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Welcome Sonja Trom Eayrs to talk about her book, "Dodge County, Incorporated: Big Ag and the Undoing of Rural America." Join us for this discussion - June 3 at 7pm!
the years that ultimately gave rise to the disembodied corporate control of today’s food system. Trom Eayrs argues that far from being an essential or inextricable part of American life, corporatism can and should be fought and curbed, not only for the sake of land, labor, and water but for democracy itself. This book discussion immediately follows the Business portion of the LWV UMRR Annual Meeting. Click the button below to join the discussion! No registration required!  Sonja Trom Eayrs is a farmer’s daughter, rural advocate, and attorney. She is involved in several rural advocacy organizations, including the Socially Responsible Agriculture Project, Farm Action, Land Stewardship Project, and Dodge County Concerned Citizens. Trom Eayrs also serves as the business manager for the Trom family farm in Dodge County, Minnesota. For more information about the author, visit sonjatromeayrs.com.  One of the strengths of the LWV UMRR Action Committee is that our members are active with many other environmental organizations and causes as well. We bring this activism to UMRR, where we work to learn and coordinate our actions with other like-minded, non-partisan organizations. Susan Johnson from LWV Janesville (Wisconsin) is an example of such an involved person. Susan is a member of the LWV UMRR Action Committee, and a Board member of the Green-Rock Audubon Society. She brings her passion, knowledge and love of the outdoors to both these roles, strengthening both organizations.
How did Susan get involved with the Green-Rock Audubon Society? As a member of the Green-Rock Audubon Society Board for the past seven years, I've worked passionately on advocacy to promote prairie and wetlands restoration, and conservation locally and across the state. From the time my dad first taught us how to fish, and took us camping to our state and national parks, I have loved being in wilder places. I’m still a hiker, biker, and fisher. (In her own words!) What is the Green-Rock Audubon Society? The Green-Rock Audubon Society is a non-profit formed in 1990, one year after the establishment of the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Grant program. G-RAS is not only a local Wisconsin group of the National Audubon Society. It is belongs to the Gathering Waters Alliance for Land Trusts, which supports more than 40 land trusts across Wisconsin. G-RAS manages five properties it purchased with the help of Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Grants. These properties are excellent examples of prairie and wetlands restoration, and conservation. This conservation work restores vital habitat for birds and other wildlife, but also provides valuable recreational opportunities for local residents. G-RAS welcomes all area hikers, forest bathers, hunters, and fisher people of varying abilities. South-central Wisconsin residents do not have to travel all the way “up north” for outdoor recreational fun.  What is Wisconsin's Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program? In 1989, Governor Tommy Thompson and the Wisconsin Legislature created the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program (or Stewardship Fund) to preserve valuable natural areas and wildlife habitat, protect water quality and fisheries and expand opportunities for outdoor recreation. The Stewardship fund gives the WI DNR spending authority to purchase land and easement additions to state properties. Stewardship dollars also support recreational infrastructure on state properties, including campsite, restroom and trail improvements. Most annual Stewardship spending takes the form of grants to local governments and nonprofits. Stewardship grants fund local park infrastructure, boat ramp facilities, recreational trails and land purchases for parks and nature preserves statewide. (from WI DNR website) Where can I find a Public Land funded by the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program? Click this link to find an interactive map! Here's an example of what you'll find.  Data Centers and other large water users... looking at more effective groundwater governance3/5/2025
development while maintaining a sustainable water supply, and specifically managing groundwater for the long term. Data centers are growing especially quickly - there are already 400 data centers in the five Upper Mississippi River Basin states, and many more are proposed throughout the region.  These data centers provide cloud storage, AI servers and cryptocurrency mining services. Their energy use is intensive, and many propose to use water for cooling. Data center builders look for areas with reasonable land costs, a stable power grid with good interconnections, water for cooling, and a favorable regulatory environment. With them come concerns about water use, power demand and environmental factors such as noise and light pollution. Carrie Jennings will address the question: How can we support economic development while ensuring water availability to support communities and the environment into the future?
