Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk

09/18/2026

Advocates say data centers have one environmental problem that’s easy to solve: light pollution. As data centers expand in the Mississippi River Basin, they’re calling for light pollution rules to protect migrating birds and nighttime pollinators.

Story by Desk reporter Héctor Alejandro Arzate

The Midwest has more than 600 data centers, with hundreds in development. Light pollution rules would protect wildlife.

09/14/2026

Join our award-winning collaborative! The Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk invites newsrooms to apply to host one of six new reporting positions through Report for America. Applications open today and close Oct. 19.

Benefits of joining the Desk include:
✅ A full-time reporter to cover agriculture, water, climate, energy, and/or other environmental issues
✅ Salary support for the reporter — 50% the first year, 33% the second and 20% in the third year
✅ Editing from the Desk’s experienced editorial staff
✅ A peer cohort for support, best practices, story ideas and sources
✅ Participation in award-winning projects
✅ A $1,000 annual stipend for your newsroom to use on your reporter’s expenses and more!

If your newsroom is interested in applying, we are hosting an information session on Sept. 30 at noon Central Time. Learn more and register for the webinar:
https://agwaterdesk.org/2026/09/14/newsrooms-invited-to-apply-to-join-ag-water-desk-through-report-for-america/

09/12/2026

We hope to see you at the Conservation Expo at Cooper’s Landing in Columbia, Missouri! Desk Social Media Producer Dominique Hodge and Executive Director Sara Shipley Hiles are sharing a booth with the Lakes of Missouri Volunteer Program and the Missouri Water Center. Come talk to us about our reporting, Missouri watersheds and how to stay connected with us through our newsletter.

Mizzou School of Natural Resources

09/10/2026

We’re heading outside this weekend!

The Desk will be at the Conservation Expo at Cooper’s Landing on Saturday, along with our friends at the Lakes of Missouri Volunteer Program and the Missouri Water Center. Stop by to chat about Missouri watersheds, learn more about our work and connect with others who are passionate about conservation and the outdoors.

https://cooperslandingmo.com/event2022/expo2026/

09/07/2026

Diagnoses of alpha-gal syndrome, a severe, tick-borne allergy, are rising throughout the Mississippi River basin. Expanding white-tailed deer populations, climate change and massive historical shifts in land use and development have fueled the rise of this mysterious illness.

Arkansas is a bellwether for much of the country. The state had 1,331 suspected cases in the first half of 2025. That figure has nearly doubled over the same period this year.

As the condition spreads, researchers are still unraveling the disease, public health agencies are struggling to track it, and there’s little federal funding or coordination driving efforts forward. But that may be changing as awareness spreads. The challenge now isn’t just understanding the disease; it’s figuring out how to stop it. Arkansas researchers and residents may hold some clues.

Story by Arkansas Times’s Elizabeth Cline

As an epicenter of a mysterious tick-borne illness, The Natural State offers a window into what’s driving its rise, how it functions — and what comes next.

09/04/2026

This summer, residents of West Tennessee spotted black bears in cornfields, golf courses and even yards. The bears likely came from bordering states with expanding populations, like Kentucky, Mississippi, Arkansas and Missouri.

These bears were once abundant in most of the United States, but decades of overhunting and habitat loss threatened to wipe out the population altogether. The recent sightings are a sign that black bears are starting to recolonize the lower Mississippi River basin.

Story by Tennessee Lookout’s Cassandra Stephenson

Officials with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency say black bears are slowly recolonizing Middle and West Tennessee.

09/01/2026

Dead zone update! This summer’s “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico is much smaller than anticipated. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s original forecast in June predicted the dead zone would cover more than 7,000 square miles — or nearly the size of New Jersey.

But scientists on board a research vessel found this summer’s dead zone, at 1,332 miles, is only about 1/5 that size.

Desk reporter Héctor Alejandro Arzate explains what’s behind the difference.

Read the full story at the link below.
https://lailluminator.com/2026/08/13/dead-zone-gulf/

08/27/2026

Meet Lina Tran! She is our new assistant editorial director. She is a journalist based in Chicago.

Before joining the Desk, she was an editor with the U.N. Environment Programme and a reporter at Milwaukee’s NPR. There, she covered everything from air quality to cicadas and apple pie baked in a paper bag. She was also a news and politics fellow at Grist and earlier wrote about the sun for NASA.

Lina’s work has appeared in outlets such as NPR, Short Wave, Science Friday and Undark. Her work has also been recognized by the Public Media Journalists Association and Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association, among others.

She is from the Gulf Coast of Alabama and a graduate of Tulane University.

She will be the first full-time assistant editorial director in the Desk’s history. She will edit our expanding lineup of content, with a particular focus on digital and social media.

Join us in welcoming Lina to the Desk!

08/25/2026

Meet Annika McGinnis! She is the Desk’s new data journalist. Annika is a data and investigative journalist based in New York. She has a master’s in data journalism from Columbia University.

Before joining the team, she co-founded InfoNile, a Uganda-based geojournalism platform and journalists’ network focused on water and environment across 10 Nile basin countries. There, she spent eight years leading cross-border investigations and spearheading science journalism platforms.

Annika was also a Columbia Journalism Investigations fellow reporting on climate and public health. She has reported for Reuters, USA Today and McClatchy newspapers. Her work has been recognized by Covering Climate Now, the Fetisov Journalism Awards and the Uganda National Journalism Awards, among others.

On the Desk, Annika will work with our reporters to enhance their data work and visual presentation. She will also draw on her deep experience and knowledge of water issues to produce her own stories.

Join us in welcoming Annika to the Desk!

08/21/2026

In two places at once? You might have caught Desk staff and reporters at today’s Report For America National Gathering in New Orleans, Louisiana. There, we had the chance to connect with our new Desk team members and say hello to our Louisiana-based reporters and editors.

You also might have caught Desk Executive Director Sara Shipley Hiles, Social Media Producer Dominique Hodge and Reporter Héctor Alejandro Arzate at the University of Missouri School of Journalism’s Welcome Day event. The three had the chance to connect with incoming students and connect them with our work.

Today is an example of how far our Desk staff, reporters and friends will go to rep the Desk. Go team!