An Iowa newspaper editor is screening his documentary series in Davenport this weekend on cancer rates and their connections to the state’s agricultural operations.
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Art Cullen, at the Storm Lake Times Pilot, is showing the first two episodes of his documentary series called “What’s Eating Iowa?” Cullen says his previous reporting on surface pollution in the Raccoon River opened the door for further investigation. His reporting dealt with a lawsuit by the Des Moines Water Works against Buena Vista, Calhoun, and Sac counties in northwest Iowa.
“Very intensively row-cropped and very intensively drained areas. And it drains into the Des Moines drinking water supply. And as a result, the Des Moines Water Works operates North America's largest nitrate removal system,” Cullen said in an interview with WVIK. “It started to become apparent that Iowa also has the highest cancer rate or the fastest growing cancer rate in the country, the only one that's rising. And people are making a lot of connections between water pollution and cancer in Iowa. And so we wanted to get these, a couple of video documentaries, done to help educate people about where the pollution's coming from and what it's causing.”
Cullen says that through his journey across the state, talking to Iowans, it became evident that everyone wanted clean water and air, but they needed assistance from the state.
“And we're being prevented from doing that by big corporate money that owns Iowa. And they've bought the legislature, they've bought our regents, universities, and they've bought our agriculture. And as a result, we have the worst surface water pollution in America,” Cullen said.
Statehouse Representative Ken Croken (D-97) asked Cullen to attend a community forum discussing water quality and cancer to be held at the Last Picture House on Saturday, March 7th, to screen his documentary episodes. He says his constituents are concerned about the quality of their water and rising cancer rates.
“[T]he cancer rates in Iowa are among the highest in the nation, and people are very concerned about it. I'm very concerned,” Rep. Croken said in an interview with WVIK. “Our breast cancer rates are particularly troubling. There was a study commissioned by the state legislature two years ago, on recommendation from the governor, for the University of Iowa to undertake a look at this issue. And while the full study is not completed, the initial results were quite clear that the number of breast cancer cases and diagnoses is far more than would be otherwise expected in the absence of some environmental connection.”
Rep. Croken is a member of the House’s Environmental Protection Committee. He’s been on the committee for four years. He said the committee has done virtually nothing this legislative session. The only bill that passed out of committee deals with chemtrails.
“There were bills waiting for subcommittee assignment and further consideration that never got it. These bills included coal ash that is leaking pollutants into our groundwater. There was a bill requiring borders along Iowa waterways that would allow for nitrate to not reach the water,” Rep. Croken said. “I submitted a couple of bills, one that would actually ban PFAS, so-called forever chemical from Iowa altogether, that never got a look. Even a bill that I submitted would allow local communities to take action to reduce plastic shopping bags from our landfills. That never got a look. We are not doing what needs to be done in this area.”
At the time of the interview, a few seats remained available for the forum. Those interested can text or call 563-940-8439 to reserve a seat. There is a suggested donation of $20; all proceeds go to the Genesis Foundation, which offers free mammogram vouchers.
Those interested can watch the docuseries on YouTube.
“We have two more segments coming,” Cullen said. “They're in editing now on agricultural resilience and consolidation and how it's impacted Keokuk. And all these segments are related in terms of how Iowa has been consolidated and swallowed up by corporate interests over the past half-century.”
The screening starts at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, March 7th, at the Last Picture House, 325 E. 2nd Street, Davenport.
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