This information was prepared by Alexandra Campbell-Ferrari to help people understand the agreement's purpose and content. It is reproduced here verbatim. Thank you to Alexandra for sharing this with us to share with you! On-River, Corridor and Watershed Local and Tribal Leaders are invited to join the Mississippi River Local and Tribal Leaders Agreement, a transformational document which will forge the future of the Mississippi River for years to come. What is the Mississippi River Local and Tribal Leaders Agreement? Short Answer: The Agreement unites local and Tribal leaders in a common cause to defend, protect, and invest in the Mississippi River for the betterment and prosperity of your communities. Long Answer: The Mississippi River Local and Tribal Leaders is a landmark agreement, spearheaded by the Mayors of the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative (MRCTI) and the Center for Water Security and Cooperation (CWSC), that empowers local and Tribal leaders to collectively set a shared course for the Mississippi River. The Agreement, open to all mayors, equivalent local leaders, and Tribal leaders along the Mississippi River and in the River’s watershed, promotes the economic, ecological, and social vitality of the Mississippi River by encouraging sustainable use, protection, and restoration of the Mississippi River. The Agreement builds a unique foundation for collective action dedicated to the Mississippi River founded on the local level. This agreement builds toward an Interstate Water Compact by showcasing the extraordinary work that local governments and Tribes are already doing to protect the river. The efforts and commitments showcased by the Agreement will drive the conversation about an Interstate Compact that will be necessary for the river to survive and flourish in the long-term. What does the Mississippi River Local and Tribal Leaders Agreement ask Signatories to do? Short Answer: The Agreement asks signatories to agree to a few core principles: that cooperation and collaboration among cities, towns, and Tribes is necessary to protect the River, that greater protections and formal cooperation among States would benefit the River, and that local and Tribal leaders, as the leaders closest to the communities who depend on and are impact by the River, are well-positioned to lead. Once signed, the Agreement asks local and Tribal leaders to submit a short Implementation Plan (using the form provided) that identifies actions local and tribal leaders are already taking or are planning to take to protect and celebrate the Mississippi River. The Agreement asks leaders to report on their progress on these actions on a regular basis. Long Answer: The Mississippi River Local and Tribal Leaders Agreement is a voluntary agreement that asks local and tribal leaders to identify commitments they can make to advance their existing work protecting the Mississippi River. Commitments are intended to highlight the initiatives you are already undertaking or planning to undertake to protect the Mississippi River, though they can also include new initiatives. To help spark the planning process, the Agreement makes suggestions for commitments that can be adopted. The suggested commitments are provided in an illustrative list of examples in the Agreement and fall in the following six areas that focus on the greatest needs and challenges of the River:
Who will support my joining and implementing the Agreement? Short Answer: The CWSC will be your partner as you consider joining the Agreement, submit the Signature Page, and identify commitments and develop your Implementation Plan through to the implementation of your plan, sharing your experiences, and working toward an interstate compact. Long Answer: CWSC will serve as the Secretariat for the Agreement, with MRCTI as a Founding Partner. This means that the CWSC is available to: (1) answer questions about the Agreement before you sign, (2) help you identify commitments and develop an Implementation Plan, (3) bring visibility to this work in order to increase investment in the Mississippi and your communities who rely on it, (4) periodically collect and report on implementation successes and challenges, and (5) work toward an interstate compact for the Mississippi River. CWSC will serve as the primary point of contact for submission of Implementation Plans, updates on those plans, and reporting on progress. CWSC, as the Agreement’s Secretariat, will review the Plans to identify avenues for collaboration, share stories of similar efforts, and frame and amplify the successes and challenges along the River. What is a “commitment”?
