Giving Tuesday total exceeds expectations!
Without your support, Investigate Midwest would not be able to deliver dozens of stories each year.
On GivingNewsDay, our version of Giving Tuesday, we set a goal for $1,500 to be raised. The total: $2,466.29! We are thankful for the generosity, beyond our expectations.
We continue to be in our year-end campaign and have raised $10,500 so far toward our $15,000 goal. Individual donations received by Dec. 31 are doubled by NewsMatch, a program through large foundations and the Institute for Nonprofit News.
We asked several Investigate Midwest board members why they believe in and contribute their time and talents to this news organization.
Brant Houston, president, Investigate Midwest board of directors
"I revived and refocused the mission of Investigate Midwest in 2012 because the news coverage of agricultural and related issues — and especially the impact of big agribusiness — had diminished dramatically."
"Since then, the editors and reporters of Investigate Midwest have produced high quality, evidence-based news stories that have revealed the shortcomings in our food system, the use of dangerous pesticides and herbicides, the ongoing exploitation of migrant workers, and wasteful spending of public money."
"This award-winning work has produced changes in environmental and labor regulations and many stories that otherwise would have gone untold."
"My enthusiasm for supporting the work of Investigate Midwest has not waned over the past decade, but actually increased each year as I watch how significant and influential a small newsroom like Investigate Midwest can be."
Lyle Muller, Investigate Midwest board of directors
"I continue to support Investigate Midwest's efforts as we report on important topics involving agriculture, which is such a huge industry in Iowa and also the Midwest. This is important journalism that otherwise would not be done without the donations of people who care about our rural health and food security. "
Bill takes aim at food inspection concerns
Federal food inspectors often face heavy workloads and burnout.
In recent years, Investigate Midwest has reported there were so few inspectors that one of them, at eight months pregnant, was working double shifts.
A recently introduced U.S. Senate bill aims to address the issue. Parts of New Jersey Democrat Sen. Cory Booker's bill would restrict ways farmers can kill animals — the issue became highly visible during the pandemic as scuttled supply chains forced operations to kill animals en masse — and would require more federal oversight of concentrated animal feeding operations.
But the bill, if enacted, could also change the workplace for many food inspectors. It would provide $50 million to hire more of them. Also, it would ban programs that allow meat and poultry processing plants to speed up production, which, research shows, likely contributed to the spread of the coronavirus because higher production speeds means more workers are packed closer together.
The AFGE, the union representing federal government employees has endorsed Booker's bill. The union has been critical of USDA programs allowing higher production speeds, saying it essentially allows meat processing companies to inspect their own product.
— Sky Chadde, assistant editor/senior reporter
Column: Any bets on whether Iowa will write a fifth ‘ag-gag’ law? | Dave Dickey
Iowa passed its first “ag gag” law back in 2012. First Amendment concerns have been addressed in the courts. Lawmakers came up with more versions. "It's a disgrace Big Pork would rather count on Iowa lawmakers to cover up their potential lawbreaking than clean up their slaughter houses and act legally and above board," writes Dave Dickey.
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More news
The following stories are a product of the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, an editorially independent reporting network based at the University of Missouri School of Journalism in partnership with Report For America and funded by the Walton Family Foundation. Investigate Midwest is part of this network.
Drought conditions continue to pose shipping challenges on Mississippi River, officials hopeful for winter relief
Months of dry conditions throughout the Mississippi River basin, which drains more than 40 percent of the contiguous United States’ land mass, have led to record lows in the river’s water levels despite bouts of concentrated heavy rainfall in July that caused flooding in St. Louis and Eastern Kentucky. This story was published by The Lens.
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