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Dear
L C —
Gary Peters pointed to the
grave where his son is buried.
The last glints of sunset
struck the headstone in this
small cemetery tucked among
the cornfields of rural
Aurora, Nebraska.
Gary
walked me through the plots,
pointing to where friends,
neighbors, and children were
buried. That moment has stayed
with me since I photographed
the Peters and other families
whose grief over losing a
child to cancer was compounded
by silence and unanswered
questions.
The
hidden danger, as Circle
of Blue's Brett Walton
reported from Nebraska,
was likely a dangerous mix of
nitrate fertilizer and
herbicides from agricultural
fields.
That
was the first ripple in
Circle of Blue's Toxic
Terrain series, spearheaded
by Keith Schneider, which
has gone on to reveal a
national health challenge of
epic proportions.
In
this moment of information
overload, disinformation, and
misinformation, trusted
reporting remains an essential
compass through the storm.
This
piece by Keith,
below, captures the magnitude
— how that first ripple became
a tsunami, and how those early
stories from Nebraska led to
dozens more across the
American heartland.
As
Keith notes, the attention
shows what front-line
journalism produces: new
leaders, new ideas, and
accountability.
Our Toxic Terrain
investigation helped turn a
decades-old open secret into
a defining issue in this
year's governor's race —
proof that persistent,
rigorous coverage still
moves the needle.
This
nonprofit journalism model is
one of the few places left to
do this kind of work with
depth and persistence.
Thank
you for supporting it — I
thought you could use some
good news that it's making a
difference.
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