This week in Iowa organizing…
It's probably safe to say Bruce Rastetter hasn't had a good week.
In case you didn't hear the news, last week Summit announced it was removing eight counties and 200 miles of its proposed CO2 pipeline plans to the Iowa Utilities Commission. No longer in the crosshairs are Mitchell and Worth counties where CCI members have been organizing and pushing back against Rastetter.
Congrats to the members who attended meetings, talked with neighbors, sent postcards, and showed up and spoke out in so many ways. People power is how we win.
The fight isn't over, but a significant victory was notched. We'll keep at it because the people and places we love are worth it, and worth more than corporations and millionaires' bottom lines.
Onward,
Matthew Covington
Strategic Operations Director
Take action
Early voting has begun
Early voting for the June 2 primary election has started! Find where and how to vote by visiting VoterReady.Iowa.Gov or calling the CCI office at (515) 282-0484.
Do you want to vote by mail for the June 2 primary election? Act now as you have until 5pm today, May 18, to request your absentee ballot. Find out more by visiting VoterReady.Iowa.Gov/Voting-Absentee/#Mail
May 20: White people's work to not give up
Join our allies at SURJ in conversation with political strategist Scot Nakagawa and movement leader Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson to get grounded and inspired for the necessary work white people must do to commit to fighting authoritarianism.
More information and RSVP here.
You can get a sneak peek of our July 25 keynote speaker Ash-Lee Woodward Henderson on this call. Stay tuned later this week for more information about our upcoming statewide convention and other exciting updates!
Water Talk
Welcome to the four new water testers who joined our crew just in the last week! We've had readings range from 0 to 30. This comes on the horizon of another possible lawn watering ban for central Iowa unless conditions improve.
Interested in joining CCI's water monitoring program? For more information or to order a free test kit from Nitrate Watch, visit CCI’s Nitrate Watch Water Testing page.
Join our community of practice: The CCI water testing crew meets on the last Thursday of the month to share information and discuss what we are seeing. Our next Zoom is May 28 at 5pm. Click here to register.
Articles of Interest:
Report shows increased nitrates in key Iowa waterways [Iowa Starting Line]
Palo is giving Google what it wants [Cedar Rapids Gazette]
Data center guzzled 30 million gallons of water, and nobody noticed for months [Ars Technica]
Save the Date
CCI Action Summer ConventionSaturday, July 25, 10am - 4pm
Grandview College, Des Moines
Join us for our annual gathering where we come together from across the state and across issue campaigns to refresh, learn, plan, and recommit to the work ahead.
Details and registration coming soon!
What We're Reading
These are a few links that are informing our work - we've shared them so that you can read, too!
Data centers are coming for rural America [The Verge]
Trump's coming for our elections. [Deep Midwest: Politics and Culture]
Property tax dominos won't stop at Des Moines library fears [Des Moines Register]
Thrown-out ballots and map confusion: voters are losing the redistricting battle [NPR]
A session to remember come November (by CCI Action member Barb Kalbach) [Indianola Independent Advocate]