Short Answer: A commitment is an action or activity that local and Tribal leaders are currently taking or are planning to take to improve the protection and management of the River for their communities. The commitment can also propose a new action or activity. Long Answer: A commitment is an action or activity that local and tribal leaders will take or pursue to protect and restore the Mississippi River. Commitments can be actions that are currently being taken, actions are planned, and new actions intended to build off existing work or explore new opportunities within or between communities. Local and tribal leaders can adopt any type of a commitment, from developing new policies for wetland restoration and climate resilience or expanding public spaces and greenspaces along the Mississippi River, to launching citizen science initiatives that monitor the health of the river and engage students. The Agreement offers many other examples and suggestions for the types of commitments local and tribal leaders can make, but the list in the Agreement is illustrative, not exhaustive, and is meant to provide examples that can start a discussion or provide some initial ideas for actions that cities, towns, and Tribes can take. What are my next steps? Short Answer: Local and Tribal leaders should submit a Signature Page to the CWSC by February 7, 2025. For these signatories, Implementation Plans should be submitted by the end of May 2025. Long Answer: The Executive Committee of the MRCTI voted to join the Agreement on December 2, 2024. Local and Tribal leaders should sign and submit the Signature Page to [email protected] by February 7, 2025. If you have questions you need answered before signing and would like to schedule a meeting to discuss the Agreement, please contact the same email address with a request to meet. An official signing ceremony is being planned during the MRCTI Annual Capitol meeting March 5-6, 2025. “With River Days of Action, we take a lesson from the River: we reach our grandeur by uniting.”
UMRR formed an InterLeague Organization to gather, now five states, of the Upper Mississippi River Region to work together to save, celebrate and honor our River. One upcoming event is to create a Mississippi River Day of Celebration. Our LWV UMRR ILO has been celebrating the River since 2015 and, maybe, you have been part of that celebration. There are so many ways to celebrate even if you don’t live next to the Mississippi. Of course traveling to a state park or area (restaurants, parks) along the Mississippi is always an option. But the river affects us through city water treatment plants, sewage plants, and going anywhere to drink or play in water. Many of you may have a relationship with the Izaak Walton League, or the Fish and Wildlife Refuge or Sierra Club or with the many clubs that support our nature and want to continue to use our resources to fish, hunt and play. The 100 Grannies in the Iowa City area are very involved with environmental forces. Join with another group, let the press know and have a celebration!
A clean up walk or watching a video or movie or reading a good book are all ways to celebrate and educate about the River. We went to the Galena Public Library to learn about the mining days and the Mississippi River influence on the community. So much to learn in so little time. I’m available to help brainstorm ideas. Our 1Mississippi.org site has lots of information and ideas, too. To qualify to be listed on that site with a celebratory activity, the event must take place in early June. Send me an email ([email protected]) with UMRR in the subject area. I’d love to help you brainstorm. We should have an activity in each state. In today’s world where our environment is being attacked daily, education continues to be a force that won’t go away. Join a Mississippi River Celebration. Organizing for our future, Nancy Nancy is a member of LWV Johnson County (Iowa) as well as being a member of the LWV UMRR Board and Action Committee, and representing LWV UMRR in One Mississippi actions and projects.  Assembled delegates and friends at the One Mississippi Annual Meeting in St. Paul, November 2024 The Mississippi River is an enduring and defining feature of North America. We invite all who are interested in the restoration and revitalization of this valuable natural resource to join us in this important work! All are welcome to attend our board meetings and our educational programs, just register when you see the invitation. As always, we very much appreciate the continued support of the local Leagues in our Upper Mississippi River Region. Our work is made possible by your dues and donations. Read about the work of LWV UMRR in this Annual Report by our dedicated Chair, Mary Ellen Miller!
