So…I never intended to ask for money with my project, the Iowa Prairie Documentary Project. I have referenced before that there is no surer way to turn people off than by asking for money. I personally dislike it when projects, especially film projects, ask for money. 

Here is why I feel differently about this project and money. What’s happening in Iowa is serious. It’s life and death serious. It’s not a time to hold back. I am all in on this story, this search, this hunt for a way out of the mess we are all in. And to be clear, I mean it when I saw “we”. This is about all of us. Not even just Iowans. 

I have had a heck of a time funding this out of my own pocket and have finally arrived at a point where I say “UNCLE! I can’t do this alone any more.” This story is bigger than my tiny (oh so tiny) bank account. 

For me it’s a very interesting turning point that I want to acknowledge. I don’t like to admit defeat. I don’t like saying that I can’t do something on my own. I love the vibe of being a scrappy, gritty ‘no budget filmmaker’ who still manages to craft a message that matters to people. But yeah…Iowa is bigger than my pride and it’s more important than me maintaining my vibe. Without funding, I can’t get close enough to telling the right amount of story that it deserves. 

So….Here is a brief write up regarding my ongoing search for funding for the Iowa Prairie Documentary Project….

Within the Iowa state boundary lines exists one of the United States’s most environmentally degraded landscapes. Not many people who live here realize that fact. When I moved here from the East Coast in 2024 as a documentarian who spent the last 10 years working on various stories, I actually wasn’t looking for a new project. I just wanted a nice quiet life here in Iowa City. But right when I got here I was told to not swim in any natural body of water within Iowa. That was one of the strangest things I had ever heard. I took note. Then I began hearing about Iowa’s soaring cancer rates and an increase of rare forms of cancer. I had been my mom’s caretaker as she died from a rare form of cancer in 2020. Now it felt personal. In August of 2025 I found myself searching for answers as to what was happening here…and that’s when The Iowa Prairie Documentary Project was born.

Here are some highlights since the project began:

• I have traveled to many different parts of the state and spoken with water quality scientists, prairie restoration experts, gardeners, farmers, cancer researchers, authors, conservationists, ecologists, artists, historians and so many folks from all walks of life here in Iowa.
• I have released full interviews from some of these conversations as podcast and video episodes. There are 18 so far and many more to come.
• I have consulted with about 60 more people who wish to remain off the record.
• I started a Substack and began posting articles about my experiences working on this project.
• I have filmed in places like: the Mississippi River, Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge, Fairfield, Red Oak, Hardin County, Keosauqua, Keokuk, Malchow Mounds, Elkader, Iowa City, Solon, Des Moines, Winterset, Rochester Cemetery, Illiwenek Historical Village, and many more…

Ultimate Goal of the Project:

• Besides the podcast episodes and videos…This project will culminate in a 90 minute feature length documentary film to be completed by September 1, 2026.
• The movie will then go on tour during September and October of 2026. It will focus on in-person screenings, within Iowa to encourage community discussion and Q&A sessions. It will be seen at theaters, libraries, social halls and in cities both large and small.

I’ve been working on this movie for free, out of my own pocket, since the beginning. I do all my own editing, scripting, filming and audio capture. But recently I have realized that the story of Iowa is much more layered and complex than I thought possible. I do have a donor on board who is helping with a large donation. As of this writing, I don’t have those funds quite yet. But even after I receive those funds I’ll still be about $20K short of what I believe this story needs to be fully brought to life.

There are still so many important places to film at and so many critical voices to capture. Without additional funding I can’t get to all the places or record those voices. Without funding I can’t rent theaters and travel with the movie once the film is ready for viewing. Another example of where donations assist this project is in the music. All music for this movie will feature original composition by Iowa City musicians and recorded live. They are working for free thus far, but I’d love to be able to pay them their worth. A great example of their work is in this video.

I realize that the $20K I am seeking is a lot of money. At least to me, it’s a lot. But every dollar donated from you really counts. When working on a micro budget film like this, even a $5 donation from you, truly matters. I can turn that into a gallon of gas, or a sandwich from a gas station as I travel to interview someone. It helps me buy batteries for my audio recorder.

The bottomline is that I am working nearly full time to capture this story because the truth of what’s happening in Iowa deserves to be heard. And I need your help to do this story right.

If anyone would like to discuss this project and hear more about it, please don’t hesitate to reach out. And if anyone wishes to support the project in a significant way with a larger amount ($5K-$10K) as a tax free donation, please contact me to discuss those details as I do have a fiscal sponsor who is open to helping to facilitate that.

And I went and did the distasteful thing of creating a GoFundMe…lol. Here we go.