It is hard to name anything more basic than safe water from the tap. Yet this week, across central Iowa, families were once again told to cut back on their water use just to keep the system running. Central Iowa Water Works issued a Stage II alert, asking the 600,000 people it serves to reduce lawn watering by half. The reason is nitrate. Levels in the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers, the region's two main sources, have climbed so high that the treatment plants are running at c

Most of us picture plastic pollution as a bottle on a beach or a bag drifting in the surf. The truth is stranger and far closer to home. Some of the most pervasive plastic in our environment is flowing out of the vent on the back of the clothes dryer. The Problem We Cannot See Synthetic clothing sheds tiny plastic threads called microfibers every time it is washed and dried. For years the conversation focused on washing machines and wastewater. Then researchers at the 5 Gyres

There is a phrase we keep coming back to at CHF. Fighting the good fight, again. Few of our partners embody it more fully right now than Planned Parenthood North Central States. The Care at Stake PPNCS serves more than 93,000 patients a year across a five state region that includes Iowa, where our foundation has its deepest roots. The care it provides is the ordinary, essential kind that keeps people healthy. Birth control. Cancer screenings. Testing and treatment for infecti

It is one of the great privileges of leading a family foundation to witness the moment when the next generation steps forward and says, "We're ready." At Change Happens Foundation, that moment has arrived. This spring, we formally welcomed three extraordinary young women to our board of directors: Zoe Nong, Liza Burmeister, and Lydia Nong. They represent Generation 3 of our foundation's leadership, and their election marks one of the most significant milestones in our organiz