Interactive Maps & Charts

Sites at most of the country’s coal-fired power plants are contaminating groundwater, according to new report by nonprofits.

Iowa has one-third the number of licenses for growing hemp as it did in 2020, the first year it became legal. Why is that?

Two decades of bacteria and algae have plagued Iowa beaches, leading to constant warnings. The Gazette and Investigate Midwest analyzed 20 years of beach monitoring data from the Iowa DNR. The results show that although individual locations show some progress, Iowa’s beaches overall show little to no improvement.

More than 1,000 volunteer groups pitch in every year to help keep Iowa’s highways clean. The Iowa Department of Transportation partners with community members through the Adopt-a-Highway program. In fiscal year 2022, volunteers collected 5,800 bags of litter along Iowa roads.

Non-white students, students with specialized learning plans and high school students have the most ground to make up

The Iowa Department of Transportation this month will submit a plan to the federal government for how Iowa would spend $51 million over five years to expand electric vehicle charging capacity along interstate highways, including I-80, I-380, I-35 and I-29.

“This will be the largest effort for a midterm election for Republicans in Iowa history,” says the chair of the state GOP.

A Jones County woman propelled across a highway from a mailbox pipe bomb recalls the trauma 20 years later. Luke Helder, a Wisconsin college student charged with planting the bombs in five states in 2002, remains incompetent to stand trial and committed to a federal mental facility.

Agricultural reform group says consolidation has cut farmers’ profits and caused rural counties to lose population. But an ISU economist offers different explanation.

Syphilis cases have increased 55 percent between 2020 and 2021 in Iowa, preliminary data from the Iowa Department of Public Health shows. In addition, a spike in congenital syphilis has alarmed public health officials.

See what’s new this season and what changes are in store as recreational users flock to the hiking tails and biking trails in Linn and Johnson counties, in the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City areas.

New data from the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance shows that Cedar Rapids is starting to shed its reputation as a “chain restaurant city” as it becomes a state leader in independent restaurant trends.

The Gazette spoke with 39 law enforcement agencies in Eastern Iowa. Twelve agencies had at least one bilingual officer. Of those 12, all but one spoke Spanish. The state doesn’t offer incentives for officers who speak more than one language.

“Suicide by cop” situations have risen in Iowa and across the country. The increase could be spurred by the pandemic, which has caused higher rates of depression and more suicide attempts by young people, but it’s a challenge for law enforcement.

Linn County voters on Nov. 2 approved the gaming referendum by a slimmer margin compared with 2013, but the likely developer says he and other investors are pressing forward with Cedar Rapids on identifying a casino location and preparing a license application for the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission.