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COMMUNITY LETTERS
Iowans deserve clean water
Iowa is facing two crises that strike at the heart of our economy and our way of life: Trump’s reckless tariffs, which devastated our soybean industry, and a growing, generational threat to our water quality.
For years, chemicals from largescale farming operations have seeped into the rivers, wells, and watersheds our families rely on. Local governments and utilities have spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to clean our drinking water, but the problem has grown too large for them to handle alone.
Instead of addressing this crisis, Trump and Iowa Republicans are making it worse. Trump is rolling back protections that prevent companies from dumping dangerous chemicals into the water our kids drink. He’s cutting resources needed to restore and protect Iowa’s waterways. Meanwhile, agricultural monopolies continue pushing practices that put profit over sustainability. The number of hogs raised in our state has more than doubled since the 1990s, and the environmental strain is unmistakable.
As a parent, I question the safety of the water my children drink. I worry about how Trump’s tariffs will keep hurting Iowa’s long-term economy. And I question why our state’s economy is stuck in a system that produces enormous amounts of soy, corn, and hogs, yet leaves our communities bearing the environmental and economic risks.
Iowans deserve real solutions. Both parties must step up this legislative session and in the upcoming election to protect our water, strengthen our agricultural economy, and safeguard the health of every family in this state.
Abby Collins Muscatine
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