Action Alert From Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (CCI) –

This Thursday – Feb. 19: Our water, our health rally & lobby day

During the 2026 legislative session it’s our job to keep the Cancer Gag Act dead and to push for common sense policies – like restoring funding for water quality monitoring and increasing funding to map our aquifers.

On February 19 from 1 – 4pm we’ll be joining with our allies at Food & Water Watch and Progress Iowa for a lobby day to tell our legislators it’s time to take meaningful action to protect our water and crack down on big ag polluters. RSVP to join us here.

Feb. 23: Public School Strong orientation

10 school boards have passed our resolution calling on the Governor and state legislature to fully fund public schools at a 5% increase in state supplemental aid (SSA) and a phase out of the private school vouchers. Will your district be next?

Full funding for public schools starts at the school board level and we invite you to join other Iowans to our next Public School Strong orientation on Feb. 23 at 7 pm on zoom (register here).

At this meeting folks will learn more about what’s behind the attacks on public education, the purpose and goals of Public School Strong, and receive a free PSS t-shirt!

Feb. 24: How taxpayers are propping up the factory farm industry & corporate ag

RSVP here to join us for the Farm & Environment Monthly organizing call on Feb. 24 from 6 – 7:30 PM. At this meeting we will:

• Dig in on how our public dollars are being used to prop up the factory farm and industrial ag model.
• Get updates on what’s happened at the statehouse related to the Cancer Gag Act, the CO2 pipeline, water quality, and more.
• Find ways to take action to protect our water and health.

Mark your calendar for Feb. 24 at 6 PM and RSVP here to get the information to join the call.

Feb. 26: Clean water meeting w/ Prof. Rosburg

CCI is hosting our second clean water meeting with Drake professor Tom Rosburg on Thursday, Feb. 26 from 6-7:30PM in Grinnell. Tom is an Ecology and Botany Professor and long time prairie warrior fighting for Iowa’s most vulnerable ecosystems.

Join us to hear more about the state of Iowa’s water, how it effects our local ecosystems and our health, and the positive impacts of prairie systems on our water. Learn about native ecosystems, leave with native prairie seeds! RSVP to join us here.

Take action for a Farm Bill that puts our health and independent producers before corporate $

The US House Agriculture Committee is anticipated to debate and amend the House version of what’s left of the Farm Bill early next week! Both Representatives Randy Feenstra and Zach Nunn sit on the committee.

Send them an email today and ask them to do two things:

Oppose any version of the Cancer Gag Act or the EATS Act!
Support the New Producer Economic Security Program and Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling!

You can find talking points for these issues and emails to contact Feenstra and Nunn here!