More seniors and disabled people are choosing to stay in their homes, and home health aides are vital to providing them basic assistance. The profession is projected to be one of the fastest growing nationally in the next decade, but it's getting harder to recruit and retain these workers.

In Iowa, midwives who are specially trained in home birth are pushing for licensure, as interest in home births rises and rural labor and delivery units continue to shutter.

Nearly 7 million chickens and turkeys in 13 states have been killed this year due to avian influenza, prompting officials and farmers to acknowledge that, despite their best efforts, stopping the disease from infecting poultry is incredibly difficult.

Nationwide, COVID-19 disproportionately affected communities of color — in part because the U.S. relies on immigrant workers in food and agriculture.

Immigrants make up an estimated 40 percent of the U.S. meat processing workforce. Last years wave of COVID outbreaks at meatpacking plants exposed many vulnerabilities among the industry's diverse workforce.

The coronavirus swept through the nations meat processing facilities in 2020. Nearly two years into the pandemic, many are still searching for answers and calling for change.

The number of individuals hospitalized with COVID-19 remains high across the country and the Midwest. With the delta variant dominating cases, patients now are younger, sicker and often require more intensive care, hospitals like Methodist in Des Moines are facing pressure.

In recent weeks, demand for the COVID-19 vaccine in Iowa has declined sharply, but the number of Iowans who have had at least one shot hasn't even reached 70 percent. That's raising concern among public health officials.

The pandemic has affected the mental health of Iowa's children, and some are still concerned that two years after the creation of the children's mental health system, services are still falling short.

Around the nation, demand for the vaccine overall is decreasing. But many Native American tribal communities are ahead of the rest of the country when it comes to getting COVID-19 vaccines. And, one place in Iowa is getting close to herd immunity.