Committees: Communication Committee - we are looking for people to join the Communications Committee. Here, we are responsible for LWV UMRR's monthly newsletter and managing the LWV UMRR website. We also do the annual communications with our member Leagues around the Annual Meeting. Committee members will develop skills in using MailChimp for newsletters and Weebly for websites, both free software that gives a more professional look to communications. We are also looking for someone to give us more of a presence in social media. Action Committee - Action Committee meetings are held on the third Tuesday of the month, at 4:30 via Zoom. Kay Slama is Chair of the Action Committee and she is very effective at running efficient meetings and providing the tools needed for the work. You can read her 2024 annual report on our website at this link. Here's a message from Chair Mary Ellen Miller: JOIN our LWV UMRR Action Committee! The LWV Upper Mississippi River Region Action Committee is seeking more participants from any dues-paying local League members within our five-state region. The Action Committee’s focus is to advocate for both state and federal legislation and regulation that supports our mission to protect the Upper MS River region from pollution degrading our drinking water supply, destroying wildlife habitat and contributing to the “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico. New Members Welcome! The Committee meets monthly via ZOOM (currently third Tuesday at 4:30 pm). Kay Slama is Chair of the Action Committee and she is very effective at running efficient meetings and providing the tools needed for the work. You can read her 2024 annual report on our website at this link. The major topics we are following include: CAFOs (confined animal feeding operations), Farm Bill (conservation programs) reauthorization, corporate capture of state/federal agencies, PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), CO2 pipelines, coal ash storage, MS River Compact, Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative (MRCTI), Mississippi River Restoration and Resilience Initiative (MRRRI). If any of these topics are of interest to you or you have expertise to share we invite you to sign up for our Action Committee meeting notices (insert link here). Come and sit in on a few meetings then let us know you want to join the Committee. There are no term limits, you can drop off at any time. This is a great way to expand your knowledge about water quality issues in our region and learn how to be an effective advocate for the river. We love LWV members cross-pollinating with like-minded environmental organizations. Action Committee members also serve as liaison to like-minded organizations: state Environmental Councils, Sierra Club, Isaak Walton League, Upper MS River Basin Association, National Wildlife Association, Clean Water for All, One Mississippi (formerly MS River Network), LWV US Climate Interest Group (CIG), American Farmland Trust, Prairie Rivers Network, LWV Lake Michigan ILO, and 100 Grannies. If you are interested in joining a committee, contact Mary Ellen at [email protected] and she'll get you hooked up!  LWV UMRR Board at the 2024 Board Retreat, Quad Cities Iowa. Left to right, Catherine Franczyk (IL), EJ Gallagher (IA), Paula Ekstrom (IL), Lee Ekstrom (IL), Gretchen Sabel (MN), Mary Ellen Miller (IA), Nancy Porter (IA), Mickey Croyle (MO), Kay Slama (MN) and Tam Prenosil (IA). On computer via Zoom - Sheryl Eufinger (MO), Megan Benage (MN) and Colleen Werdien (MN)  In LWV UMRR's December 4 meeting, Exploring the Idea of a Mississippi River Compact, one of the speakers – Minnesota Senator John Hoffman - brought in a surprise guest, Alexandra Campbell-Ferrari*. Alexandra is co-founder of the Center for Water Security and Cooperation, and is working with the MRCTI to lay the foundation for a Mississippi River Compact. In this interview, Alexandra shared her vision and plan for this work. Alexandra and her colleague, Luke Wilson, started the Center for Water Security and Cooperation in 2015. A non-profit organization, the CWSC works with governments and nonprofits to write laws to evaluate the effectiveness of laws, all focused around trying to achieve water security and universal access to water and sanitation. The CWSC’s mission is to advance water security and cultivate cooperation by building a unified body of laws, policies, practices, and standards that ensure the availability of water for current and future generations, and a peaceful, stable, and vibrant global society. In a recent meeting with LWV UMRR Board members, Alexandra talked about the work CWSC is undertaking with the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative. Here’s that story, in her own words: “About 8 years ago, the CWSC was invited to a meeting hosted by the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative (MRCTI). The Mayors wanted to explore unique approaches to managing the Mississippi River, and they were interested in the role that the law could play, particularly an interstate water compact. . At the time, I had just written a law review article that discussed how interstate water compacts are these underutilized legal mechanisms for protecting environmental resources. Our laws don't often recognize that water is fluid. It runs across multiple jurisdictions which requires a different approach to management, one which doesn’t stop at borders. To me, the interstate water compact is this phenomenal tool that we don’t use enough. Last September, MRCTI’s mayors voted to support pursuing this idea of an interstate water compact. So, with the help of MRCTI’s mayors, we came up with a game plan and developed an agreement that showcases the work local and tribal leaders are doing to protect the Mississippi River.” So what is the plan of action for actually getting to that interstate water compact? There are some existing compacts that can be a model. A compact for a river system as big as the Mississippi is a big lift, but the MRCTI was a great place to start. The Mayors are really interested in a compact – now is the time to use their collective capacity, interest and power to get something done. Back to Alexandra’s telling: “The Mississippi River Local and Tribal Leaders Agreement was drafted to do that, to give the Mayors, Tribal and other local leaders a foundation to think about: What are we doing to protect the Mississippi River? What more could we be doing? And what more could we be doing in collaboration with other communities? The mayors on MRCTI’s Executive Committee voted to join the agreement in December 2024, and since then more and more mayors and tribal leaders have joined on behalf of their individual communities. We’re planning a formal signing ceremony for March 2025 to coincide with MRCTI’s yearly meeting in Washington D.C.“ Work is now ongoing to get more Mayors interested in the agreement. Below is a copy of the agreement – the first two pages are a fact sheet and the remainder is the text of the agreement. The agreement asks signatories to commit to undertaking 3-5 commitments about what they can do to protect the Mississippi River, either on their own or in collaboration with other local leaders. Watch the LWV UMRR blog for updates as this progresses. *Alexandra is a graduate of Bucknell University. Read more about her in this Earth Day article in the Spring 2024 Bucknell Magazine.
