Optimism blooms at the Iowa Environmental Council’s annual conference

Optimism blooms at the Iowa Environmental Council’s annual conference Categories: Features Optimism blooms at the Iowa Environmental Council’s annual conference Ronan Norton, Staff Writer • Oct 8, 2026 Ronan Norton Attendees gather around booths hosted by organizations such as Bewild Rewild, the Iowa Farmers Union and the Iowa Food System Coalition at the Iowa Environmental Council Conference on Sep. 29. As Iowa cancer rates continue to rise and the midterm election approaches, water quality has become a mainstream issue among Iowa voters. This issue and many others were the forefront of discussion at the Iowa Environmental Council’s annual conference. The conference, held in the Olmsted Center on Sep. 29, featured eight hours of keynote speakers and Q&As discussing the current state and the future of the environment in Iowa. “This conference is looking at the intersection of our environment and our health here in Iowa, and what can we all do about it collectively together,” said Bethany Kohoutek, the marketing and communications director for the IEC. “It’s good to have younger voices speak up for these kinds of arguments to be made. We would not be where we are without students.” While the IEC is a nonpartisan organization, Kohoutek provided a statement when asked about the water quality as an emerging issue in the Iowa gubernatorial election.  “We are extremely optimistic,” Kohoutek said. Five years ago, you would not have heard conversations about water quality happening. Now it’s one of the top issues that voters will take into consideration this fall. We’ve seen a huge change in [the] conversation.” Following an introduction from IEC Executive Director Sarah Green, author Tamara Dean read a passage from her book “Shelter and Storm: At Home in the Driftless,” a collection of essays on the impacts of climate change. After her book signing, Dean discussed the importance of turning conversations into action.  “This conference is just phenomenal in the way that it’s bringing together people who are concerned and passionate about different aspects of Iowa’s environment,” Dean said. “The conference is one thing, but we all need to go home, take what we’ve learned and the connections we’ve made, and really move that toward action.” As a Wisconsin resident, Dean provided an outside perspective on the issues in Iowa.  “It will only remain a priority as long as the citizens are pushing for it to be,” Dean said. “The legislative offices need to keep hearing from citizens. If they don’t get any calls or emails, they’re going to think that it’s not important. It requires constant pressure from the electorate.” Pinhook Farms owner Seth Watkins and his daughter Tatum Watkins discussed research they had conducted on their farm in Clarinda, Iowa. “I’ve watched the nutrient reduction strategy since it came out. I sometimes felt like maybe I wasn’t getting all the information about it, and decided to take a water sample from the little stream on my farm, and then gather samples at the confluence of each river,” Seth Watkins said. Watkins followed the water flow from the stream on his farm to the Nodaway River and then to the Mississippi River, ending at the Gulf of Mexico.  “It just made me feel as a farmer that I’ve got a great responsibility to make things better for the people in the Gulf,” Seth Watkins said. “But also ,when I make things better, I’m gonna make things better for people at home. We have to be straightforward about what’s really happening with this. Don’t tell a half truth. We need to step our game up.” As an Iowa farmer and voter, Watkins is confident in the future of water quality improvement because of the amount of discussion around the issue. “We’re starting to see we do care about each other and we care about the issue,” Seth Watkins said. “I think the will is there.”  Trisha Rivers, a water resource technician for the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, gave a keynote on new quality standards being established with the EPA. “We are historically known to do more of the compliance, the monitoring, the assessment piece,” Rivers said. “The whole goal of the EPA working with tribal nations is that if the tribal nation would like to become self-governing and would like to essentially operate its own authority and enforcement, the EPA can help get us to that status.” As the Winnebago Tribe recently acquired 1,600 acres of land on the Iowa side of the Missouri River, Rivers and her colleagues in the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska Environmental Protection Department are creating new standards for water quality within their borders. “I think we’re all still navigating what that will truly look like. I know Nebraska and Iowa are excited to kind of see how they can help it all be cohesive,” Rivers said. “There’s a lot of different dynamics, jurisdictions of that nature. With this being so fairly new, there’s a lot of conversations that need to be had.” View Story Comments 0 Like This Story Share on Facebook Share on X Email this Story Print this Story Leave a Comment Donate to The Times-Delphic Your donation will support the student journalists of Drake University and help us maintain our website. Donate More to Discover More in Features Daily news made accessible Drake responds to record-breaking rainfall How an indie filmmaker brought a Drake grad Pulitzer Prize winner’s play back to its Iowa roots Randall Langford joins the Safe Ride squad Small organisms, big discoveries: Drake senior’s findings key for water quality research Booked in Des Moines celebrates romance readers and writers About the Contributor Ronan Norton, Staff Writer Ronan is a sophomore studying Zoology. This is his first year writing for the TD and he is looking forward to learning more about journalism. In his free time he enjoys writing music, baking and watching horror movies with his cat, Sweetie.