MESKWAKI SETTLEMENT — The Iowa Environmental Council, The Harkin Institute and the Iowa Farmers Union are partnering to host 15 listening sessions throughout Iowa this summer to explore the state’s high cancer rates. Anyone that has been impacted by cancer, or just wants to learn more about cancer in Iowa, can attend.

The upcoming session for Meskwaki Nation and Tama County is from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 13 at the Meskwaki Tribal Center, 349 Meskwaki Road, Tama.

Join us to:

-hear a short presentation about cancer and health data in Tama County;

-learn about a new project that explores the links between cancer and environmental risk factors;

-share a cancer story and listen to others’ stories.

This session is free and open to the public, and folks from any county are welcome to join. RSVPs are appreciated, but walk-ins are always welcome. To RSVP for the listening session go to: iaenvironment.salsalabs.org/tamacountylistening/index.html.

These listening sessions are part of a larger project exploring potential causes and risk factors in the state’s high cancer rates. Both IEC and The Harkin Institute have worked for years on policies that protect Iowa’s environment and human health. Iowa has the second-highest cancer rates in the U.S., and the devastation of cancer touches so many lives.