This week in Iowa organizing…
I'll get to it - we're just under 4 weeks away from our August 19 Summer Membership Meeting! Are you going to be there?
I don't know about you, but this year has been kind of rough - a tumultuous state legislative session, record heat waves, continued corporate profiteering at our expense, political rhetoric aimed at dividing us from one another...
Enough. I'm ready for some good 'ol fashioned CCI community. Being with y'all reminds me there's so much more that unites than divides us, and that together we can be an unstoppable force to put our people and planet first.
So if you're in the Des Moines area Saturday, August 19, come join us for inspiration, camaraderie, and collective action. And it isn't a party unless all our friends are there, so please join me and other staff and members calling other CCI members to get them there! We'll take about an hour to call others tonight at 5:30pm and Tuesday, Aug. 1 at 5:30pm.
I keep staring at a postcard on the door in front of me this morning that reads "Your heart is a muscle the size of your fist. Keep loving, keep fighting." I don't know of a better group than y'all to keep fighting out of love with. Let's do this.
Matthew Covington (he/him)
Strategic Operations Director
Take action
This Wednesday - July 26: no more health insurance greed!
248 million. That's how many health insurance claims are denied in America each year. That's 248 million times care is delayed or ultimately denied just to line the pockets of America's health insurance profiteers.
Enough is enough. With People's Action affiliates across the country, we're fighting back. Our lives are on the line after all.
That's why we're inviting you to join CCI and other groups with People's Action this Wednesday, July 26 at 6:30pm for a "Care Over Cost 101" meeting on Zoom.
Together, we'll ground ourselves on how care is denied by for-profit insurers and how we can fight back in our communities to overturn unjust claim denials and diminish the power of corporations who profit off our sickness by denying us health.
This Saturday: July 29 - the Power of Participation
Participation means different things to different people. We’re inviting you to join us as we take a fresh look and deep dive into one important form of participation—voting.
Please join us this Saturday, July 29 from 10:00am to 2:30pm (lunch provided!) at the Iowa CCI office in Des Moines as we unpack The Power of Participation, Voting Edition!
Who is the Power of Participation designed for? Everyone!
If you’re a regular voter, you’ll get new insights into the history of voting and why it matters even more than you think.
If you’re an infrequent voter, you’ll learn more about why voting matters—especially in local elections.
If you’re not able to vote yet, you’ll get a great overview of the history, barriers, and power of voting.
The Power of Participation is designed for you to learn from each other, we hope you’ll be there! Please come for this great community-building event.
2 actions to take for our 'Clean Water Fight!'
Last month we sent an invite letter to the EPA asking them to meet with CCI members, here in Iowa. Nearly 150 of you signed onto this invite and it worked - the EPA agreed to meet with a leadership team of CCI members!!
We believe clean water is a human right, and that's why we're calling on the EPA to enforce Clean Water Act permits to crack down on factory farm polluters. These permits would create higher standards for factory farms, a track record of their pollution, and the ability to shut repeat offenders down!
Here's how you can still take action in our Clean Water Fight:
Join us August 3 at 6pm for our virtual statewide Clean Water Fight meeting. We've had great meetings so far in Clear Lake, Nevada, Oelwein and Decorah, and we're capping it off with an online meeting for everyone!
Share your story and demands for the EPA here! At our leadership team meeting with the EPA in August, we want to hand them the stories of Iowans across the state to clearly show the need for them to take bold action.
They dump it, you drink it. We won't stop until they clean it up!
August 19 - CCI Action's Summer Membership Meeting
On August 19 you'll want to be in the Des Moines metro for our annual Summer Membership Meeting.
At this day-long event, we'll reconnect with friends and meet other CCI Action members from across the state for a day of information, inspiration, and action. While we'll revisit the distant and recent past, we'll also use our time together to chart our path forward.
And we'll hear from home-grown Iowa talent sharing their perspectives and challenging us to think big and shake things up:
Silvia Secchi, a University of Iowa professor, fearless truth-teller and ally on clean water and CO2 pipeline issues
Lori Young, a long-time grassroots leader on racial justice and police accountability issues
Jon Green, a Johnson County Supervisor working to put people before profits and communities before corporations
Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee staff Chris Neubert (a former CCI organizer!)
It's never been more important to be together, especially after the state legislative session we've just had. Join us August 19 to be in community with fellow CCI members to celebrate the victories we've achieved together and make plans for the future of CCI and the state we love so dearly.
Register today to save your spot!
Updates
Clean Water Book Club Summer (and a little Fall)!
To launch our first ever Clean Water Book Club, we've lined up two brilliant books by two Iowa authors (read more below). First up: In August, we'll read WATER, a novel from award-winning author Jennifer Wilson.
WATER is an incredible introduction to the water issue in Iowa - but packaged in a "sexy thriller" with compelling characters and familiar Iowa story lines.
Have you wanted a deeper understanding of Iowa's water quality issues, but can't sift through the science words? Do you love a good "beach read," a book you just can't put down? Are you outdoorsy, a farmer, have kids, or love water for recreation? Then this book is for you!
Here's how to participate:
Sign up to host or participate at this link. This is the best way to get updates and announcements of all the fun things we have in store.
Get the book! As a one-time deal, we'll mail you the book and our Water is Life sticker for $15, or you can pick one up at our headquarters for $10!
Then, we'll do this all over again in September with Chris Jones's hot new book The Swine Republic. If WATER is the intro, Jones's popular collection of essays will give us a deeper understanding of this issue in Iowa - with a healthy dose of humor and derision.
Let us know you're in! Sign up for the book club here.
What We're Reading
These are a few links that are informing our work - we've shared them so that you can read, too!
‘Try That in a Small Town’ Is the Antithesis of a Rural Anthem [Daily Yonder]
What’s Behind the First Double-Feature Writers’ and Actors’ Strike in 6 Decades [Common Dreams]
Policymakers miss Iowa’s persistently poor neighborhoods [Iowa Capital Dispatch]
How Republicans flipped America’s state supreme courts [USA Today]
Reynolds Attacks Judges For Blocking, Overturning Abortion Bans [Iowa Starting Line]
Drugmakers Are ‘Throwing the Kitchen Sink’ to Halt Medicare Price Negotiations [New York Times]