Iowa Prairie Documentary Project

Cheryl Johnson is a long time local of Decorah, IA. And when I say long time, I mean that a cabin on the property of the local Norwegian history focussed Vesterheim museum is one that used to belong to relatives of...

Featuring southwest Iowa organic vegetable farmer Shad Swanson, this video dives into overspray and chemical drift here in the state of Iowa. What is it? How does it happen? How severely can it impact an organic farming...

I first found out about Deb Matlock via Facebook. Her work, which is under the banner of Wild Rhythms, popped up on my feed and I was like…hmmm…not enough people talk seriously about reconnecting with nature. I think...

<p>Originally recorded April 17, 2026, this interview features Connie Mutel. She's a prolific author on ecosystems and prairie who lives here in Iowa. I would consider this a must listen or must watch episode! Decades...

<p>This episode is different than all the others. This is the one episode where someone is interviewing me. Beth Waage of KHOI radio's morning "Local Talk" asks me all sorts of interesting questions. I think you might...

<p>I first saw Diane Rosenberg speak at an event in late 2025. She was talking about the dangers of CAFO’s. At the time I still hadn’t seen a CAFO in Iowa. Well, I mean…I had seen the buildings but didn’t know what they...

<p>I was lucky enough to be invited to film a fire last year and here is the result. Hop in the "side by side" with John Van Rybroek and find out a bit about why people here in Iowa do prescribed prairie burns, prairie...

<p>Sit right down and take you a listen. Chris Jones dishes up the deets on all things Ethanol. Some of the things we cover in this episode:</p> What is Ethanol? How is Ethanol made? Who uses Ethanol? (Spoiler...

<p>Jennifer talks about something I had never heard of before: "Environmental Witnessing." From visiting her grandparent's farm in Nevada, IA to meditating in front of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations...I think...

<p>We didn’t just talk about the value of conservation and native seeds role in prairie restoration…we also talked about faith, family, how the bigger is better model has harmed farming community bonds. Nicolas talks...

<p>This is episode 12 and was recorded on October 4th, 2025 on the Drake University Campus in Des Moines Iowa and features an interview with Dr. Thomas Rossburg.</p><p>When I made my first post about this project on the...

<p>This is episode 11 and was recorded on November 11, 2025 in Iowa City and features an interview with David Cwiertny…it’s part 4 of my Cancer in Iowa series. In case you are a first time listener…I want to ever so...

<p>Part 3 of the "Cancer in Iowa" series. Iowa has some of the USA’s worst water quality AND some of the highest cancer rates in the nation. Larry Weber, who is this episode's featured speaker has spearheaded the effort...

<p>Shawn Ellerbroek is a cancer researcher based in the state of Iowa. I wanted a snapshot of where are we at, right now in the year 2025?<br />I wanted to know how what we put onto corn and soybean fields in Iowa...

<p>Episode 8 is the first interview of the "Cancer in Iowa" series, where I interview someone who knows more than the average bear about what's going on with cancer here in our state. This first episodes features...