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CCI Action members take DeJear on factory farm tour

Leaders from CCI Action spent more than two hours speaking with DeJear and educating her on the issues brought by factory farms. CCI Action members met with gubernatorial candidate Deidre DeJear in Poweshiek County on Saturday. Members took DeJear on a bus tour of a factory farm and shared personal stories about the impacts that CO2 pipelines and factory farms have on Iowa communities. Members shared stories of how CAFOs have impacted their lives. Joyce Otto of Poweshiek County described a day when it was particularly difficult to endure the smell. “I was running late and I had my children and work equipment, finally rushing out the front door,” Otto said. “It was like a wall, I didn’t want to breathe, I was holding my breathe. It was so bad that my kids were crying.” Otto went on to describe how after awhile it felt like she and her family had lost their freedom to enjoy their own backyard. Members explained how the foul air has caused health problems in...

2022 Legislative Forum Guide

Going to a local legislative forum in your area? Great! Legislators continue to tell us how important it is to hear from you – their constituents, the most powerful communication being in person or by phone. Most weekends, you can find an opportunity to engage your legislators at a local legislative forum – often called legislative coffees, or in some places ‘cracker barrels.’ These are great opportunities to talk with your legislator face to face, raise issues important to you and call on them to stand on the side of the people. Check your local paper to see when there is a legislative coffee or other event in your area. Or use the online lists below. Click here to see the legislative forum schedules: Forums and town halls (listed by date)House Republicans and Democrats (listed by date) Please report back to let us know how it goes or what you hear by calling the CCI headquarters at 515-282-0484 or cciaction @ cciaction.org. Legislative...

EXPOSED: State Senator obstructs Iowans’ first amendment rights for personal gain

Iowa CCI Action and Food & Water Action file ethics complaint against Senator Rozenboom for conflict of interest in the recent ag-gag legislation Des Moines, IA — Today, members of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement Action Fund (Iowa CCI Action) and Food & Water Action (FWA) filed an ethics complaint against Senator Ken Rozenboom (R-Oskaloosa) after the Senator abused his authority by sponsoring and strengthening support for an amendment to add ag-gag provisions to Senate File 2413, a COVID-19 response bill. The organizations’ virtual press conference can be found here. On June 5, in the midst of a global pandemic and nationwide protests against police violence, the Iowa Senate passed legislation, Senate File 2413, designed to address impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic but containing a buried provision that makes trespassing on a “food operation,” such as a factory farm, an aggravated misdemeanor. This will stifle the first amendment rights of...

Large Billboard Demands Rep. Fisher Protect Iowa’s Water

Iowa CCI Action and Food & Water Action put up billboard calling for end of factory farming For Immediate release: January 21, 2020 Contact: Ava Auen-Ryan, ava@iowacci.org (515) 282-0484Jackie Filson, jfilson@fwwatch.org, (202) 863-2538 Tama County, IA – A billboard went up yesterday on highway 30 heading east near Tama, IA, calling on Rep. Dean Fisher to protect Iowan’s right to clean water and an end to unsustainable and harmful factory farms. The billboard includes a link to a website created by Iowa CCI Action Fund that details the growing clean water and factory farm crisis in Iowa. Iowa contains over 10,000 factory farms and 767 impaired waterways. A moratorium is the first step toward creating a better food and farm system –one that works for everyone — farmers, workers, eaters and the environment. Last year, Rep. Dean Fisher (R-Montour), the chair of the Environmental Protection Committee, refused to assign HF 203, a bill...

Take Action for Clean Water!

Sign our clean water petition! Back in March we sued the State of Iowa for their inaction to protect Iowans water from factory farm pollution. We know that Iowans across party lines care about clean, safe water. That’s why we are launching our clean water petition. Sign and share the petition here! Knock Down the House – film screening Thursday August 15, 2019 6PM – 8PM A young bartender in the Bronx, a coal miner’s daughter in West Virginia, a grieving mother in Nevada, and a registered nurse in Missouri build a movement of insurgent candidates to challenge powerful incumbents in Congress. One of their races will become the most shocking political upsets in recent American history. Join us at the CCI office to watch together and discuss after! RSVP at the Facebook event here. Environmental Protection Commission Mtg. Tuesday August 20, 2019 9AM – 12PM The Environmental Protection Commission is the oversight board for the...

The People’s Voice: The convention is over but our activism is not.

From left to right: Shundrea Trotty, Patty Lovera, Varshini Prakash, and Sarita Gupta discuss the importance of grassroots politics and their optimism for the future. DES MOINES, IA – Hundreds of members of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement Action Fund (CCI) gathered downtown on Saturday to participate in CCI’s 2019 annual convention, The People’s Voice. The convention brought together existing and new members to hear from an all-female panel discussion. Leaders in caregiving, anti-factory farms, climate, and racial justice discussed the importance of these issues and offered ways people can take action and deepen our grassroots activism. “We must rely on people, not politicians and corporations, to make a positive change,” said Varshini Prakash, co-founder of the Sunrise Movement. “During the Great Depression one year saw two million people protest and 400,000 workers strike for a day or more. We need that kind of social...