EARN in Iowa
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Iowa Policy Project
Iowa City, Iowa ·The Iowa Policy Project (IPP) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization founded in 2001 to produce research and analysis to engage Iowans in state policy decisions.
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Iowa Network publications
Race in the Heartland: Equity, Opportunity, and Public Policy in the Midwest
- October 10, 2019
- Colin Gordon
A number of factors—historical, economic, demographic, and political—have shaped patterns of racial disparity and race relations in the Midwest. Of the eight most segregated cities in 2010’s Census data, six (Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, St. Louis, and Cincinnati) are in the Midwest. And despite some pockets of Latino growth in the last generation, fully 91.4% […]
Alliant proposal: Equity, efficiency failure
- September 12, 2019
- Iowa Policy Project
- David Osterberg
The proposed Alliant rate increase is a sweeping denial of equitable treatment of customers and a rejection of environmental responsibility. Alliant Energy, called Interstate Power and Light (IPL) in Iowa, is proposing a nearly 25 percent increase in its basic service rate. Since Alliant divides its charges to customers into energy, transmission, and basic service, […]
Science change and climate change
- September 10, 2019
- Iowa Policy Project
- David Osterberg
Science is ever changing. It is now possible to show that some of the increase in rainfall from storms and consequent flooding has a human fingerprint.
Flooding impacts and climate change: An uncertain future for Iowa
- September 5, 2019
- Iowa Policy Project
- James Boulter
Iowa is becoming hotter and wetter because of climate change, putting a policy response in the hands of leaders who already are dealing with problems of more frequent flooding that may become more extreme events as our climate changes. “Science is giving us warnings,” said James E. Boulter, a professor of Chemistry in the Watershed […]
How home solar helps everyone
- August 14, 2019
- Iowa Policy Project
- Peter Fisher
Solar power not only saves on current generation of high-cost power; it reduces the need for future generating capacity. My own home system shows that.
Ignoring still-serious water threat
- August 9, 2019
- Iowa Policy Project
- David Osterberg
Last year, we issued a report on toxic algae and three weeks later the city of Greenfield lost its drinking water. Now we see that the Environmental Working Group has found no improvement. How long before another town faces the same problem Greenfield did?
Choosing the right stream: How Iowa can keep clean water priorities and funding equity together
- July 18, 2019
- Iowa Policy Project
- IPP staff
Iowa’s investment — or lack of investment — in water quality is a perennial issue driven by growing attention to pollution by the state’s most prominent industry, agriculture. Nine years ago, Iowa voters responded with overwhelming approval of a constitutional amendment creating a Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund. The funding source was to […]
Improve water quality funding equitably
- July 5, 2019
- Iowa Policy Project
- Natalie Veldhouse
Expand existing state programs to improve waters and overall balance in Iowa tax system.
Water funding exposes shallow commitment
- May 6, 2019
- Iowa Policy Project
- Natalie Veldhouse
Recent initiative fails to meet needs to improve Iowa water quality
Lip Service: Iowa’s inadequate commitment to clean water
- April 18, 2019
- Iowa Policy Project
- David Osterberg and Natalie Veldhouse
Policymakers need to acknowledge both the magnitude of the water quality problem in Iowa, and the role of nonpoint-source nutrient pollution. Financing has been inadequate. We pay lip service to our financial responsibility as a state and have underestimated what is required for success. Here we address four questions: What has the state’s spending commitment […]