The Iowa Department of Natural Resources submits an annual report on safe drinking water violations in the state. (Photo by Cami Koons / Iowa Capital Dispatch) A report from the…
The tricolor bumble bee, pictured, is one of 13 species identified by volunteers in the Iowa Bumble Bee Atlas. (Photo by Megan Houle/USFWS) Volunteers across Iowa conducted nearly 500 bumble…
Corn grows near southbound Interstate 35 in Iowa on July 3, 2026. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch) Some areas of Iowa received more than two month’s worth of rain…
A lone star tick, which is a very aggressive tick that bites humans. A circular rash sometimes follows the bite. (Photo courtesy Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) WASHINGTON —…
Lifejackets on a sign at Gray’s Lake on May 23, 2025. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch) Twenty state park beaches in Iowa have had swimming not recommended notices posted…
People cool off with their dogs at the dog-friendly section of Montrose Beach on June 30, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. High humidity and temperatures in the 90s with heat indices…
A volunteer uses nitrate test strips to test nitrate concentrations in the Des Moines River. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch) The environmental group Food & Water Watch is suing…
Corn silks begin to show on a corn field. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch) Iowa corn and soybean crops are behind last year’s pace by several percentage points, according…
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is investigating a spill of diluted pesticides that flowed into a drainage ditch, pictured here, and into an unnamed creek. (Photo courtesy of DNR)…
A farmer plants corn into a cover crop, which is one of several regenerative agriculture practices that a new federal rule holds can reduce the overall greenhouse gas emissions of…
A dog at Wuanita Swedlund’s kennels in Farmington, Iowa, as photographed by USDA inspectors in 2024. (USDA photo as reproduced in U.S. District Court records) The federal government is taking…
A lawsuit led by Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers, a Republican, alleges that California’s single-use plastics law will drive up consumer costs. (Photo by Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) Seventeen Republican attorneys…
Young corn grows near Nevada, Iowa on June 19, 2026. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch) Corn and soybean growth in Iowa is slightly behind pace compared to last year…
Wildfire smoke that has caused hazy skies in Iowa also leads to more surface ozone pollution, University of Iowa researchers say, leading to worse air quality. (Photo by U.S. Forest…
Young corn growing outside of Ankeny on June 7, 2025. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch) Damaging storms, one of which reached derecho status, spread across Iowa over the past…
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