Immigration concerns in Storm Lake
At St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Storm Lake, Pastor Dave Kebschull sees immigration enforcement changes affecting a community already short of workers, according to Public News Service.
"Out here, we have a Tyson plant, so immigration becomes a big issue. A lot of our neighbors and farms and businesses are low on employees and a lot of our friends have gone back either to Mexico or South America or to the islands," Kebschull said.
Tyson Foods' local operations employ more than 3,000 people across its poultry and pork complexes, the Storm Lake Times Pilot reported in March 2024.
Among those facing uncertainty in 2026 were Haitians who had resettled under Temporary Protected Status in Storm Lake and other Iowa communities. In June 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration could end those protections. A Waterloo resettlement official told KSCJ 1360 that Tyson employs a large Haitian workforce and warned that workers dependent on TPS could lose their jobs, driver's licenses and legal status if the change takes effect.
Water quality and cancer shape election concerns
Voters are also considering candidates' responses to polluted water, a lack of accountability for factory farms and Iowa's growing cancer rate. Those concerns extend across party lines: in a September 2026 Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future poll, water quality and the environment placed among the top five of nine issues for 78% of Democrats, 64% of independents and 41% of Republicans. Concern about tap water at home was reported by 63% of respondents.
Iowa ranks second nationally in cancer incidence, according to Medical Daily, citing the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. The New Lede reported on Oct. 29 that its cancer rate is rising faster than any other state's. The Iowa Cancer Registry estimated in its 2026 annual report that approximately 21,700 residents would receive cancer diagnoses and 6,400 would die of cancer during the year.
The New Lede also reported that nitrate concentrations in Iowa's waters are the nation's highest for the cancer-causing contaminant. Rivers serving as drinking-water sources for more than 600,000 people near Des Moines frequently surpass the federal safe drinking water limit for nitrates.
Research highlighted by the University of Iowa's Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination found that each additional 5 milligrams per liter of nitrate-nitrogen in drinking water was associated with a 15% higher risk of ovarian cancer. The observational study does not establish that nitrate exposure caused cancer.
Both major-party candidates for governor, Republican Zach Lahn and Democrat Rob Sand, have put water quality and cancer at the center of their campaigns. The New Lede reported that the MAHA Action PAC gave Lahn's campaign $1.5 million in October 2026.
Faith as a guide to civic participation
Kebschull wants religious convictions to guide his congregants' voting choices, rather than having political loyalties determine their faith. He regards advocacy for peace and justice as a responsibility of his congregation's membership in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
"Compassion and a hopeful society, merciful. And we can do that through our votes, through getting involved in policymaking, being elected to positions in Congress and local," Kebschull said.
His appeal reflects a broader message from faith networks nationwide: participate in civic life without turning political opponents into enemies on religious grounds, and seek common ground across disagreements.
At St. Mark's, community support also takes place outside elections. Alongside providing a safe place to worship, the church partners with the Food Bank of Iowa on programs including "Friends With Food" to help families facing food insecurity.
