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Farmland Gone

Farmland Gone

High-Grade Cropland Gives Way To Urban Growth In Iowa – At Least Where There’s Growth

By Molly Hunter | November 14, 2018

Urban expansion, at least in the few areas where Iowa cities are growing, is eating up some of the state’s best farmland. The urban growth is part of a national trend in which good farmland is lost to new residential neighborhoods.

farmland

Disappearing Farmland: Despite Value, Little Protection Exists For Midwest Farmland

By Christopher Walljasper/Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting | November 14, 2018

America has lost millions of acres of farmland over the nearly three decades to urban and rural development. Despite conservation efforts by state and local governments and increased financial incentives for farmers, urban development and the expansion of rural residential real estate over the last 25 years has eliminated farmland across the country at levels not seen since the early 1970s.

urban sprawl

Disappearing Farmland: Small Towns Trade Farmland For Residential Development

By Christopher Walljasper/Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting | November 14, 2018

Driving along Route 47 in Kane County, Illinois, corn and soybean fields are dotted with signs advertising the amenities of burgeoning communities. For more than 20 years, Kane County has been a poster child for urban sprawl, the spreading of development of land on the edge of a metropolitan area.

The IowaWatch Connection

The IowaWatch Connection, a weekly, statewide news and public affairs radio program airs on participating stations across Iowa. The program is sponsored by AARP Iowa:

Looking Back At The Iowa Caucus —

It's been a month since Iowans caucused. How do Iowa's results look now that more than a quarter of the country has indicated its presidential preference?

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To find a station near you, visit the IowaWatch Connection page.

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The Iowa Center’s mission is to maintain an independent, non-partisan journalistic program dedicated to producing and encouraging explanatory and investigative journalism in Iowa, engaging in collaborative reporting efforts with Iowa news organizations and educating journalism students. Read More »

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Investigative Reporting in Iowa

Bonuses going to governor’s appointees

Several state department heads and other appointed employees in Iowa are getting bonuses, some pushing the recipient's salaries beyond what the governor makes, The Register reports.

Source: Des Moines Register

Felons caught voting in Iowa often go unpunished

Only a few felons illegally casting ballots in recent Iowa elections have been prosecuted, the Des Moines Register reports in another installment of its investigation into felony voting rights.

Source: Des Moines Register

U of I Fraternities Continued Wild Drinking Parties Off Campus

University of Iowa fraternities under fire for hosting parties where alcohol abuse takes place tried moving wild parties off campus but were caught by Iowa City police working in concert with U of I administrators.

Source: The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, IA)

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