IEC to hold series of listening sessions on cancer and the environment
A project between the Harkin Institute and the Iowa Environmental Council will explore the relationship between the environment and cancer rates in Iowa. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
Iowa Environmental Council, as part of an initiative with the Harkin Institute at Drake University, will hold 16 listening sessions across the state to hear Iowans' lived experiences with cancer.
IEC announced the partnership in April to explore the relationship between cancer and the environment with a review of research and community outreach.
'We know that our environment and our health are inextricably linked,' Sarah Green, executive director of the Iowa Environmental Council, said in a statement. 'With so many Iowans' lives touched by cancer, it's important that we explore every link and find ways we can work together to mitigate all potential sources of risk and save lives.'
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
The council points to a growing need to understand other potential risk factors driving Iowa's cancer rates. The latest Cancer in Iowa report from the Iowa Cancer Registry shows Iowa has the second highest, age-adjusted rate of cancers in the country, and is one of only two states with rising rates of new cancers.
The series of listening sessions kicks off with an event in Indianola Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., followed by sessions in Des Moines, Burlington, Davenport and Solon which are free to attend, though online registration is requested.
The sessions will have a presentation with county-specific health data and then allow attendees space to share how cancer has impacted their lives.
IEC has also announced dates and locations for listening sessions in July and August in : Albia, Elkader, Decorah, Council Bluffs, Red Oak, Emmetsburg, Sioux City, Carroll, Waterloo, Tama and a virtual session. These sessions are not yet open for registration.
Iowans who can't make it to one of the sessions can also share their stories virtually through a form on IEC's website.
The Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors in Iowa initiative will result in a report and statewide campaign, with a goal of bringing Iowans 'together around policies that will reduce environmental contamination as a factor in cancers in Iowa.'
Registration and more information can be found at the Iowa Environmental Council website.
SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
IEC to hold series of listening sessions on cancer and the environment
A project between the Harkin Institute and the Iowa Environmental Council will explore the relationship between the environment and cancer rates in Iowa. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch) Iowa Environmental Council, as part of an initiative with the Harkin Institute at Drake University, will hold 16 listening sessions across the state to hear Iowans' lived experiences with cancer. IEC announced the partnership in April to explore the relationship between cancer and the environment with a review of research and community outreach. 'We know that our environment and our health are inextricably linked,' Sarah Green, executive director of the Iowa Environmental Council, said in a statement. 'With so many Iowans' lives touched by cancer, it's important that we explore every link and find ways we can work together to mitigate all potential sources of risk and save lives.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The council points to a growing need to understand other potential risk factors driving Iowa's cancer rates. The latest Cancer in Iowa report from the Iowa Cancer Registry shows Iowa has the second highest, age-adjusted rate of cancers in the country, and is one of only two states with rising rates of new cancers. The series of listening sessions kicks off with an event in Indianola Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., followed by sessions in Des Moines, Burlington, Davenport and Solon which are free to attend, though online registration is requested. The sessions will have a presentation with county-specific health data and then allow attendees space to share how cancer has impacted their lives. IEC has also announced dates and locations for listening sessions in July and August in : Albia, Elkader, Decorah, Council Bluffs, Red Oak, Emmetsburg, Sioux City, Carroll, Waterloo, Tama and a virtual session. These sessions are not yet open for registration. Iowans who can't make it to one of the sessions can also share their stories virtually through a form on IEC's website. The Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors in Iowa initiative will result in a report and statewide campaign, with a goal of bringing Iowans 'together around policies that will reduce environmental contamination as a factor in cancers in Iowa.' Registration and more information can be found at the Iowa Environmental Council website. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Yahoo
Disability rights advocates encourage senators to vote against Big, Beautiful, Bill
IOWA (KCAU) — Disability rights advocates joined forces on June 5. They encouraged Iowa senators to vote against the president's so-called 'Big, Beautiful, Bill' due to the ramifications Iowans would face. The group 'Protect Our Care Iowa' said that the bill would cut Medicaid to over 600k Iowans, including 81k people with disabilities. Advocates for the bill say it cuts waste, fraud, and abuse, but the group says it's a way to cut services to the most vulnerable and offer tax cuts to the wealthy. Zach Mecham, medicaid recipient and disability rights advocate, said, 'I know throughout my history of disability advocacy that all of these policies, whether they're aimed at efficiency, or fraud, or abuse, or privatizing healthcare. I know that they all, based on my personal experience, trickle down and harm people like me.' The bill is in the hands of the U.S. Senate. Lawmakers said their goal is for it to be on the President's desk by the Fourth of July. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Yahoo
GOP Senator Insists She's ‘Very Compassionate' After Telling Worried Voters They're Going to Die
Under-fire Sen. Joni Ernst has defended herself once more after going viral for telling constituents concerned about cuts to Medicaid that 'We're all going to die.' While being pursued by reporters in the U.S. Capitol, the Iowa Republican said: 'I'm very compassionate, and you need to listen to the entire conversation.' Ernst managed to also get out that 'we want to protect the most vulnerable' before elevator doors closed behind her. The GOP senator has been widely criticized for flippant comments she made at a town hall in Butler County, Iowa, last Friday in response to people expressing concerns that may die if they lose access to health care under cuts proposed in President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act. 'Well, we all are going to die, so for heaven's sakes,' Ernst said. She later added: 'We are going to focus on those that are most vulnerable' and 'those that meet the eligibility requirements for Medicaid we will protect.' Ernst responded to the condemnation over her callous remarks by posting a sarcastic apology video on Instagram which appeared to have been filmed in a graveyard. 'I made an incorrect assumption that everyone in the auditorium understood that, yes, we are all going to perish from this Earth,' she said. 'So I apologize, and I'm really, really glad that I did not have to bring up the subject of the tooth fairy as well.' The comments from Ersnt angered Iowa Democratic state Rep. J.D. Scholten so much that he confirmed a bid to unseat the Republican when her term expires next year. 'I just felt, you know, I have to do this,' Scholten told Politico, adding Ernst had 'disrespected' Iowans with her remarks. Trump's megabill needs to clear the Senate, where it faces potential pushback from several Republicans over the proposed cuts on Medicaid spending and introduction of new work requirements. Ernst defended the potential changes during the town hall last week, saying they were necessary to keep people who are 'not eligible' from receiving such benefits. A spokesperson for Ernst previously told the Daily Beast: 'While Democrats fearmonger against strengthening the integrity of Medicaid, Senator Ernst is focused on improving the lives of all Iowans. 'There's only two certainties in life: death and taxes, and she's working to ease the burden of both by fighting to keep more of Iowans' hard-earned tax dollars in their own pockets and ensuring their benefits are protected from waste, fraud, and abuse.'
