Gavin McGough
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Iowa Public Radio
Samples from 41 taps across five eastern Iowa cities show wide disparities in what residents are drinking. A Cedar Falls-based environmental scientist conducted a study to better understand how nitrate levels vary in the region.
Madeleine Charis King
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Iowa Public Radio
Courtesy of Jesus Gomez-Velez / University of Iowa
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A group of farmers say voluntary approaches to conservation are not delivering the scale of change needed to meet the state’s nutrient reduction goals. They’re calling for a new system of incentives and disincentives. -
Water quality has become a bigger part of the public conversation in Iowa as the Des Moines metro and smaller communities around the state grapple with high nitrate levels. Many homeowners are concerned about their health and are looking into reverse osmosis to filter out these contaminants. -
A new campaign wants to make it harder to raise taxes in Iowa — background on what that constitutional amendment would actually do. Then, we hear from IPR's Rachel Kramer about why farm income is down more than half since 2022. We also talk with Kate Melloy Goettel of the University of Iowa Law School about why government wants to strip a naturalized Iowan's citizenship, discuss the AI model that forecasts nitrate spikes in Iowa's river with University of Iowa professor Jesus Gomez Velez, and more.
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A report from the Iowa DNR shows Iowa had 36 nitrate-related drinking water violations in 2025, which is more than double the number reported in 2024. -
The Iowa chapter of the Land Improvement Contractors of America says the space will make it easier to educate the next generation of professional contractors, along with government employees, lawmakers and students, to help conserve soil and water in the state through edge-of-field practices. They're a key part of Iowa's strategy to reduce nutrient pollution. -
Central Iowa Water Works — the regional water authority that serves one in five Iowans — has issued a lawn watering ban in the Des Moines area. It’s the result of a demand spike and consistently high nitrate levels in the rivers and other sources that provide water for the system.
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On June 1, 52-year-old Ryan Willis McFarland of Muscatine allegedly fatally shot six family members before taking his own life. On this episode, we get analysis on the tragedy and the community's response from Tom Loewy of 'Quad City Times.' Lindsay Pingel of the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence also joins to discuss how this incident reflects the state's landscape around domestic violence and gun laws. Then, Kerri Johannsen of the Iowa Environmental Council joins to clear the air on nitrates as Central Iowa Water Works is asking customers for the second year in a row to reduce water use because of high nitrate levels and water demand. This episode includes discussion of gun violence and suicide. If you are in need of support, call or text 988 to be connected with the Suicide & Crisis Helpline, or text 'NAMI' to 741741 for 24/7, confidential, free crisis counseling.
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The Iowa Integrated Network for Science, Information, and Geospatial Health Tracking, or INSIGHT, will examine how factors like PFAS and nitrate affect Iowans' health -
Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the state’s first so-called Iowa Farm Act, along with the appropriations bill for agriculture and natural resources. The legislation provides more funding for local food and water treatment plants.
