Budget

A report published this week by Investigate Midwest dives into the connection between pesticide use and rising cases of cancer for those in farming communities nationwide. Editor in Chief Ben Felder details the findings, and we hear from two Iowans that recently fought cancer who are featured in the article. Later in the episode, Luther College junior Mansur Kasali led a student initiative focused on making the federal budget and national debt a matter of shared civic responsibility, rather than abstract politics.

Republican lawmakers from Iowa and Nebraska gave up millions of dollars they requested for projects in their districts when they voted on a bill to keep the government open in March. Constituents and beneficiaries of Community Project Funding worry the money won’t be restored.