This summer, Investigate Midwest has welcomed two interns who bring fresh eyes and sharp skills to our work covering food, agriculture, and rural America. Our interns are supported with generous funding from David Jackson via the Gary Marx Journalism Fund. Melissa Dai is Investigate Midwest’s 2025 summer reporting intern. She’s a rising senior at Northwestern […]| Investigate Midwest
KLEVENVILLE, Wis. — Two piglets jostled in the barnyard as Jess D’Souza stepped outside. Neither youngster seemed to be winning their morning game of tug-of-war over an empty feed bag. Jess approached the chicken coop. She swung open the weathered door. The flood of fowl scampered up a hill to a cluster of empty food […]| Investigate Midwest
This story was originally published by The New Lede. Agricultural operations across Iowa are a leading cause of significant water pollution problems in the state, posing dire risks to public and environmental health, according to a new scientific report that is sparking heated debate in the key US farm state. The 227-page “Central Iowa Source Water Research […]| Investigate Midwest
Most U.S. states have experienced a decline in the number of households using the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, over the last decade. Only 14 states have seen an increase in the number of households using the food assistance program, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data for fiscal years 2015 to […]| Investigate Midwest
It’s Fourth of July week, which means we’ve officially entered the second half of the year. At Investigate Midwest, we began 2025 with a renewed focus on covering the incoming Trump administration, including his appointments that have the greatest impact on the nation’s food system. One story investigated efforts by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President […]| Investigate Midwest
Last month, Investigate Midwest’s Monica Cordero explored why President Donald Trump’s second trade war could hit U.S. farmers harder than his first. Her story reported on the various financial challenges farmers face. Here are four charts from that story that highlight those challenges: Net farm income declined for two consecutive years after peaking in 2022. […]| Investigate Midwest
The April posting in the Federal Register by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was a bombshell. The feds are proposing to eliminate the regulatory Endangered Species Act’s definition of “harm.” Full stop. The ESA declares that it is illegal to “take” any member of a protected species […]| Investigate Midwest
BELZONI, Miss. — For Pepper Roberts, running a successful farm comes down to managing risk and planning for potential challenges. While other farmers sold their crops last fall, Roberts used grain bins to store half of his corn harvest, betting that he’d get a better price once corn supplies grew scarce. In January, Roberts sold […]| Investigate Midwest
For April Hemmes, a fourth-generation farmer on land her family has worked for almost 125 years in north-central Iowa, life is guided by a simple philosophy: “Prepare for the worst and hope for the best.” It’s a mindset that has helped her navigate extreme weather, market shocks and trade disputes. But this year, Hemmes said, […]| Investigate Midwest
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1.| The White House
