Guest Blogger

IEC is pleased to welcome guest bloggers on a number of different topics throughout the year. If you are interested in submitting a blog piece to IEC, contact us at iecmail@iaenvironment.org.

Blog posts by this Author:

• "Which Water Worry, Where?" A Paddler's View from the River

  Not all water worries are equal - and knowing which one applies to you, in your specific relationship to a river, matters more than a generalized fear of Iowa's waterways. Guest author, Rick Dietz, offers something rarer than a list of contaminants: a perspective from the water itself. In this piece, he draws on years of moving through Iowa's rivers to argue that getting close enough to notice what is healthy, what is changing, and what has been damaged is a form of stewardship.

• What 40 Years of Practicing Psychiatry Has Taught Me About Getting Outside

  What does a psychiatrist with forty years of practice have to say about Iowa's water quality? More than you might expect. Dr. David Drake, a board-certified psychiatrist and member of the IEC Board of Directors, writes that the connection between clean water and mental health is not a metaphor - it is a clinical reality, and one that ought to shape how health care professionals and policymakers think about environmental protection in Iowa.

• Is Your Well Water Safe? Testing and Resources Every Well Owner Should Know

  Private well owners in Iowa often know that keeping their water safe is their responsibility - but knowing where to start, and how to afford it, is another matter entirely. One of the most common barriers Iowa well owners face isn't concern about contamination. It's simply not knowing that free testing is available to them.

• Getting Women Outdoors in Iowa: A Q&A With Wander Women Midwest Founder Jenn Riggs

  Jenn Riggs grew up wading creeks in rural Iowa and running through her grandparents' farm. Decades later, she turned that lifelong connection to the land into Wander Women Midwest - a guiding organization offering backpacking, camping, and paddling trips for women across the region. In this Q&A, Riggs talks about building inclusive outdoor spaces, the barriers women still face in recreational culture, and how Iowa's deteriorating water quality has quietly reshaped her organization.

• Protecting the Waters We Fish: Water Quality from an Angler's Perspective

  Water is a necessity of life. Not just human life, but the lives of fish, macroinvertebrates, and other wildlife. As anglers, we see this every time we go to lakes, rivers, or streams. In northeast Iowa, the trout streams are delicate ecosystems that are susceptible to degradation of water quality and reductions in water quantity.

• Why Environmental Justice Matters in Black Communities

  For many people, nature represents peace, healing, and connection. Parks, lakes, rivers, trails, and green spaces are often described and experienced as places where communities can recharge physically, mentally, and emotionally. But access to these spaces, a sense of belonging, and environmental justice has never been equal-especially for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities.

• Addressing CAFO Pollution Through Enhanced Waste Management and Research Initiatives

  After World War II, American meat production shifted towards industrial farms due to high demand, antibiotics, and the mechanization of agriculture. This increase in Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), an industrialization of livestock production that keeps large groups of animals in a small area and generates massive quantities of manure. Read on to learn more.

• Early Prenatal Nitrate Exposure and Birth Outcomes: A Study of Iowa's Public Drinking Water

  Iowa is currently facing an unprecedented drinking water crisis. Recent reports indicate alarming nitrate levels in the Raccoon River; so high that city officials enacted emergency measures such as lawn water bans, to ensure water treatment facilities could comply with regulatory standards for safe drinking water. Unfortunately, at least for pregnant women, any level of nitrate in drinking water appears unsafe.

• Know Your Flood Risks-Iowa Flood Center Tools

  In response to catastrophic flooding in 2008, Iowa legislators established the Iowa Flood Center (IFC) at the University of Iowa's IIHR-Hydroscience and Engineering (IIHR) department, a world-renowned institute for education, research, and public service dedicated to solving some of the world's greatest water resources challenges. Read on to learn more.

• Elevated Nitrate in Iowa's Public Water Systems Disproportionately Affects Vulnerable Populations

  Iowa, a major agricultural producer of corn and swine in the US, has grappled with decades-long nitrate (NO3-) pollution in its rivers, lakes, and groundwater due to intensive farming practices and animal feeding operations. Nitrate originating from agricultural activities, industrial discharges, and wastewater treatment processes can contaminate drinking water sources such as groundwater and surface water bodies. Read the entire guest blog here.

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