Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD)

Pesticide Firms Ask Lawmakers For Immunity From Lawsuits By Sick Farmers

"Ray Bickel spent over a decade driving a truck through giant corn and soybean fields in Clinton County, Iowa, applying pesticides. He says it was good work, while it lasted."  “He was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, which is blood and bone marrow cancer."

Source: KWQC, 05/28/2025

"Trump Officials Ask Court to End Protections for a Strutting, Showy Bird"

"The Trump administration has moved to end federal protections for the lesser prairie chicken, a showy grouse with the misfortune of inhabiting southern and central grasslands long sought-after for agriculture and energy development."

Source: NYTimes, 05/09/2025

N. Dakota Enacts First US Law Shielding Roundup From Some Cancer Lawsuits

"A new first-of-its-kind law enacted in North Dakota could shield agrochemical manufacturer Bayer from lawsuits claiming it failed to warn customers that its popular weedkiller Roundup could cause cancer."

Source: AP, 04/29/2025

Bill To Protect Pesticide Companies Fizzles Out in Iowa Legislature Again

"In the state with the second-highest cancer rate in the nation, the legislation would have made it harder for residents to sue pesticide companies for illnesses linked to their products."

Source: Inside Climate News, 04/16/2025

Follow the Money … for Lobbying State Legislatures

With many states dominated by a few powerful industries — whether oil, mining or agriculture — the influence of campaign dollars can have an outsize effect on legislation, even to the point of corruption, notes the latest Reporter’s Toolbox. So while the U.S. Congress may be languishing, environmental journalists can dig up stories on lobbying at the state level using a powerful data source.

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"Greenpeace Must Pay At Least $660M Over Dakota Pipeline Protests, Says Jury"

"A jury in North Dakota has decided that the environmental group Greenpeace must pay hundreds of millions of dollars to the pipeline company Energy Transfer and is liable for defamation and other claims over protests in the state nearly a decade ago."

Source: Guardian, 03/20/2025

New Angle for Reporting on Oil and Gas Industry — Radioactive Waste

Industry experts and government regulators have long known that radionuclides reside in oil and natural gas. Yet radioactive emissions and waste continue to threaten the lives of workers and community members across the country. Investigative journalist Justin Nobel on the opportunities and urgent need for reporters to drill into a story steeped in questions of accountability, health and justice.

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