Iowa

Mount Rushmore and the Great Lakes are a couple of the Midwest’s tourism magnets, but some states have to work against their reputations to attract visitors. They’re getting creative by highlighting amenities that can be a bit off the beaten path.

Iowa Department of Natural Resources documents show workers at a manure digester in northwest Iowa noted a drop in the digester’s tank but didn’t investigate the issue further. The digester leaked roughly 376,000 gallons of manure water into nearby creeks.

Farmers across much of the Corn Belt got a late start planting their corn this year. July could make or break this year’s crop. A poor harvest could fuel inflation and have a ripple effect for consumers.

Nearly 5.5 million chickens and turkeys have died or had to be destroyed in Buena Vista County, Iowa, during the latest bird flu outbreak — more than in any other county in the nation. That’s impacted producers, as well as workers and their families.

Water utilities have never been required to thoroughly inventory lead pipes except in a crisis. Health experts warn problems with these “underground poisonous straws” can arise out of the blue.

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation has awarded nearly $3 million dollars in grants to plant cover crops in six Midwestern states The funding comes as demand for state and federal incentive programs for cover crops often outpaces available funding.

State legislatures around the country have been trying to prevent transgender girls and women from competing with their peers. How that's playing out in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska depends on politics and people.

State officials and scientists are cautioning backyard flock owners to be on high alert for bird flu. The highly contagious disease has reached small flocks in Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska.

For some people born and raised in the middle of the country, it takes traveling to other parts of America to understand what Midwestern means. Others see the differences without ever leaving home.

Health officials say there is no safe level for exposure among children.

In the Midwest, Wisconsin and Michigan are the biggest producers of maple syrup, but there is a lot of untapped potential for maple syrup in the lower Midwest.

Missouri is among the Midwestern states with some of the country's highest rates of cancer mortality for Black residents. Public health advocates have worked for years to close the racial gap, but some worry the pandemic will delay progress.