Olivia Cohen

Alliant Energy will start construction on a new power plant in Cedar Rapids — called the Cedar River Generating Station and sited within the boundary of Alliant’s Prairie Creek Generating Station — next year, aiming to have the plant fully operational by mid-2027.

Following news last week that Alliant Energy is “deprioritizing” construction of a new natural gas fired power plant in Fairfax, the company said it is evaluating its options for siting a new power plant.

The quality of Iowa’s water is a top environmental concern in Iowa, and for many Iowans, there can be a feeling of helplessness. That’s where Heather Wilson comes in. Her work at the Izaak Walton League strives to remove the “barriers of entry” to make water quality testing and advocacy more accessible to the public.

The use of cover crops in Iowa has expanded significantly in recent years. The conservation practice is promoted by the state through cost share incentives — an effort by the Iowa Department of Agriculture to reduce nutrients that contribute to the Gulf dead zone. But new research suggests that while the number of acres being planted with cover crops has grown, not all farmers are sticking with the practice.

Alliant Energy, which has been exploring building a new power plant in Fairfax — a proposal that was met with resistance from some residents and officials at The Eastern Iowa Airport — said in a statement to the city that it is “deprioritizing” the Fairfax location.

As researchers behind an Iowa water quality sensor program race to find a new funding source before money runs out and they’re forced to pull the sensors from the state’s rivers and streams, a nonprofit has launched a crowdsource campaign to try to keep the program afloat.

Expert says waste from a restarted Duane Arnold Energy Center could introduce hundreds of new chemicals into the environment, impacting human health.

In his role with the Sierra Club’s Iowa City Chapter, Tom Carsner has spent a lot of time in recent months thinking and talking about the ways the federal government incentivizes energy efficiency.

After months of no detections, Iowa wildlife officials have seen an uptick in cases of avian influenza this month. Most recently, bird flu was confirmed in Canada geese at two locations in Dubuque County.

In what they are calling a “two-birds-one-stone” approach, researchers at Iowa State University have been exploring whether filling abandoned fossil fuel wells with a “bio-oil” produced from organic material could remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

To carry out the mission of working with their hands, Trappist Monks in Dubuque County focus on conservation, forestry and making caskets.

Despite deploying thousands of tests and running samples, researchers still haven’t determined why so many white oak trees across Iowa have died.

Time has run out on a short-term plan to continue funding a network of sensors that monitors the water quality in Iowa’s rivers and streams. Unless new funding can be secured, dozens of sensors will be taken offline next year, eliminating the ability to measure nitrate and phosphorus to see if conservation practices are working.

Alliant Energy’s plans for a natural gas fired power plant northwest of The Eastern Iowa Airport raise “concerns for airport safety and regulatory compliance,” according to a study commissioned by the Cedar Rapids Airport Commission.

To a gathering of residents in Dubuque this week, David Cwiertny, director of the Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination at the University of Iowa, said there is “no such thing as risk-free water.”