This week in Iowa organizing…

Written By Katie Bryan

I hope you all had a good Labor Day weekend. Here in Des Moines, several of our Public School Strong leaders joined the Labor Day march and rally to support our educators and fully funding our public schools. 

Speaking of Labor Day, let's remember that our 40 hour work-week was won by organized labor and shouldn't be taken for granted. Much progress has been made in the struggle for workers' rights, yet we still have a ways to go to achieve shared prosperity and a robust democracy.

So with that, let's continue to take action - please read on for ways to plug into the work ahead and more!

In solidarity,

 

Matthew Covington
Strategic Operations Director

Take action

September 4: Defeat the Cancer Gag Act (again)

This past legislative session, Iowans came together to defeat Bayer's Cancer Gag Act. So now they've set their sights on Congress to gain immunity from lawsuits if folks are harmed from using their products.

We're not backing down and will keep fighting for what's right. That's why we're coming together over Zoom on this Thursday, September 4, at 6pm to get the latest on Bayer's efforts and strategize ways to defeat their Cancer Gag Act again. RSVP to join us here!

Tell your U.S. Representative - oppose the PERMIT Act

Legislation is pending in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Promoting Efficient Review for Modern Infrastructure Today Act (“PERMIT Act,” H.R. 3898). If passed by Congress, it would “PERMIT” more pollution to be discharged into Iowa’s waterways, threaten the health of Iowans, and remove protections from wetlands and streams that filter pollution and reduce flooding. 

Join our allies with the Environmental Law & Policy Center by emailing your Congressperson here.

This legislation would dramatically narrow Clean Water Act protections that Iowans have relied upon for more than 50 years to safeguard Iowa’s rivers and lakes for drinking water, for swimming and boating, for businesses that need clean water, and to support thriving fish and wildlife populations. 

CCI's fall book club & author events

We're back with another installment of Iowa CCI's book club! This time we picked Dodge County, Incorporated: Big Ag and the Undoing of Rural America, by Sonja Trom Eayrs, winner of the 2025 Midwest Book Award and a finalist for the 2025 Minnesota 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. And, it's a fitting read for our 50th anniversary, as Sonja's powerful personal account of fighting a hog factory in southern Minnesota mirrors that of CCI members' organizing to stop factory farms for the past three decades.

Click here to learn more about the book, then plan to join us for one of three opportunities to be in conversation with the author and fellow Iowans concerned about our land, water, and communities. 

Save the Dates

Missed our 50th Convention? We're making two of our workshops virtual!

  • Organizing 101 – Thursday, September 23, 6 pm - Community organizing: it’s a term we use all the time at CCI, and it’s the name for the way we build power for and with everyday Iowans. But what does it really mean, and how do we do it? Join us to learn what we mean by community organizing and how we can build the power we need to win things that make our lives better.

  • Organizing Through Division – Tuesday, October 14, 6 pm - This informative teach-in, led by CCI board member and DMACC Religions professor Julia Rendon, will cover how the changes in churches and religion in the U.S. has shaped our political landscape.

Registration links coming soon, stay tuned!

Water Talk

Thanks to everyone who joined us last Thursday for our monthly water testing meeting! It was a small but mighty group with incredible engagement and sharing of information - THANK YOU! 

We packed so much in to one hour – click here to read the report back email! OR click here to watch the recording of the Zoom.

Highlights!

  • Tom in Council Bluffs - worked some extra science on nitrate strip test readings

  • Jo Ann in Correctionville - featured as an Izaak Walton League Meet A Monitor 

  • Linda in Cedar Falls - talked about advocating directly with decision makers and recommended the Harkin Institute podcast Canary in a Cornfield

  • Barb in Boone - talked about high nitrate numbers she has recorded in local streams all summer, some as high as 30 mg/L! They are finally coming down. She also told us about the RainDrop App for finding exact measurements of rainfall.

  • CCI water testers and Citizen Scientists have a chance to share our data and stories with the Iowa DNR! They have announced 2 virtual public meetings for the purpose of reviewing water quality standards.

    • Mark your calendar for Sept 18 at 9:30am and Sept 23 at 2:30pm. Zoom links to join found here.

    • After the first session Sept 18 thru Oct. 20 - public comments can be submitted to wqs@dnr.iowa.gov. 

Click here to get registered for our next monthly Zoom on Thursday, September 25 at 5pm.

 

Articles of interest

As Iowans wrestle with polluted waters, politics gets in the way

Iowa groups tell congressional delegation bill would 'gut' Clean Water Act

Iowa cities receive millions in PFAS settlement money. But water quality concerns persist

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…