Almost 600 Iowa bodies of water are impaired according to the newest DNR water report. The main cause of river and stream pollution is bacteria, which indicates animal feces. In addition, we are the second highest state for cancer risk. Cancer is up 11% in Iowa, now 21,000 Iowans develop cancer annually.

I picked up the TR to see what Governor Reynolds and Rep Feenstra are doing about our impaired water and our cancer risk. Governor Reynolds is asking the Iowa Supreme Court to reconsider her heartbeat bill and has also turned down over 22 million of federal dollars to provide $40 a month per child for food for low-income children over the summer. She is instead asking schools and nonprofits to fill out paperwork for a fraction of the money. In the TR, Representative Feenstra writes that it’s “brazen” to provide relief to student borrowers who after years of payments owe more than they originally borrowed due to high interest payments.

I believe it’s time to ask our lawmakers to turn their attention instead to our health and our water. Animal waste in drinking water causes birth defects, cancer, thyroid disease, and other illnesses. In Minnesota they had a similar problem and the EPA had great success there. Environmental groups in Iowa are already petitioning the EPA. “We’re asking that EPA do the same thing for Iowa” that it did for Minnesota, said Michael Schmidt, an Iowa Environmental Council attorney. Iowa lawmakers should join the Iowa Environmental Council to find a solution to our current environmental risks.