This week in Iowa organizing…

Written By Katie Bryan

Rest in power, Bill Moyers. He was "a voice of clarity and conscience in American life" and a dogged proponent of speaking truth to power in order to realize the promise of democracy. We were honored to be featured on Bill Moyers Journal back in 2010.

In that clip, CCI member Jack Troeger spoke truth to power and claimed that it was time to "stop fiddling around the margins" when it comes to water quality and holding corporate ag accountable. His words, and warning, still ring true today.

Polk County is expected to release their report this week that concludes a vast majority of the nitrates in the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers comes from agriculture runoff. And it's not just a Des Moines problem, this is a statewide crisis that demands a solution and leadership from our elected officials.

CCI board member Barb Kalbach writes "How many more closed beaches will it take? How many boil advisories will it take? How many watering bans will it take? How many new cancers or birth defects will it take?" for us to act? 

Since our elected officials and candidates for office are overwhelmingly burying their heads in the sand (or factory farm manure?), it's up to us to force them to do something about it. We can demand a food and farm system that works for eaters, farmers, workers, and our environment. Our lives are literally on the line.

 

For the people and places we love,

 

Matthew Covington
Strategic Operations Director

Take action

July 17: Virtual farm tour series - episode 2

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!

That's why we're hosting a virtual farm tour series uplifting real people who are implementing real solutions on their farms. Here's info for our second stop:

  • July 17 at 6:00 pm - Episode 2: Soil health, water quality and cover crops – oh my!

Featuring: Kevin Fulton, who owns and operates Clear Creek Land & Livestock, a diversified organic farming and ranching operation near Litchfield, Nebraska. Enterprises include pasture-based livestock, custom grazing, cash grains, hay and cover crops. Kevin will discuss his experience utilizing cover crops over the last 25 years.

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!

Early bird registration ends this week! 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 (and get the early-bird discount)!

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.

CCI history video - our founding story

Have you ever wondered how CCI got its start? And where?

This video, made in 2005, tells the CCI founding story through interviews with four individuals who were instrumental in where we are today:  Joe Fagan - our founding director, Fr. Eugene Kutsch, Fr. Thomas Rhomberg, and Vince Hatt.  Give it a watch and let us know what stands out or if anything surprised you!

Save TPS for Afghan refugees

On May 12, 2025 Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced the termination of Temporary Protected Status for Afghanistan. The TPS designation for the country expires on May 20, 2025, and the termination will be effective on July 14, 2025.

Afghans admitted to the United States under TPS were people or family members of those who assisted in the nearly 20 years of country building in Afghanistan after the temporary fall of the Taliban. These individuals took on considerable risk to work for their own country with members of the U.S. Military, Diplomats, and foreign assistance.

Read more from allies working on this issue and contact Senators Grassley and Ernst to urge them to reinstate TPS for Afghan refugees.

Water Talk

CCI's citizen scientists doing the hard work on water

Thanks to everyone 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.

Shout Outs to CCI’s Citizen Scientists branching out on the fight for clean water! A Des Moines tester did live water testing at the CCI Open House, an Ankeny tester is challenging candidates to do the right thing on Iowa's water crisis, and an Iowa City tester shared experiences with the Deltares Aquality app for nitrate testing. It uses your phone camera for an accurate reading.

Heather at the Izaak Walton League processed 300 test kit requests for Iowans last week! For comparison - there were 500 test kit requests nationwide between January - mid-June 2025. Big thanks to CCI's water testers for being part of the solution that Iowans deserve.

Click here to get registered for our next monthly Zoom on Thursday, July 31 at 5pm.

THEY dump it. WE drink it. WE won’t stop until THEY clean it up.

Articles of Interest

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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This week in Iowa organizing…