This week in Iowa organizing…
The Iowa state legislative session begins today. So let's take a moment to get some things clear...
Democrats don't just represent Democrats and Republicans don't just represent Republicans. Elected officials represent all their constituents, no exceptions.
Republicans, Democrats, and Independents alike all benefit from having clean drinking water, affordable housing and childcare, and access to quality healthcare when and where they need it - in urban and rural Iowa.
White kids, Black kids, trans kids, indigenous kids, immigrant and refugee kids all benefit from a strong and fully funded public education system that prepares them for the future and to pursue their dreams. And we're all better off, except for greenwashing corporate profiteers, when state leaders say NO to using eminent domain for private gain.
Over the holidays and new year, Republicans were shoveling Democrat neighbors' driveways and Democrats were baking food for Republican friends and family. We're in this together and we're stronger together. So let's demand our state leaders act and legislate as such.
We'll keep you posted in these weekly emails on key issues we're tracking at the statehouse and ways you can take action - from home, in person, over email and more. We'll keep at it, together.
In solidarity,
Matthew Covington (he/him)
Strategic Operations Director
Take Action
Tomorrow: Jan. 10 - 'People's Condition of the State'
The 2023 state legislative session begins today, Jan. 9, and on Tuesday, Jan. 10 Governor Reynolds will deliver her Condition of the State address.
While we're eager to hear what she has to say to kick off 2023, we also know some things she won't say or do (ie - calling for mandatory fines for factory farm polluters, standing up to CO2 pipeline bullies, and more). So we're hosting our 'People's Condition of the State' shortly after Reynolds' address on our YouTube and Facebook channels. We'll hear from educators, pipeline fighters, rural healthcare providers and more on what it'll take to truly move our state forward.
Tune in to our YouTube or Facebook channels when Reynolds' address concludes (approx. 7:15pm). Or if you're in the Dubuque area, join us tomorrow at 7pm at Denny's Lux Club on 3050 Asbury Rd for an in-person watch party!
Wednesday: Jan. 11 - a factory farm murder mystery?
With just four companies controlling roughly 85% of meatpacking operations in the U.S., the current state of our food and farm system can be scary.
Pair that with the factory farms dotting our countryside, throw in a bit of romance and deceit, and you get 'The Ghost of Craven Snuggs' by Iowa's own Sandy Moffett.
Join us in Iowa City on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 6pm to hear from author and Grinnell professor Sandy Moffett read selections from his book - described as "a satirical novel with a severe critique of the destruction caused by modern corporate agriculture and large-scale meat production."
Not only will we hear from Sandy, we'll talk about how we can fight for a food and farm system that works for family farmers, eaters, workers, and our environment. RSVP and more information here, and reach out to devyn@iowacci.org with any questions.
This week - tell the EPA dirty fuels aren't 'renewable fuels'
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is reviewing the Renewable Fuel Standard under the Clean Air Act to set standards for 2023 through 2025. Where there is public money to be hijacked, corporate greed is quick to follow.
A clean energy future that works for farmers, workers, eaters and the environment is possible, but it does not involve the EPA investing in greenwashed energy schemes. Relying on dirty fuels like factory farm gas, ethanol and carbon capture sequestration to clean up our transportation sector will only dig a deeper hole.
After you add your name and comments, stayed tuned! We have some powerful members testifying in front of the federal EPA this week and we’ll keep you in the loop in next week’s e-news.
Jan. 17 - take action for our planet
Carbon capture pipelines are going to be front and center this legislative session. We need to make sure our elected officials haven’t forgotten that CO2 pipelines are not a partisan issue—For nearly a year and a half, Iowans have united against false climate solutions that would pay polluters to keep polluting.
Join Great Plains Action Society, CCI, Buffalo Rebellion, and the Iowa Carbon Pipeline Resistance Coalition in Des Moines on January 17th at the Capitol building for a speak out in the first-floor rotunda at 3PM to speak out against CO2 pipelines.
Let us know if you can make it by registering here.
Jan. 18 - rising up for rural Iowa: no pipelines, no factory farms
The 2023 legislative session stands to be a wild one: factory farms, pipelines, and school vouchers - oh my!
But CCI members won't just sit back and let it happen. We know Iowans are counting on us to fight for a People First Iowa that protects our water, our land and our communities.
Join CCI members for a zoom meeting to:
Get an overview of the key players in the 2023 legislative session,
Review our clean water and factory farm policy priorities,
Discuss unlikely allies and opportunities to win on CO2 pipeline issues,
Talk through other big topics that will come up and how we can leverage those issues to build our people power, and
Identify actions we'll take across the state to elevate the issues.
Can you join us on Wednesday, January 18 at 7pm? RSVP here. We need you with us to bring fightback energy to the 2023 legislative session!
Jan. 25 - stop factory farms lobby day
Factory farms and Big Ag have run roughshod over Iowa for too long, jeopardizing our land and air and contributing to over 750 impaired waterways. Enough is enough, we need a factory farm moratorium now!
That's why we're joining with members of the Iowa Alliance for Responsible Agriculture for another "Stop Factory Farms Lobby Day" on Wednesday, Jan. 25. Momentum continues to grow for a moratorium, and this will be the sixth year that a moratorium bill will be introduced in the legislature.
One-third of lawmakers in the House and Senate are completely new to the legislature as a result of the 2022 elections. These legislators in particular need to hear from folks like you on why our communities, our waterways, our state needs a moratorium now!
Join IARA allies on Jan. 25 at 10:30am at the statehouse. Let us know if you can join (even for part of the day!) by RSVPing 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!
Can Republicans and Democrats find common ground? [Bleeding Heartland]
Iowa House speaker: Expect carbon pipeline debates in 2023 legislative session [Iowa Capital Dispatch]
Midwest states court indoor hog and poultry production, despite the millions of gallons of manure [Iowa Public Radio]
Is the Right to Contraception About To End in America? [The Hartmann Report]
Two Years After Jan. 6, There Are More Than 150 Election Deniers in the House Republican Majority [Iowa Starting Line]
Republicans eye different take on regent university funding [Cedar Rapids Gazette]