If you will not fight for clean water, get out
Let’s be blunt – Iowa’s nitrate crisis is a public health emergency driven by agricultural greed and political cowardice. No amount of propaganda from farm lobbyists or spineless officials can hide the truth—this system is poisoning us so corporations can pocket billions. Enough excuses. It’s time to challenge the agribusiness machine, end reckless nitrogen dumping, and protect Iowans before more lives are sacrificed for profit.
As a 78-year-old Vietnam veteran with spots on my lung and pancreas, I’ve watched fellow veterans die after decades of illness caused by Agent Orange. It took Congress 30 years to admit the damage. Now our children and grandchildren suffer over 30 related birth defects and cancers. Don’t let these cowardly politicians condemn you, your children, and your grandchildren to a lifetime of sickness, agony, and premature death to feed corporate greed.
Iowans shouldn’t be shocked we have the nation’s second-highest—and only rising—cancer rate. We are being poisoned by Big Agriculture. Our rivers and land are turning into toxic dumps. How much more evidence do we need?
I will not vote for any candidate—Republican or Democrat—who refuses to confront this crisis. Those profiting from this pollution must pay to clean it up. We need ironclad policies that punish polluters, not taxpayers.
It’s time to drive these farmer welfare queens off the taxpayer trough. End the subsidies—if you misuse them, you lose them. If you won’t fight for clean water, get out of the way.
Joel E. Wells Ph.D,
Iowa City
Making use of the State Historical Society of Iowa in Iowa City
A few days ago, I first read in the Press-Citizen that the State Historical Society of Iowa-Iowa City was closing soon and that all of the millions of photographs, maps, directories, historical research and so much more would no longer be available for those who heavily depended on its resources. I, for one, have been. I had recently started new research on a local topic and was dismayed to think that pertinent materials would no longer be available; others may be in a similar position. I only used a small part of the millions of items shelved in ranks of boxes that record our birth and growth as a community. What will become of Isaac Wetherby’s glass-plate negative collection donated by his daughter? Will his first photograph of Old Capitol be taken from us—or the very early daguerreotypes of local businesses on Clinton Street? Will the first paintings done in Iowa City in 1842 of Isaac Newton Sanders and his son, William, be escorted to obscurity? Will the three Wetherby paintings I donated, along with three in the collection, disappear from view? What will happen to Margaret Keyes’ collection of photographs of local-homes—useful for preservation here—but not in Des Moines? A few months ago, I was reading an article in the Annals of Iowa, edited and compiled in Iowa City, now to end its 159-year run. To me, all of this feels like the stripping of another layer of connection, of community, by an evolving state government under Governor Reynolds, who weigh importance only in monetary terms. Can anything be done? Would the County or City help support keeping our records here? Would a joint SHSI-IC and Johnson County Historical Society provide an answer? Meanwhile, by necessity, the two SHSI employees who are in place will have to look for new jobs and their loss will mean no one will be there to navigate through what is to be kept, moved on, or destroyed. We are at a very critical point in our city’s cultural history.
Marybeth Slonneger
Iowa City
How preemption stifles Iowa City’s climate leadership
When we talk about local climate action, the conversation usually revolves around the visible pieces, such as solar panels on rooftops, incentives for home electrification, expanded bike lanes and fare-free transit. These efforts are critical, and they’re often what the public sees first. But behind the scenes and equally important are the policies and codes that quietly determine whether a city’s climate goals can actually take hold. From building performance standards to zoning incentives to data transparency, these regulatory tools are the levers that make big goals operational. They are also part of a long-standing tradition of Home Rule in Iowa, which recognizes that local governments are best positioned to respond to the unique needs and priorities of their communities. When states step in to prohibit local governments from using them, it doesn’t just slow down progress, it effectively ties communities’ hands at the moment when they’re being asked to do the most.
One of the most counterproductive examples is House File 605, passed in 2023, which prohibits Iowa cities from requiring energy benchmarking or building performance standards. This law blocks communities from even asking large buildings to track and disclose how much energy they consume — a practice proven to lower emissions and save money over time.
Benchmarking isn’t a radical idea. Cities across the country, from Minneapolis to Denver, have shown that simply making building energy data transparent drives voluntary improvements. Tenants can see which buildings are wasting energy, and owners gain a market incentive to upgrade outdated systems. It’s one of the most cost-effective tools available to cut emissions at scale, without heavy-handed mandates.
Yet Iowa law preempts local governments from adopting this commonsense measure. For a city like Iowa City, which has already surpassed a 45% emissions reduction and has set ambitious climate goals, this creates a frustrating paradox. Local leaders are expected to reduce greenhouse gases but are denied basic policy tools to get there.
To their credit, Iowa City staff and the Climate Action Commission have found creative workarounds. The most notable is tying participation in energy benchmarking to Tax Increment Financing (TIF) agreements. If a developer seeks public financing incentives, they can voluntarily agree to higher energy standards and transparency measures as part of the deal. This approach respects the letter of state law while still advancing local climate priorities.
But the fact that cities must resort to workarounds at all highlights a larger problem. State preemption of local environmental policy is a barrier to innovation and self-determination. Communities should have the freedom to adopt evidence-based strategies that reflect local values and needs. Iowa City residents have consistently voiced strong support for climate action, and their local government has responded with thoughtful plans and measurable results. State policy shouldn’t undermine that progress.
At a time when cities are doing much of the heavy lifting on climate, state leaders should be looking for ways to support—not stifle—local efforts. The success of Iowa City’s climate initiatives demonstrates what’s possible when communities have the flexibility to lead. If we want to build a resilient, low-carbon future, we need state policies that empower cities to act, not laws that force them to fight with one hand tied behind their back.
Zachary D. Slocum is a resident of Iowa City with a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in public affairs from the University of Iowa.
The death of USAID
July 1 marked the death of USAID. Gone is the United States’s use of soft power to help the people of the world. China is taking our place.
Gone are clinics and hospitals around the world that provided disaster relief, life-saving food and medical care to millions of babies and families while already paid for food and medicine wastes away in storage areas in the US and world ports for lack of funds to distribute.
Gone is the first line of defense against diseases of diarrhea, Aids, malaria, measles, polio, tuberculosis, Ebola, and bird flu; not providing diagnosis, treatment and prevention. No more monitoring and stopping the spread of diseases.
We can spent billions to the for-profit prisons to confine thousands without due process, but not to care for our elderly, handicapped and young.
It only took six months and USAID is gone. Approved since 1961 by many presidents, legislatures, American taxpayers, and nonprofits that used 1% of our national budget to help millions.
If the current budget is approved with slashes to Medicare and Medicaid, our rural hospitals, clinics and nursing homes will close; our hungry and sick children’s silent cries will join the world’s children’s silent cries.
As we treat the world, so we treat ourselves.
Char Lange
Iowa City
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: If you will not fight for clean water, get out | Letters
Reporting by Iowa City Press-Citizen / Iowa City Press-Citizen
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
