Iowa faces a reckoning over water quality and cancer rates in midterm campaigns
Candidates are tying farm runoff and drinking water to Iowa’s cancer rates as researchers examine environmental causes beyond behavior and demographics.
- Ahead of their scheduled debate tomorrow in Sioux City, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand and Republican candidate Zach Lahn have prioritized Iowa's rising cancer rates and water quality in their campaigns.
- Iowa currently holds the nation's second-highest rate of newly diagnosed cancers, prompting researchers to investigate environmental factors including nitrate levels that Federal regulations limit to 10 milligrams per liter.
- Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds and lawmakers committed $320 million in May for water infrastructure and conservation projects, though critics argue voluntary farming practices remain insufficient to address runoff pollution.
- Endorsed by MAHA Action, Lahn has diverged from Republican peers by directly linking agrochemicals to the state's cancer crisis, though he calls them "tools in the tool chest."
- Sand advocates for regional cancer treatment agreements and proposes Iowa adopt Nebraska's $4.5 million annual pediatric research investment to improve treatment access for families.
25 Articles
25 Articles
Iowa's water quality and cancer rates forced into forefront of state politics
Chemical fertilizers and animal waste contain nitrates and phosphorus that can get washed with rain or snowmelt into the state’s rivers. That affects Iowa’s more liberal urban centers which rely on rivers and lakes for drinking water.
Iowa group tackles water quality and health concerns ahead of elections
TNL Editor-in-Chief Carey Gillam presented research on pesticide regulation and farm chemical impacts to the Iowa group Jefferson County Farmers & Neighbors in a recent webinar titled Cancer, CAFOS and Corporations -How Regulatory Corruption Affects All of Us. Read our Cancer in the Corn Belt series.
Iowa faces a reckoning over water quality and cancer rates in midterm campaigns – WTOP News
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa is facing a budget deficit, high costs and economic strain from trade disputes that have squeezed farmers. But problems that have simmered for decades — water quality and cancer rates — have been forced to the forefront of state politics this year. They are the focus of debate questions,...
Iowa faces a reckoning over water quality and cancer rates in midterm
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa is facing a budget deficit, high costs and economic strain from trade disputes that have squeezed farmers. But problems that have simmered for decades — water quality and cancer rates —
Sand says Iowa needs ‘to get to work’ on reducing cancer rates
Democrat Rob Sand says if he’s elected governor, he’ll appoint a Cancer Task Force, support more research to identify the causes of Iowa’s high cancer rates, and push to improve Iowa’s water quality. “Making sure that we’re talking about every single piece of this,” Sand said. “I think the study was a good one that […]
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