Thirty million acres of unprotected wetlands in the upper Midwest, including over 640,000 in Iowa and 1 million in Illinois, are at risk of being destroyed, according to a new study by the Union of Concerned Scientists. These same wetlands provide nearly $23 billion in annual flood mitigation benefits and have the potential to provide hundreds of billions of dollars of mitigation benefits as climate change increases precipitation across the region." The Iowa Farmers Union, Iowa Environmental Council, Dakota Rural Action, and Food & Water Watch were approved to intervene in this federal lawsuit in Iowa District Court. Read more about this here.  Retired Chicago lawyer James Conlan, owner of the 71-acre Iowa farm property seen here, has sued to overturn a voluntary federal wetland conservation program called Swampbuster. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune) Our speakers were Katie Garvey, Staff Attorney with the Environmental Law and Policy Center in Chicago, and Elle Gadient, Delaware County Farmer & Iowa Farmers Union Beginning Farmer Representative. Katie is representing members of the Iowa Farmers Union who formally entered the case as intervenors earlier this month. It marks the first time farmers directly implicated in the lawsuit will be involved. Elle and her husband, Steve Besler, are two of those farmers. In our video, you will hear about the case, their views of the merits of the case and what's at stake if the law is abolished. Katie discusses how the Swampbuster lawsuit threatens federal wetlands protection as well as the foundations of American farm policy, and Elle followed up with her experience as a first-time farmer trying to get a foothold in a landscape where corporate farms dominate. Elle believes that "Iowa farmland should be owned and managed by Iowa farmers and that our farmland and watersheds need to be protected for the future, for Iowans, for the environment, and for those downstream from us. These small streams and local watersheds eventually flow into the Mississippi River." Katie Garvey (photo ELPC) Besler-Gadient farm (photo Chicago Tribune) Elle Gadient (photo Forbes)
 Besler-Gadient Farm (photo Elle Gadient) Nickel is a mineral needed for electric cars and other green technologies, and there's a large deposit of nickel in northern Minnesota. Two previous attempts to permit a nickel mine in the Lake Superior and Boundary Waters failed due to water quality concerns; the Talon mine is smaller and in a different watershed - the Upper Mississippi.
