Rooted is Investigate Midwest's monthly members-only newsletter. As a donor who gives at least $60 a year, you receive an inside look at what our newsroom is working on, Q&As with reporters and more. Thank you — we're happy you're here.
How our farm labor data entered Iowa’s driver’s license debate
When donors ask how Investigate Midwest measures the impact of its reporting, the honest answer is that we’ve been learning as we go. Independent, accountability journalism often travels far beyond our own website — into classrooms, radio programs, community meetings, and policy conversations — and much of that impact isn’t automatically visible.
Over the past several weeks, we’ve been building better ways to document moments like this — not just when our stories are read or republished, but when they’re referenced, debated, and used.
Then, last week, one of those moments became unmistakably clear.
During floor debate in the Iowa House, Rep. Angel Ramirez explicitly cited Investigate Midwest’s reporting and data on Iowa’s growing reliance on H-2A farm labor while arguing against a bill that would make driver’s license exams English-only. Our findings were used on the record to explain how the policy could create real barriers for legal agricultural workers who need to drive for their jobs.
That’s accountability journalism at its best: reporting rooted in public records and real-world data, used in real time to question policy and surface consequences for the people most affected.
Since January, our reporting has been republished more than 50 times and cited at least 20 times — by other newsrooms, on radio, and in policy conversations — helping ensure that the issues facing Midwest communities are seen, understood, and taken seriously beyond a single headline.
Recent and upcoming radio appearances
Our impact tracking is also helping us be more intentional about outreach.
We are more proactively connecting our reporters with public radio programs, podcasts, and regional broadcasts where they can explain their reporting in depth and be recognized, rightfully, as experts on the ag beat.
Below, we’re linking to recent appearances so you can listen to their conversations.
Our senior reporter Sky Chadde spoke with Think Out Loud’s host Dave Miller on Oregon Public Broadcasting about his reporting on immigration arrests in farming communities.
In recent weeks, Editor-in-Chief Ben Felder has discussed his cancer and pesticide investigation on Iowa Public Radio’s River to River and on WGN radio’s The Business of Food, with an upcoming appearance on Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s podcast, Public Health On Call — bringing Midwest data, community voices, and public health expertise into national conversation.
Upcoming listening sessions
This work is also laying the foundation for our next phase: community listening sessions, where feedback from readers and residents will directly inform follow-up reporting. Your support makes it possible for us to invest in these systems and strengthen the relationship between our journalism and the communities it serves.
Listening takes time, care, and follow-through. If you believe journalism should be shaped by the people it affects — and carried into the places where decisions are made — your support helps us do that work.
ICYMI: Our second live panel; more to come
Last month, Investigate Midwest co-hosted a live panel on trade wars and global investment in agriculture, bringing together farmers, experts, and reporters for a timely, well-attended discussion.
Coverage from the panel, written by Sky Chadde, was republished by Ag Daily. This kind of reach is exactly why we invest in collaborative, public-facing journalism.
Feedback received so far has been nothing but positive and we’re looking forward to the next one!
Thanks,
Lauren Cross
Assistant Editor & Audience Engagement Manager
