This week in Iowa organizing…
Let's read a book! No, for real!
I'm almost done reading CCI member Austin Frerick's book Barons. It's good, rather infuriating, and a clear call to action to demand a food and farm system that works for eaters, farmers, workers, and the environment.
Don't take it from just me:
Alan Guebert (my grandpa always loved his columns): "Frerick’s skill as both a serious academic and gifted storyteller keeps the pages turning as his colorful cast of characters build empires with everyday dinner items like pork chops, milk, coffee and strawberries while few Americans even know who they are."
Bridget Huber: "Barons is... an indictment of our regulatory system and the many ways the government — under both Democratic and Republican administrations — has failed to break up monopolies, prevent them in the first place, or meaningfully hold them accountable for wrongdoing."
Regardless if you choose to read the book or not, please join us in the coming weeks as we travel across Iowa with Austin for a talk and Q & A. More on that here (and below!).
The only way to beat organized money (and corruption) is with organized people,
Matthew Covington
Strategic Operations Director
At the Statehouse
AEA back and forth, clock ticking
Unless you somehow missed it, the House (in rapid time, mind you) debated and sent an AEA reform proposal back for the Senate's consideration on Thursday. Though not as devastating as what Gov. Reynolds and Republican leaders in the Senate initially proposed, this proposal is still very rushed and could have long-term consequences for our AEAs if passed and signed into law. The ball is now back in the Senate's court.
Given the amount of time and bandwidth taken up by AEA talks, it's unclear if the legislature will have time to debate yet more tax cuts this session. Since recent tax cuts by Reynolds and legislative leaders have largely benefited only corporations and the wealthy, I'd be fine if they don't get around to more corporate hand-outs this session. The 2024 legislative session is scheduled to end on April 16, so we'll see what happens in the coming weeks.
A snapshot of some bad news/good news from last week:
- the bad: despite initial defeat by the 2nd legislative funnel deadline, Rep. Holt continued his crusade against immigrants and organizations helping them by bringing back a bill to allow state law enforcement to enforce immigration laws, despite uncertainty over whether or not it's constitutional. The bill sits on Reynolds' desk where, since it's an election year and fear-mongering is en vogue, it's expected she will sign.
- the good: lawmakers have signaled they will not pursue yet another attack on local control by shelving a bill to ban cities from having citizen review boards for their police. Full speed ahead in our work for police accountability in Des Moines.
- the good (pt. 2): efforts to curtail eminent domain abuse by the proposed CO2 pipelines is still alive, as House File 2522 (renumbered HF 2664) was moved to the Ways and Means Committee and was passed out with bipartisan support. With Rastetter's Summit looking to add hundreds of miles to its pipeline route, this legislation is desperately needed.
Take action
Kicking off tomorrow - book talks w/ Austin Frerick!
Join CCI member Austin Frerick for a talk and Q & A based on his new book "Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America's Food Industry"
Austin's book is a deep dive into seven barons in the food industry, their rise to power, and the consequences for farmers, workers, eaters, and democracy itself. It prominently features Iowa and the stories of CCI members fighting in the trenches against Big Ag.
Check out our website here for details on the book talk closest to you!
Barons paints a stark portrait of corporate consolidation, but Austin also shows that a fair, healthy, and prosperous food industry is possible - if we take back power from the barons who have robbed us of it.
Thursday, March 28 - take action for housing in Dubuque!
This Thursday the Dubuque City Council will be discussing the 2025 fiscal year budget for the Housing Department. We'll be going to the hearing to call on the city council to support affordable and dignified housing in two ways. Will you to join us?
Last year at this time rental inspections were on a 5-year routine cycle, but because folks like you kept showing up and speaking out, we are now on a 4-year routine inspection cycle. Our city council needs to keep hearing from us loud and clear; Dubuque rental inspections should be on par with the rest of the state and occur no less than every three years.
We'll also encourage the council to pass a resolution similar to that of North Liberty supporting mobile homeowners. Mobile homes are part of the solution to the housing crisis, and this is a simple way our city can support our mobile home residents that have come under attack by out-of-state investment corporations.
Protecting renters and mobile homeowners shouldn't happen whenever it's decided to be fiscally convenient. Affordable and dignified housing is a priority. Join us this Thursday, March 28, at 6pm!
Also Thursday - help us get some mail out the door!
The CCI membership team is looking for mail help volunteers this Thursday, March 28 any time after 10am at the CCI office in Des Moines (2001 Forest Ave). If you are available / interested, please contact kim@iowacci.org or call the office at 515-255-0800. Thank you!
April 4 - Our water belongs to the people!
Join us to learn more about Iowa’s water with environmental lawyer Carolyn Raffensperger and research engineer Chris Jones on Thursday, April 4 from 6:30 - 8pm.
They’ll share what we need to know about the real toll that Summit Carbon Solution’s CO2 pipeline would have on our drought-impacted state. It's our water, our most precious natural resource, and we need to know what's at stake. RSVP to join us on zoom here.
Not a fan of Zoom or want and opportunity to connect with your community? You can join one of our several Watch Party locations:
Water Talk
Let's talk about water! Below we have a selection of some stories that caught our eye relating to water quality, key happenings at the statehouse, and other ways to take action for our water.
Articles of interest:
New report sparks questions and controversy over possible causes of Iowa 'cancer crisis' [Iowa Public Radio]
Women and girls suffer first when droughts hit poor and rural areas, says UN [The Guardian]
Major cities are running out of water. A new World Water Day report says it could worsen global conflict [CBS News]
At the statehouse:
The Ag & Natural Resource Appropriations Subcommittee has the ability to restore funding for water quality monitoring they "reallocated" (ie - cut) last year. That's why CCI members got on Zoom last Friday to craft and send emails to members of the subcommittee urging them to restore this needed funding. Stay tuned in the coming days/week for more on how you can take action, and if you haven't contacted your state Representative and Senator on this issue, take a moment to do so!
The NITRATES! Spring is the time to start testing:
Here's what we learned on our call CCI Water Testing call with Nitrate Watch last week - Spring is an incredibly important time to be testing for nitrates in Iowa’s rivers and streams. Higher concentrations of nitrates in our water are more common in the spring when significant rain washes unused or un-absorbed manure and commercial fertilizer from farm fields into streams. This year, a buildup of nitrate in farm fields that has likely resulted from Iowa’s longest-running drought in 70 years has set the stage for a potentially massive uptick in stream pollution, state water-quality observers say.
The goal of CCI's water testing is to develop ongoing data, over time, across the state, so we have a better handle on what’s going on, don’t have to rely on state agencies, and we can speak from our own experience. We hope to be able to influence the powers that be or others in our community. We have 75 people signed up for water testing and would love to have you join us.
Information about the water testing program and how to order a test kit can be found by clicking this link.
Nitrate Watch has a great worksheet you can use to create a water monitoring plan. Consistency is important!
Mark your calendar for Thursday April 25 when this water testing group meets again on Zoom.
What We're Reading
These are a few links that are informing our work - we've shared them so that you can read, too!
Farmers face a precarious future. Is the Farm Bureau on their side? [Barn Raiser]
'We're human beings': Michigan mobile home residents fight rent hikes, worsening conditions [Detroit Free Press]
On nursing homes, Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Legislature have failed to care [Des Moines Register]
Local organization spent 2 years studying how DMPD responded to 2020 protests. Here's what they found [weareiowa.com]
How far-right conspiracy theories threw this voter integrity system into peril [USA Today]