “hoarding won’t save us, all flourishing is mutual."

We offer up this book to the CCI community, in this turbulent time, as a thought-provoking pause and breath of fresh air. A communal meditation on "Another World is Possible," if you will. 

Sign up for the June 11 book club here. We'd love to have you join us!

 

June 12: Virtual farm tour series kicks off

The future of Iowa does not need to be one of CO2 pipelines and water pollution. Solutions to the problems we face are all around us, including on our farms!

So, we're hosting a Virtual Farm Tour over Zoom. In this web series we'll uplift real people who are implementing real solutions on their farms:

  • June 12 from 6-7:30pm - Episode 1: Prairies over pipelines! with Dr. Tom Rosburg Ph.D.

  • July 7 from 6-7:30pm - Episode 2: Soil health, water quality, and cover crops - oh my! with Kevin Fulton

  • August 14 from 6-7:30pm - Episode 3: Rotational Grazing and combating climate change! with John Hogeland

It's going to take all of us to create a better food and farm system - one that works for farmers, workers, eaters, and the environment. Register to join us here!

 

June 14: Teach Truth day of action

Join local non-profits and community organizers on June 14 at Chauncey Swan Park in Iowa City to stand up for Youth and Truth! There will be lots to learn and enjoy – live music, speakers, snacks, swag, a banned book exchange, kid’s activities, and more!

Across the country policy makers and corporate power are pushing laws to criminalize teaching honestly about U.S. history and to restrict students’ ability to ask questions and engage in critical thinking.

To protect young people’s right to learn — and by default protect the future of democracy and justice — we need to expose this authoritarian agenda and be visible in our defense of teaching people’s history. More information here. 

June 14: No Kings nationwide rallies

Real power isn’t staged in Washington, D.C. It rises up everywhere else. That's why everyday people across the country are rallying on June 14.

No Kings is a nationwide day of defiance. From city blocks to small towns, from courthouse steps to community parks, folks will be taking action to reject authoritarianism—and show the world what democracy really looks like.

Find the event closest to you here. 

June 17: CCI open house

Have you ever wanted to see where the magic happens at Iowa CCI? Come by our Open House!

We love to show off our headquarters AND we are getting jazzed about our 50th anniversary celebration in July! RSVP to our open house and come check out our power place.

 

June 25 & 28: local 50th meet-up celebrations

It's our 50th! To celebrate, we want to connect with as many past and present members as possible. You're invited to join us for an informal, fun and interactive gathering to celebrate and be in community with other great CCIers who've been involved over the years.

Wed, June 25 - North Central Iowa celebration and social

  • We've been doing some really great work together in North Central Iowa over the past year and a half. We'll get updates and celebrate the local work to stop CO2 pipelines (hopefully including a win at Osage city council June 23) and Katie Bryan, CCI Membership Director will lead a short interactive CCI history exercise. 5:30-7:30pm, NIACC campus in Mason City. There will be pizza! RSVP here.

Sat, June 28 - Adair-Madison area celebration and social

  • Lisa Whelan, our Exec. Director who cut her teeth organizing with members in this area, and board member Barb Kalbach will lead an interactive story telling exercise of when CCIers stopped a giant factory farm in the area. Come to reminisce, reconnect and meet other great CCI community members -and you can explore the beautiful gardens, prairie, and walking paths at the historic Wallace Farm. 9:30-11:30am, Wallace Farms in Orient. There will be zucchini cake! RSVP here.

 

Water Talk 

Thanks to all who joined our monthly water testing meeting last Thursday! If you didn't make the Zoom, here's what you missed and a link to the recording:

We heard from guest speaker Dr. Martin St Clair, a research scientist focusing on water quality at the University of Iowa. We learned -

  • Getting to know your local stream or body of water is important. When you are testing, pay attention to how it looks, the water level, what lives in it, what it smells like. Adopt a stream and take care of it!

  • Citizen Science is FUN! Especially when done with friends. Make your testing plan, work together, have coffee and donuts after the science!

  • Funding for the Iowa Water Quality Information System sensor network is running out. Making our work of volunteer monitoring even more important.

Click here to get registered for our next monthly Zoom on Thursday, June 26 at 5pm.

Thanks for caring about and taking action for Iowa's water!

What we're reading

Des Moines metro residents asked to cut back on lawn watering. Here's why [Des Moines Register]

Regional Water lifts boil advisory for one city, others remain under restrictions [WHO13]

 

Save the Date

 

Sign up today! CCI's 50th Anniversary Convention

Our annual convention is the one time of year when CCIers come together from across our issue campaigns and from across the state to connect and get recharged for the work ahead.

It's our 50th, so we're going back to a two-day event! You don't need to attend both days, but we hope you do!

  • Friday, July 25 from 6-10pm - we'll celebrate 50 years of organizing with food, a short presentation, music, and community. 

  • Saturday, July 26 from 9am-4pm - we'll have a powerful panel, skill building workshops, and inspiring guest speakers to talk about our future and the work ahead. 

Click here to register today for this amazing celebration!

Learn more about our speakers and workshops at iowacci.org/CCI50 or call 515-255-0800. We'd love to see you there! You don’t have to be a member to attend.

 

What We're Reading

 

These are a few links that are informing our work - we've shared them so that you can read, too!

Katie Bryan
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