This week in Iowa organizing…
Activity by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continues to have devastating effects across our country. And late last week it returned to Iowa, impacting our families, our communities, and our schools.
On Thursday, Jorge Ochoa was violently seized while at work at the Bread Garden in Iowa City. This despite the fact he is in ICE’s Alternatives to Detention program and was wearing an ankle monitor.
Then on Friday news broke that superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools Ian Roberts had been detained by ICE. Conflicting reports on the details quickly followed online and through media outlets, including disturbing comments and accusations by some Iowa elected officials. What can’t be denied is the positive impact Dr. Roberts had on Des Moines’ schools and thousands of its students.
As CCI Action board member Barb Kalbach wrote recently, “there are mothers, fathers, friends, and neighbors being snatched from the street, the workplace, or not returning home from a routine immigration check-in.”
She continues, “We need immigration reform, I believe that’s clear. But we don’t break promises. We don’t terrorize children. We don’t tear families and our communities and economy apart. We’re better than this.”
What is currently happening, especially how it is happening, is not right. We are better than this. And through organizing, speaking out, and being in community with one another, we will be better than this.
The struggle continues,
Matthew Covington
Strategic Operations Director
Take action
Mitchell County pipeline meetings
Mitchell County CCI members and residents continue to push back against Bruce Rastetter's proposed CO2 pipeline and call for commonsense protections from their County Supervisors.
As we build momentum for local policy to protect the land and places we love, we'll be hosting meetings to get up to speed on the issue and discuss options on the table for our next steps.
October 2: Cancer Gag Act postcard party
Come join us for a postcard writing party at our Des Moines office! We'll be writing to folks across the state urging them to contact their Representatives and to take action against Bayer and the Cancer Gag Act. These multinational chemical companies think if they can silence us, let's show them what people power can do!
We'll be writing between 1 - 3pm this Thursday at the CCI office, RSVP here!
October 7: meeting with Des Moines Police Chief
Has policing changed in Des Moines for the Black community? What steps can the police and community take to create better relations with one another?
Join Iowa CCI and community members for a meeting to hear updates and share your questions and concerns with Des Moines Chief of Police Michael McTaggart. October 7 at 6pm in Des Moines, more info and RSVP to join here.
Oct. 9: CCI's fall book club author event
This time for our Iowa CCI book club we picked Dodge County, Incorporated: Big Ag and the Undoing of Rural America, by Sonja Trom Eayrs, winner of the 2024 Midwest Book Award.
It's a well-timed read for anyone concerned with Iowa's escalating corporate ag-fueled water crisis and lack of action from elected leaders. Sonja's powerful personal account of fighting a factory farm in southern Minnesota mirrors that of CCI members' organizing to stop factory farms for the past three decades.
But don't just take our word for it - here's what a few CCI readers had to say:
"This book is fantastic. Well written, but also written almost like a thriller. So glad to have read the book. She educates us on the whole system. The manipulation, the threats. I'm looking forward to the author's call." -Laura Frey
"It's [Dodge County] the Cedar River watershed! The Cedar River headwaters! Just amazing, I thought everything coming from Minnesota was pristine. We gotta read that book, it's great. What she writes about really matters--directly as well as an activism model--to Iowa water!" - Linda Fitzgerald
Click here to learn more about the book, then plan to join us to be in conversation with the author and fellow Iowans concerned about our land, water, and communities.
(in-person events have been cancelled)
Oct. 20 & 21: Visioning public education meetings
We’ve met thousands of people across Iowa who know the critical importance of our public schools. Public School Strong leaders are beginning to take resolutions calling for full school funding to their school boards.
But now what? How do we keep this momentum going and build a grassroots force to be reckoned with?
Join us to hear from and brainstorm with veteran Chicago organizers, Jitu Brown and Jay Travis, who have worked for decades to push for fully funded, accessible, and comprehensive public education.
Monday, October 20 at 6:30pm in Des Moines, info and RSVP here
Tuesday, October 21 at 6:30pm in Ames, info and RSVP here
Congress - strengthen the PIPES Act
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee recently passed the PIPES Act (HR 5301), a step in the right direction to regulate dangerous pipelines like Rastetter’s proposed CO2 pipeline.
However, this bill must be strengthened in order to protect the people and places we love. Specifically, we believe it must be amended to include public disclosure of safety information and rupture modeling, require pipeline companies to fully fund local emergency preparedness, and include local communities in decision on where to site proposed projects.
Please take a few minutes to send a letter to Iowa’s Congressional delegation on this issue here.
Get your Iowa CCI merch
We’ve got a few throw-back designs and a new logo shirt available in three colors. The baseball long sleeve and 50th logo t-shirt are just $10 each, and the colorful throwback shirts, recreated from photos from a 1984-member retreat, are just $15. Add $5 for shipping or stop by the office to pick up. Order or reserve online at iowacci.org/merch. (Modeled by your friendly and stylish CCI staff)
Water Talk
Submit comments to the DNR by Oct. 20
A huge thanks to Michael Schmidt from the Iowa Environmental Council for joining our monthly zoom last Thursday! His legal expertise, breakdown of the science of the DNR review, and recommendations for effective comments were super helpful.
Michael shared his slide presentation. He did a fantastic job making the DNR information more relatable and included information for making effective public comments. If you didn't make the Zoom, here's what you missed and a link to the recording.
One item of note - Iowa DNR is still using 2002 human health criteria rather than the 2015 criteria adopted by the EPA. The newer 2015 criteria does not include glyphosate. The chemical ingredient in RoundUp that is at the center of Bayer's lobbying work for immunity protections.
The Iowa DNR’s water quality review public comment period is open until October 20 at 4:30pm. We have created an action alert to make it easier and for CCI to help track comments from our members.
To meet the moment and tackle Iowa’s water woes, the Iowa DNR’s water quality standards must adopt: human health criteria, PFAS criteria, numeric criteria for nutrients in lakes and rivers, more stringent nitrate criteria for rivers, and microcystin criteria.
Click here to submit your comments to the Iowa DNR!
Upcoming events
Oct 16 at 5pm on Zoom - click here to register
Dr. Jerald Schnoor from the University of Iowa served as one of the researchers who contributed to the Polk County CISWRA report. He will provide an overview of the report but will focus on drinking water and health.
Oct 30 at 5pm on Zoom - click here to register
Monthly water testing call - stay tuned for details!
Articles of interest
Iowa's water quality monitoring system faces funding cuts
Iowa farm poll reveals farmers' shifting views about conservation and water quality over a decade
What We're Reading
These are a few links that are informing our work - we've shared them so that you can read, too!
Outrage mounts as Republicans in Congress move to protect pesticide makers from lawsuits [The Guardian]
Nurses in Iowa are fighting an unprecedented anti-union campaign [The American Prospect]
Saving the soil, saving the farm [Plough]
Trump's war on America [The Chris Hedges Report]
These rural communities feed the world. They're also going hungry [Investigate Midwest]