A support group and a lab in the St. Louis area provide resources for people with the allergy to mammal products — and evidence that its effects can be reversed.
Introducing the River Town podcast from our partners at KBIA-FM in Columbia, Missouri
A view from the Ag & Water Desk’s tour of the Missouri River in fall 2022. Credit: Missouri River Relief
Ed. note: Ag & Water Desk partner KBIA — a fellow member of the Missouri School of Journalism and one of the newsrooms hosting our next cohort of Report for America journalists — has a great new podcast out about the Missouri River. Today, KBIA’s Janet Saidi shares more about making the show. Hope you’ll give River Town a listen! —Annie
If you live near a river, you’ve probably talked with people who look to its flow as a huge part of their identity. It might be an artist inspired by the shapes of driftwood, or a musician who says they could never live in any town that isn’t a river town.
Or a scientist like Christopher Kennedy, who told KBIA at a Missouri River Relief clean-up that “no matter what culture, no matter what race you are, at some point in time in history your paths mostly likely have crossed with these river systems.”
It’s clear in these conversations that the river and the life it supports creates a special part of our identity and culture, our past and our present. So when an opportunity for a new podcast project came up at KBIA, we knew what to do: We went out on the river.
Our student producers and teams caught up with musicians, artists, scientists, environmentalists, river racers, and river-dwellers to capture River Town, which our PRX friends called “a magical Disneyland log ride down the Missouri River.”
We circled back with Christopher Kennedy, who took us out on a boat ride and talked about his personal and family history on the river. We visited a sacred river blessing led by a group of BIPOC women at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri. And Producer Tadeo Ruiz explored why growing up in Mexico City gave him fears about river life, and how the residents of Rocheport, Missouri (including, it turned out, one from Mexico City!) helped him expand his experience of a river town.
The Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge protects more than 240,000 acres of river floodplain. It marks its centennial this month.
PS: Editors, Madeline Heim’s story is available to republish or localize for free (like all our work) — see yesterday’s story alert email or AP StoryShare to get the elements!
Last call for mentor journalists & a part-time engagement editor!
The Ag & Water Desk is growing. We’re looking for a part-time Engagement Editor to lead community and audience outreach and promotion of our stories. We’re also seeking three new Expert Journalists — experienced staff journalists or freelancers — to provide mentoring for our reporters and project leadership on a part-time basis.
We encourage you to spread the word about these positions! Please reply here or email us at info@agwaterdesk.org with questions. Applications are due June 10, 2024.
