Newsletters from the basin & latest headlines

Today we’re sharing newsletters from the local newsrooms that host our journalists. Support these outlets with a newsletter subscription, keep up to date on news across the basin, and find some special environmental newsletters below, too.

Arkansas

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette — lots of options for news, politics, culture and more

Illinois

Investigate Midwest — a weekly roundup of the latest investigations, stories and opinion pieces
WNIJ-Northern Public Radio — weekly news round-ups from the newsroom and beyond

Iowa

The Cedar Rapids Gazette — our expert journalist Erin Jordan runs the Gazette’s environment & outdoors newsletter
KWQC-TV6 — a daily update from the Quad Cities

Kentucky

Louisville Courier Journal — lots of options for local news updates

Louisiana

WWNO — get the Coastal Desk’s newsletter from our expert journalist Halle Parker
NOLA.com — Louisiana Coastal Watch, parish and city news, sports, food and more
The Lens — a week in review and story alerts
Louisiana Illuminator — headlines every weekday morning

Minnesota

Star Tribune — local news, politics, sports, regions, culture and more

Mississippi

Mississippi Free Press — scroll down to sign up for the latest updates

Missouri

KCUR — a daily “early bird” news round-up for Kansas City
St. Louis Public Radio — daily or weekly headlines and more
KBIA and The Columbia Missourian — lots of options from Mizzou newsrooms
Kansas City PBS — get Flatland KC’s newsletter

North Dakota

Buffalo’s Fire — weekly headlines from an indigenous newsroom in Bismarck

Wisconsin

Wisconsin Watch — weekly top stories, a Friday news round-up from across the state, and a look-ahead at the week in politics.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel — local headlines, sports, indigenous news, food & culture and more

We’ll always feature top stories from these and other members of our network in this newsletter. Thanks for reading and supporting our newsrooms!

Thanks for reading,

Annie

Headlines from our network

Fertilizer spill:
Our expert journalist and senior advisor Erin Jordan of The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports on calls for legal action after a major fertilizer spill killed 750,000 fish.

Trout stream:

Erin also writes about how Cedar Rapids could better protect Iowa’s only urban trout stream, McCloud Run, from the harmful effects of water main breaks.

Farm Bill:

Expert journalist Chris Clayton of DTN/The Progressive Farmer covers the House Agriculture Committee's latest markup of the next Farm Bill, with political insights from his long career.

Tornadoes:
The Arkansas Times reports on deadly tornadoes that ripped through northern Arkansas and surrounding states. The Progressive Farmer also has coverage of extensive damage caused by recent tornadoes in rural Iowa.

Avian flu:
The latest on the outbreak’s spread to dairy herds and among backyard bird flocks, from The Progressive Farmer and Investigate Midwest.

Upper river refuge:

Madeline Heim reports for The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on how $10 million from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service will fund a range of climate change resilience projects in the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge.

Wildfire season:
Harvest Public Media covers the potential for an intense wildfire season in the Midwest and Great Plains and the need for public health and emergency readiness.

Hurricane season:
Federal forecasters say this year’s hurricane season could be the most active ever due to La Niña conditions and record-warm ocean waters, reports our senior advisor Mark Schleifstein of The Times-Picayune in New Orleans.

Coastal restoration:
Mark Schleifstein also explores a restoration project planned for a portion of the barrier Chandeleur Islands off Louisiana’s eastern coast, part of one of the nation’s original national wildlife refuges and home to the state’s only marine seagrasses.

Riverfront Times:
St. Louis laments the end of an era for the alt-weekly The Riverfront Times, which was sold to an undisclosed buyer and saw its news staff laid off last week. Our reporter Eric Schmid of St. Louis Public Radio has that story.

Desk reporters honored at the Local News Awards

Congratulations to our reporters Madeline Heim of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Delaney Dryfoos of The Lens in New Orleans for their recognition in Report for America’s fourth annual Local News Awards!

Maddy won second place in the feature reporting category for our November 2023 story, The Mississippi River is central to America's story. Why doesn't it get more love? which built on our study with the Missouri School of Journalism about public environmental attitudes and beliefs in the basin, also covered by Maddy for the Desk.

Delaney took third place in the same category for their September 2023 story for The Lens, Marathon proves why it was the last refinery built in the U.S..

We’re hiring: Engagement Editor & Expert Journalists

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.

Lead partners:

Newsroom partners: Star Tribune, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Louisville Courier Journal, Harvest Public Media, The Lens, Wisconsin Watch, Investigate Midwest, Daily Memphian, The Gazette, DTN/The Progressive Farmer, Inside Climate News, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis Public Radio, The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate, WWNO-New Orleans Public Radio and University of Missouri affiliates.