Why it matters: Axios Des Moines, anchored by Jason Clayworth and Linh Ta, is here to help readers get smarter, faster on the most consequential news and developments unfolding in their own backyard.
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Vague language associated with last month’s federal stimulus have prompted local and state governments to delay decisions about how to spend their share of the $1.9 trillion.
Why it matters: There are spending deadlines and concerns that our local governments won’t be able to fully or best utilize allocations.
A national report that ranks the Raccoon River as one of the "most endangered" in the nation is "a bit of propaganda" that "is not based in fact," Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said in an Iowa PBS interview that aired Friday.
Why it matters: The river is the source of much of the metro’s water and has for years contained excessive levels of nitrates that have cost users millions of dollars to remove.
Context: The river’s pollution has been the subject of litigation and cited in ongoing calls for Iowa to scrap its voluntary approach to addressing agricultural runoff.
Iowa Press Moderator David Yepsen questioned Naig about how he could dismiss the American Rivers report, asking the secretary if he was "just a farm leader in Iowa blowing off environmental concerns?"
Of note: Here's how American Rivers selects the which waterways go in the annual report.
The other side: "We're interested in solutions — a safe, clean drinking water supply and a healthier river — and that is what this report is about," Amy Souers Kober, a spokesperson for American Rivers, said in a statement to Axios.