Changes to the project:
Recently, Talon Metals proposed significant changes to the project that are detailed in an article in the Minnesota Star Tribune on December 20, 2025. Talon Metals, the company proposing an underground nickel mine near Tamarack, Minn., has backed away from a novel plan that would have used a subway-digging machine to carve an underground loop to reach the ore. Instead, Talon, which hopes to one day supply the materials for Tesla’s electric-vehicle batteries, will dig a straight path down to those minerals. The revised environmental assessment worksheet filed Dec. 12 incorporated public, state and tribal feedback, said Jessica Johnson, the vice president of external affairs for Talon. “We’re reducing the amount of ground disturbance and the amount of rock that we need to handle and manage,” Johnson said. By no longer using a tunnel-boring machine, Talon has sidestepped early concerns from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources about waste rock, potential contamination of water and an untested technology for mining. But building a single, diagonal shaft underground also means that Talon will be blasting rock closer to the surface, at 100 feet below as opposed to 300 feet below. Opposition to the project from the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe: Among those with concerns about the project, the Mille Lacs Band is speaking out. Here is a December 29, 2025, Letter to the Editor from Virgin Wind, Chief Executive of the Band. Why Minnesota’s water future matters for everyone The Mille Lacs Band, in its concern about the proposed Tamarack nickel mine, is standing with all Minnesotans who understand that our fates are intertwined. As we look toward a new year, the wisdom of our ancestors feels particularly relevant. Indinawemaaganidog — this Ojibwe term, meaning “all my relatives,” captures a truth that runs as deep as the Mississippi’s waters: We are all connected — past to present, people to land, community to community. Raised by my grandparents, and now a grandparent myself, I’ve learned that our most profound responsibility is not to our immediate moment, but to the generations that will follow. My grandmother taught me the art of birchbark crafting as a child, passing down a traditional practice and a fundamental understanding of our relationship with the land. That first $2.40 I earned from crafting tiny canoes came with teachings about respecting our resources and our responsibility to each other. The birch trees that once flourished in our forests have become scarce — a reminder of how quickly we can lose what nature has taken centuries to create. This loss carries a powerful lesson: We don’t inherit the land from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children. This lesson is a guiding principle for me as the newly elected chief executive for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, and I am particularly concerned about our clean waters being threatened. Once pristine waters are contaminated, they cannot be restored. Once underground aquifers are compromised, they cannot be replaced. What happens in this watershed flows downstream, touching every community along the river’s path across 40% of the continental U.S. — Native and non-Native alike. This interconnectedness is why the proposed Tamarack nickel mine isn’t just a Mille Lacs Band concern — it’s a watershed moment for all Minnesotans. The mine’s location threatens the Mississippi River and St. Croix River basins, putting critical drinking water sources, habitats and surrounding communities at risk. And for our people, this isn’t only about protecting resources — it’s about preserving our forever home. International polluters like Talon Metals/Rio Tinto have not proven their methods are safe for our interconnected ecosystem. That’s why the Mille Lacs Band has created Water Over Nickel, an initiative to protect Minnesota’s people, natural resources and cultural sites from the negative impact of nickel mining. We are not opposing progress — we’re advocating for progress that considers all our relations, including future generations. Why must this mine be placed in the Upper Mississippi River basin, where its impacts could flow through countless communities? There are alternatives. We get only one chance to protect these waters for our children, their children, and so forth. Our collective wisdom proves we’re stronger when we prioritize long-term community welfare over short-term environmental risks. The health of our water doesn’t recognize boundaries between tribal and state lands — its vitality or degradation affects us all equally. Protecting our waters is a Minnesota issue, a human issue and a national issue as the Mississippi River runs to the Gulf of Mexico. After the nickel is extracted and the company moves on, our communities — all of us — will live with the consequences for generations. Every glass of clean water drunk by a child in Minneapolis, every grain of Manoomin (wild rice) harvested from Sandy Lake, every walleye caught in Lake Mille Lacs, and every paddle dipped in the river’s flow depends on the choices we make today about projects like the Tamarack mine. The story of the Mille Lacs Band demonstrates both the strength and fragility of our connections. Our resilience through generations of challenges comes from understanding that our well-being is tied to the health of our environment and our relationships with neighboring communities. When short-term profits are prioritized over long-term community welfare, it threatens the heritage of the non-removable Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. Indinawemaaganidog reminds us we are all relatives in this struggle to protect our shared waters. We can find a better way forward, one that respects the deep connections among our communities, our resources and our shared future. The Mille Lacs Band, through Water Over Nickel, is standing with all Minnesotans who understand that our fates are intertwined. We hope all Minnesotans will help us protect our waters with the knowledge that, in doing so, we are protecting each other and the generations to come. Virgil Wind is chief executive of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. Two recent stories reported in the December Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources Snapshots newsletter focus on success: success in cleaning up lakes by working to reduce phosphorus inflows in their watersheds, and success in the growth of climate-smart agriculture practices.
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