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.
Since the Ag & Water Desk launched in June, we've seen remarkable growth and produced a huge range of coverage of how the Mississippi River basin is adapting to climate change, the future of Midwest agriculture and more.
Our journalists have written more than 300 stories total, and we now have roughly 50 newsrooms signed up to run our work for free in 18 states and Washington, D.C. Our first special project, When It Rains, reached around 300 million readers, everywhere from small rural papers to NPR and USA Today.
As we wrap up 2022, we have so much to be proud of at the Desk and so much to look forward to. Next year, we'll tackle drinking water issues, fertilizer, wetlands protections, emerging contaminants, carbon pipelines and Farm Bill negotiations. We hope to recruit many more local outlets to join our network, especially in lower basin states and in the outer reaches of the watershed -- if you know a publication that could run our stories, send them this sign-up form!
For now, here are some of our favorite pieces from this year, and the latest local stories shared by our partners. Remember to send us your story ideas -- you can reply to this email or reach us any time at info@agwaterdesk.org. Thanks as always for reading, enjoy your holidays, and we'll see you in January.
--Annie Ropeik, assistant director
Click the map to see more about the outlets that have joined the Desk's network.
Our latest stories & local coverage shared by our partners
Black carp now established in parts of the Mississippi River basin By Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco, WNIJ-Northern Public Radio -- Dec. 15, 2022
‘Immense sense of pride’: Iowa farm owned by Black family for 158 years | By Erin Jordan, The Gazette -- Dec. 16, 2022 Fish kills may result from low water in backwaters of the Mississippi | By Michelle O'Neill, WVIK -- Dec. 5, 2022Minnesota tries new technologies to remove harmful PFAS from water By Chloe Johnson, Star Tribune -- Dec. 12, 2022Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana gets help to prepare for rising seas | By Tristan Baurick, Times-Picayune -- Dec. 10, 2022 'Circular economy' programs aim to reduce waste and build jobs | By Lee Chilcote, The Land -- Dec. 14, 2022
Looking back at some of our favorite Ag & Water Desk stories of the year
At our last team call of 2022, we asked the Desk's reporters, expert journalists and editors to share some of their highlights from our first six months. What was your favorite piece from the Desk? Reply to this email and let us know!
If you have a story idea, we want to hear from you! Whether it's local news you think merits basin-wide context, research or reports we may have missed, an interesting person you think we should meet or an environmental theme you'd like to see us dig into -- please send your tips and pitches our way. You can reply to this email or reach us any time at info@agwaterdesk.org. Thank you!
Photo credits | USGS; Darrell Hoemmann, Investigate Midwest; Clayton Steward, Columbia Missourian; Nick Rohlman, The Gazette; Tammy Mutka, Raw Images Art & Photography; Shari L. Gross, Star Tribune; Sophia Germer, Times-Picayune; Grant Segall; University Of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum; Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco, WNIJ; Kelly Wilkinson & Robert Scheer, Indianapolis Star; Halle Parker, WWNO. Header image by NOAA.
