Blog – Iowa Environmental Voice

posted by Guest Blogger on Thursday, July 9, 2026 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.

posted by Guest Blogger on Wednesday, July 8, 2026 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.

posted by Guest Blogger on Thursday, July 2, 2026 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.

posted by Guest Blogger on Thursday, June 25, 2026 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.

posted by Kean Roberts on Friday, June 19, 2026 Play is a necessary component for a child's development with increased benefits coming from unstructured, natural environments. This article demonstrates those differences between natural and domesticated play environments.

posted by Kean Roberts on Thursday, June 18, 2026 Outdoor opportunities for play exist across Iowa but safety can be a concern. A little preparation can help reduce the most common risks and allow more time for exploration

posted by Kean Roberts on Friday, June 12, 2026 For many Iowans, fishing is not just a hobby; it's dinner. When humans consume forever chemicals, they increase their risk for increased cholesterol levels, lower birthweights, decreased antibody responses to vaccines in children, various cancers (e.g., kidney, testicular, prostate, ovarian, non-Hodgkin lymphoma), pregnancy-induced hypertension or preeclampsia, changes in liver enzymes, as well as other health effects.

posted by Guest Blogger on Tuesday, June 9, 2026 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.

posted by Colleen Fowle on Wednesday, June 3, 2026 For many Iowans, nitrate pollution becomes a headline only when water utilities ask us to reduce water use or when our favorite public beach closes because of a toxic algal bloom. But more Iowans are realizing that nitrate is a year-round and growing problem in our state, with scientific evidence that these record-high levels are impacting not just our lawns and recreation time, but our health and lives.

posted by Guest Blogger on Thursday, May 28, 2026 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.