Kratom is often found at gas stations and convenience stores and is marketed as a natural supplement for pain and anxiety. Gov. Kim Reynolds is calling for a total ban of the product and other synthetic varieties, alleging dozens of kratom-related deaths in Iowa since 2024.
On this Newsbuzz edition of River to River, Ben Kieffer speaks with the Iowa Capital Dispatch's Clark Kauffman about this call to ban kratom. Also, the Des Moines Register's Brianne Pfannenstiel shares how candidates are approaching water quality this session, a registered nurse who found a side hustle fighting poison ivy and columnist Rekha Basu shares the impact of Gloria Steinem.
Finally, our International Writing Program series returns with Mexican writer Juan Carlos Reyes and Studio One's Erin Fuller grooves us into the weekend.
Guests:
- Brianne Pfannenstiel, chief politics reporter, Des Moines Register
- Clark Kauffman, deputy editor, Iowa Capital Dispatch
- Rekha Basu, columnist, Des Moines Register
- Juan Carlos Reyes, fiction writer, screenwriter and filmmaker, International Writing Program participant
- Erin Fuller, Studio One host, Iowa Public Radio
