Lauren Wade - Investigate Midwest

Growing Iowa School Districts Turn To Debt To Meet Demands, But So Do Non-Growing Districts

Several Iowa school districts have taken on debt the last 17 years, with one district owing as much as $35,448 per student, to handle student enrollment increases but also repairs to aging buildings. The question they face is: how to manage that debt?

By Lauren Wade

/ 22 Apr 2019

Growing Iowa School Districts Turn To Debt To Meet Demands, But So Do Non-Growing Districts

Iowa Pesticide Bureau Workloads Grow But Not Inspection Staff Levels

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST Workloads for eight state investigators who determine whether herbicides are applied properly in Iowa have more than doubled the past two years, with no plans in

By Lauren Wade

/ 6 Mar 2019

Iowa Pesticide Bureau Workloads Grow But Not Inspection Staff Levels

Years Later, Little Action On Recommendations For Iowa's Pesticide Inspections

Problems the Iowa State Auditor’s office identified in a 2012 audit and subsequent reports and recommendations for investigating Iowa’s pesticide use violations still linger years later. The Iowa

By Lauren Wade

/ 22 Jan 2019

Years Later, Little Action On Recommendations For Iowa's Pesticide Inspections

Local Town Dumps A Thing Of The Past Due To High Cost Of Government Regulations

Many small Iowa communities no longer can afford to maintain their local dumps when faced with increasing regulation and permitting fees by the EPA and Iowa Department of Natural Resources. That has forced new ways of thinking about waste management.

By Lauren Wade

/ 5 Dec 2018

Local Town Dumps A Thing Of The Past Due To High Cost Of Government Regulations

Iowan Almost Missed First U.S. Vote, But Auditor Brought The Voter Back To Cast A Ballot

A new Iowa City voter who recently passed a test to become a U.S. citizen but had not yet participated in a swearing-in ceremony almost lost a chance

By Lauren Wade

/ 6 Nov 2018

Iowan Almost Missed First U.S. Vote, But Auditor Brought The Voter Back To Cast A Ballot

Henry County, Iowa, Runs Out Of Ballots Early In the Day During Mid-Term

Henry County, Iowa, ran out of ballots during the Tuesday mid-term elections. Auditor Shelly Barber told IowaWatch she only ordered enough ballots for 90 percent of the county’s

By Lauren Wade

/ 6 Nov 2018

Henry County, Iowa, Runs Out Of Ballots Early In the Day During Mid-Term

Iowa College Campuses Respond To Bias- And Hate-Related Incidences

As soon as students get off Highway 30 and arrive at Iowa State University, in Ames, they are greeted with bright yellow banners saying, “welcome,” in multiple different languages. This is just one thing Julian Neely, a journalism and communication major from Des Moines and the 2018-19 Student Gover

By Lauren Wade

/ 4 Sep 2018

Iowa College Campuses Respond To Bias- And Hate-Related Incidences

Iowans Throwing Away Valuable Food, Usable Materials and Recyclables At Alarming Rate

Iowa’s Department of Natural Resources sampled trash from 10 landfills and five transfer stations across Iowa for a study published in December 2017, looking to answer the question, “What are Iowans landfilling?” Tom Anderson, of the Iowa DNR’s Land Quality Bureau and the study’s project manager, ha

By Lauren Wade

/ 24 May 2018

Iowans Throwing Away Valuable Food, Usable Materials and Recyclables At Alarming Rate

Moves At The University Of Iowa To Reduce Spanish Textbook Costs

The University of Iowa Spanish general education program is keeping the cost of textbooks down for students by using two textbooks for the four semesters required to fulfill general education

By Lauren Wade

/ 10 May 2018

Moves At The University Of Iowa To Reduce Spanish Textbook Costs

Iowa City Struggles Finding Balance Near Downtown Between Student Renters, Home Owners

Who lives in or near downtown in Iowa City, which houses students from across Iowa and other states, is out of balance, housing and urban planning experts in the city say. It’s that way because, paradoxically, more students can afford housing there because of the rents, squeezing out potential homeb

By Lauren Wade

/ 20 Dec 2017

Iowa City Struggles Finding Balance Near Downtown Between Student Renters, Home Owners