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There are 4 beach advisories for the week of 6/25

3 Beaches with an E. coli-related Advisory:
Backbone Beach (Dundee, Delaware County, IA)

Lake Darling Beach (Brighton, Washington County, IA)

Lake Keomah Beach (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, IA)

1 Beach with a Microcystin-related Advisory:
Lake Darling Beach (Brighton, Washington County, IA)


*Data from the Iowa DNR State Park Beach Monitoring Program

Facing change, taking pride

As Pride Month comes to a close next week, IEC’s Water Program Director Ingrid Gronstal reflects on the intersections of radical change in the environmental space and radical change on a personal level.

This June is a special Pride month for me. It is the first time I have been fully out during Pride, and I am reveling in no longer feeling shame about the fact that I am queer. Fear of the unknown is the biggest obstacle to coming out: not knowing how people will react, not knowing how the truth will affect relationships, and uncertainty about what will be lost in the process. Living authentically doesn’t come without sacrifice, and for me, that was letting go of a 13 year marriage and a wonderful man who was my best friend. Change can be brutal.

I’ve been thinking a lot about Pride in general – what it means to live courageously and authentically and speak the truth about things that matter. What it means to actually embrace change, even after years of relative stability, predictability, and comfort. The Covid-19 pandemic proved that the status quo can fall out from under us at any time. So, what does this all mean in the context of pushing daily for radical change for the environment?

The coming out process is usually framed as a story of pain and sorrow. While that is certainly part of the experience, there is also so much joy and possibility. To me, queerness means letting go of entrenched expectations and paradigms.

“Functioning as a thing and an action, rather than just a descriptor, [queer] becomes an invitation to a dynamic realm of possibility, beyond the various binaries that imprison our minds, beyond that which is knowable.” - Lauren Duca

 
 

Nominate a Pro H2O Award Winner

Know a friend, family member, neighbor, community leader, colleague, or another Iowan who has made a positive impact on water quality and awareness? Nominate them for an award from IEC!

Consider the people in your sphere who deserve to be celebrated for their efforts at Pro H2O this September.

The nominations deadline has been extended to June 30. But don't delay! Check out the page and share it with others. Submit your nomination(s) and share with your network!

Join us to discuss Iowa's CAFO Problem 6/29

Join IEC, Sierra Club Iowa Chapter, and a panel of experts for eye-opening panel discussion about how Iowa is sacrificing our water for the benefit of big ag.  

We'll dig in to the Supreme Beef CAFO approval process as an example that demonstrates the threats and impacts CAFOs bring to water quality, how the CAFO approval process got us to where we are, and why its critical to protect our water.

Register today and share with concerned friends and neighbors!

MRN Public Petition for New Vision for the Mississippi River 

The Mississippi River Network is collecting individual signatures from the general public through this petition to show that care about the long-term health of the Mississippi River and the communities that depend on it. Please sign and share the petition!

 

Share Your Summer with IEC on Instagram

Follow us at @iowawaterwatch

Photo by @eric.burson.photo

Photo by @amn84

 

Get Our New Iowa Water Watch Sticker!

We want to share our new sticker with you! Check out Iowa Water Watch on Instagram and give us a follow. Tag us on your photos using @iowawaterwatch and the #iowawaterwatch hashtag.

If you tag us and share your Iowa water images with us, whether you're out having fun or spotting a problem, we will send you our new Iowa Water Watch sticker shown here. Decorate your water bottle, laptop, or kayak with it!

We may also feature your image in our Instagram section above with a link to your profile, so readers can check out your photography and give you a follow.

 

What's New in Iowa's Water News

Tourists willing to drive farther and spend more for cleaner lakes (The Gazette)
Iowa’s Water Quality: Legislation, Litigation Or Collaboration? (Blog for Iowa)
• Trip on a tankful: Honey Creek Resort State Park offers everything from a championship golf course to a water park (Des Moines Register)
• Water quality ruling wasn’t one of the court’s finest moments (Iowa Capital Dispatch)
In Iowa, there’s nowhere to turn for clean water (The Gazette)
Help stop aquatic hitchhikers this Fourth of July (Iowa DNR)
Raccoon River Water Quality Lawsuit Dries Up In Iowa Supreme Court (Iowa Public Radio)

Upcoming Water Events

Full Moon Paddle - Kennedy Memorial Park, Webster County - June 25
Young Families Canoe Float - Fontana Park, Buchanan County - June 26
Paddle and Pick Up - Gray's Lake, Des Moines - June 26
National Canoe Day Event & Fundraiser - Torrent Brewing Company, Ames - June 26
National Mud Day - Annett Nature Center & Park, Warren County - June 27
Wakeboard Camp 2021 - Session 1 - Twin Lakes Bible Camp - June 27
Intro to Kayaking - Split Rock Park, Chickasaw County - June 29
Supreme Beef and Iowa's CAFO Problem - Online - June 29
Van Buren Kayak Loan: 5:30 - Lacey-Keosauqua State Park - July 1
Van Buren Kayak Loan: 6:30 - Lacey-Keosauqua State Park - July 1
Workshop #1: Every Farm Matters - Online, PFI - July 30
Pro H2O 2021 - DSM & Satellite Locations - Sept. 16

 

Iowa Environmental Council
505 Fifth Ave., Suite 850 
 Des Moines, Iowa 50309-2317
515-244-1194 | iecmail@iaenvironment.org

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