Researchers, patients optimistic in fight against alpha-gal syndrome
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.
News and stories from the Ag & Water Desk, straight to your inbox.
This herbicide is so toxic it’s been banned in over 70 count ries. But plants in the South are releasing it into the air.
Paraquat has been linked to Parkinson’s disease and just a sip is fatal, but tens of thousands of pounds of it are being released in the Mississippi Basin. Delaney Nolan of The Lens reports.
Invasive appetizers, high-tech tractors and river reversal
Executive Director Sara Shipley Hiles shares highlights from the Society of Environmental Journalists conference in Chicago.
A closer look at pesticide exposure and cancer in the Midwest
Join our partner newsroom Investigate Midwest for a discussion on the connections between pesticides and cancer.
Spring is arriving earlier across the Basin
Reflections and reporting on phenology, the study of seasonal cues from budding flowers to migrating birds
What's next for the Desk?
Data centers are the topic of the hour throughout the Mississippi River Basin. We're already reporting on their impact — and going to be bringing you more.
Nuisance or Pest: The role of beavers in "Hoppers" and the real world
Desk reporter Bennet Goldstein of Wisconsin Watch shares the debate over whether beavers help or hurt land, from Wisconsin to the new Pixar movie "Hoppers."
Power generation across the Basin
Local stories from Desk reporters on power generation projects and their myriad impacts from South Dakota to Ukraine
Is the Farmer's Almanac still relevant?
Desk Expert Journalist Kathleen Davis of Science Friday digs into whether these storied publications are still useful.
Why I care so much about rural water
A pair of stories about struggling systems shows what the Desk is all about, says editorial director Chas Sisk
Author W. Ralph Eubanks reflects on the Mississippi Delta
Eubanks' new book, “When It's Darkness on the Delta: How America's Richest Soil Became Its Poorest Land,” focuses on the Mississippi Delta and how policy, or lack thereof, has created poverty and inequality that is persistent and acute.
A subdivision struggles with the massive data center moving in next door
Residents of Canton, Miss., say traffic and dust have already made life a ‘mess’. And they worry what will happen when hundreds of backup diesel generators go online. New Desk reporting by Illan Ireland, Mississippi Free Press.
‘Gaining back our identity’: Standing Rock Sioux Tribe looks to expand buffalo herd
Reaching a goal of 1,000 buffalo will require more land and fencing. An alliance of tribal nations may help. By Gabrielle Nelson, Buffalo’s Fire.