The Iowa Water and Land legacy (IWiLL) Constitutional Amendment passed in 2010 with 63% of the vote. It was designed to fund a Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation trust fund, but 16 years later the trust has never been funded.
Even though the Iowa Water and Land Legacy Constitutional Amendment passed with strong bipartisan support from the public, the source of funding is supposed to be part of a sales tax increase. A sales tax increase needs legislative action, and a new effort to fund the trust is underway. On this episode, we hear from Adam Shirley, CEO of Iowa’s County Conservation System, Anna Gray of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation and Lindsay Price of Audubon Upper Mississippi River. We talk what IWiLL could mean for those conservation and outdoor recreation programs.
Then, we listen back to a conversation about some of the oldest book clubs in Iowa from their members. Serendipity Book Club turned 90 years old in March of 2026. The Ingleside Study Club in Fort Dodge turns 125 this year. Veronica Fowler of Serendipity and Peggy Murphy of Ingleside join the program to share their clubs' history and the joy their meetings bring them.
Part of this show was originally produced March 31, 2026.
Guests:
- Adam Shirley, CEO, Iowa’s County Conservation System
- Anna Gray, public policy director and counsel, Iowa Heritage Foundation
- Lindsay Price, policy director, Audubon Upper Mississippi River
- Veronica Fowler, member, Serendipity Book Club
- Peggy Murphy, member, Ingleside Study Club
