Important update and action alerts from Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement:

Last week brought us two major court victories in our work to protect family farmers and our water from the corporate factory farm industry.

On Monday, our legal team at Food & Water Watch reached an agreement with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through our 2017 lawsuit.  EPA officials have been dragging their feet on our demand to apply the federal Clean Water Act to polluting factory farms.  EPA acknowledged it and agreed they will announce their response to our lawsuit in August.  Stay tuned for the next chapter in our fight for clean water!

Then on Tuesday, a district court agreed with CCI and our allies – USDA’s Farm Service Agency is now required to assess environmental impact of medium-sized factory farms (2.5k pigs, 125k chickens, 55k turkeys, 1k beef cattle) before approving “guaranteed loans”. Loans that are underwritten by taxpayers like you and me.

We believe that corporate ag should pay for their costs of doing business – not us, and that the corporate ag industry should be covered by strong environmental regulations that protect our water.  The courts agreed, and we couldn’t be happier!  But we know the industry will fight these steps – and we’re ready to take them on at every level.

Take Action!

Last day to Register: April 15 – fundamentals of organizing training in Dubuque

Are you wanting to build people-power in your community to deepen relationships and win on the issues important to you and your neighbors? Then consider joining us this Saturday, April 15 in Dubuque for our second ‘Fundamentals of Organizing’ training.

In order to run an effective organizing campaign, we need to understand the power our opposition has and the dominant narrative they use to prevent people from challenging the status quo. At this training we’ll dig-in on the dominant narrative, power, self-interest, and the art of one-on-one conversations to deepen relationships and move people to action.

Ready to build power for the people and places we love? Space is limited, so fill out the registration form  at cci.org to indicate your interest.

April 20 – drop by and say hi in Clear Lake!

We’re excited to connect with more people in North Iowa on the issues they’re facing in their communities and talking about how we can tackle those challenges together.

That’s why CCI members will be tabling and talking with folks at the Clear Lake Green Expo on Thursday, April 20! Stop by the Surf Ballroom between 4-7pm to say hi, shop local, learn about energy efficiency ideas, and more!

Free and open to the public, hope to see you there!