River to River

On this Newsbuzz episode, IPR's Gavin McGough joins to discuss a new gas power plant that was approved by the Cedar Falls City Council this week, and IPR's Rachel Cramer shares how Iowa's landfills are filling up fast. Cami Koons of Iowa Capital Dispatch reports on a multistate research project that held a panel of rural Iowans Tuesday, and we hear about the U.S. losing ground in the higher education space as Iowa State University and University of Iowa continue to slip in university rankings. Humans for Racial Justice hosts their second annual Juneteenth event which tours local Underground Railroad sites in Cedar County, and IPR Studio One's Nick Brunner grooves us into the weekend.

Our nation is 250 — but 250 years ago, Iowa was a world apart. An ecologist takes us back to a yesteryear’s landscape of endless tallgrass prairie, bison, elk and whooping cranes, and explains why Iowa is now the most ecologically altered state in the nation. A historian discusses the Indigenous nations living here in 1776 and why the American Revolution mattered enormously to people who may not have even known it was happening. And the tribal historic preservation officer of the Meskwaki Nation joins the program to discuss on her people's presence in Iowa.

Three Libertarians who filed to run for governor, lieutenant governor and U.S. House in Iowa won't appear on the ballot. That's after members of the Republican party challenged their paperwork, and the state objection panel voted to remove the names of Nicholas Gluba, Jules Cutler and Marco Battaglia from Iowa ballots. In this episode, host Ben Kieffer recaps that decision as well as the state party conventions with Megan Goldberg of Cornell College and Jonathan Hassid of Iowa State University. They also discuss looming changes to Social Security and the tentative peace deal with Iran.

In the summer of 1861, Iowa sent its first soldiers into the Civil War — young men from Cedar Rapids and Burlington who enlisted just weeks after The Battle of Fort Sumter, the start of the war. The soldiers ended up on a brutal march through Missouri, culminating at the Battle of Wilson's Creek. Author Randee Fieselmann shares the young men's story in her new book, 'The Union First: Community and Commitment in the First Iowa Infantry.'

Data centers are massive and thirsty for water and power. Iowans are split on whether they're good neighbors. On this episode, the data center debate as cities and counties throughout the state are weighing potential data center installations. First, a Brookings Institution researcher on what rural communities stand to gain and lose from these developments. Then, Linn County Supervisor Sami Scheetz joins to discuss the ordinance they passed earlier this year and how it compares to other local governments' approaches to recent data center proposals. Iowa’s state geologist discusses whether Iowa's groundwater supply can handle the demand from data centers. And a public health researcher joins to discuss the public health implications from data centers powered by nonrenewable sources.

On this Newsbuzz episode, we recap this week's severe weather, why Iowa pork producers are taking their fight over California’s Prop 12 to Congress, high nitrate levels in Iowa’s rivers and more.

Parents are pushing back against screens in the classroom and in Iowa, the law is now on their side. We get insights from an Iowa City parent, a pediatrician and a coordinator with the University of Northern Iowa's TEACH Studio, who shares where technology fits into the classroom. Then, we hear from a family medicine physician about the physician shortage in Iowa and what's being done about it.

The general election battle has begun in Iowa. On this Politics Day episode of River to River, analysis from political scientists Karen Kedrowski of Iowa State University and Wayne Moyer of Grinnell College on Rob Sand's pick for a running mate, the growing fight for Iowa’s open U.S. Senate seat, updates from the war in Iran and more.

In his first work of nonfiction, 'Wastelands,' author and attorney Corban Addison tells the story of a rural community in North Carolina fighting against the polluting practices of large-scale hog farming operations. (This episode was originally produced October 14, 2024)

On this Newsbuzz episode, we take a look at the latest bills Gov. Reynolds has signed into law in her final session as governor. We also hear about a new University of Iowa program to improve health outcomes for Iowans and how the Iowa City School District is navigating deep financial mismanagement. Then, state climatologist Justin Glisan joins us to discuss the threat of a flash drought in Iowa. We'll also hear from IPR’s Nicole Baxter on National Drive-In Movie Day and we groove into the weekend with Studio One host Lucius Pham.