KHOI

Originally broadcast 02/18/2014
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We covered the rally urging President Obama to deny approval to the XLKeystone Pipeline. We talked with Rivka Fidel of the ISU campus organization Active US, followed by a short clip from a debate between Eric Fica, president of Friends of the Earth , and Cindy Schild, executive from the American Petroleum Insitute , which led to a vivid description of the pipeline and its effects by ISU professor emeritus, Carl Vondra. Stephen Biggs, leader of the newly formed Ames chapter of Citizens Climate Lobby , telling us about the actions of that group to deal with the politics of climate change. Closing out with some thought provoking music by Pete Mayer and Fleetwood Mac. Our purpose is to present information that will provide new ways to think about the issue, no matter which side you favor.

Originally broadcast 02/14/2014
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Iowa farmers will have to find new ways of conserving and holding rainfall as the state’s climate becomes more variable. That was the message Dr. Jerry Hatfield gave to KHOI’s Local Talk listeners Friday (Feb. 14). Dr. Hatfield is Laboratory Director of the USDA’s Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment in Ames. He also talked about the new “climate change hub,” which has been established to distribute information to food producers in the state. Also on the program, Green County farmer George Nayler described what he’s had to do to survive changing weather patterns and intense competition from corporate agriculture. Nayler is a third-generation farmer who operates his century-old family farm near Churdan.

Hosts: Cynthia McClure and Tom Beell

Originally broadcast 02/12/2014
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The Squaw Creek Watershed Authority and what’s being done to monitor water quality in central Iowa was the topic of discussion on this past Wednesday’s Local Talk show. Co-hosts Susan Franzen and Tom Beell talked with Jerry Keys of the Story County Conservation Center and Pat Conrad of the EOR Water Ecology Community about the watershed, which extends north into Webster County and includes much of Boone and Story Counties. (A map of the watershed is to the left) Also on the program, Penny Brown Huber, executive director of Prairie Rivers of Iowa, told how her group is working to make more people aware of the watershed and how they can help take care of it. Wednesday’s program also included a report by reporter Kay Puttock on the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), which is cosponsoring a Trivia Contest Fundraiser next month with KHOI.