Unyielding: Pesticides, cancer and the forces shaping health in rural Missouri

Unyielding is a University of Missouri School of Journalism project for Investigate Midwest examining the intersection of agriculture, pesticide exposure, cancer and health care in rural Missouri.

The reporting follows families confronting cancer, communities struggling to access care and farmers reconsidering their relationship with agricultural chemicals. It also examines the systems surrounding them: how pesticides are regulated, how scientists assess their risks and how powerful companies are pushing lawmakers to limit their liability.

Together, the stories explore a difficult question facing agricultural communities across Missouri and the country: What happens when the chemicals used to sustain modern farming collide with concerns about human health?

Pesticide politics: Inside the corporate push to limit liability

As lawsuits over Roundup’s safety mount, Bayer has launched a multi-state lobbying effort to limit its legal liability.

by Mary McCue Bell, for Investigate Midwest August 18, 2025August 10, 2026

A farmer’s fight: Cancer, chemicals and a return to organic living

William Caplinger raises all his food pesticide-free after a Stage 4 cancer diagnosis.

by Adeleine Halsey, for Investigate Midwest August 18, 2025August 10, 2026

A cancer fight in rural Missouri: ‘Being from a small town right now is saving my life.’

A cluster of counties in southeast Missouri have some of the highest colorectal cancer rates in the state.

by Kyla Pehr and Savvy Sleevar, for Investigate Midwest August 18, 2025August 10, 2026

How dangerous is a pesticide? It depends on who you ask.

Differing standards and approaches to regulation in the US and internationally lead to wide differences in how chemicals are treated.

by Benjamin Koelkebeck and Lillian Metzmeier, for Investigate Midwest August 18, 2025August 10, 2026

Long drives, longer waits and fading trust mark the new reality of rural health care

As some rural communities face higher cancer rates, 21 hospitals have closed in Missouri in the past 10 years.

by Jonah Foster, Xander Lundblad and Seth Schwartzberg, for Investigate Midwest August 18, 2025August 10, 2026

The unseen harvest: Pesticides, cancer and rural Missouri’s health crisis

The counties with the highest use of pesticides per square mile are all located in Missouri’s Bootheel. Many of these counties have some of the state’s highest cancer rates and their health care options are dwindling.

by Alex Cox, Adeleine Halsey, Kyla Pehr and Savvy Sleevar, for Investigate Midwest August 18, 2025August 10, 2026

Fairwarning Report: Safety Advocates Want More From Wireless Industry On Texting And Driving

by Myron Levin/Fairwarning.org August 30, 2017August 10, 2026

More than half-century after “Harvest of Shame,” migrant farmworkers in the U.S. still face deplorable conditions

by Robert Holly November 7, 2016August 10, 2026

In Eastern Iowa, Mike Huckabee Signs Books, Stays Mum about 2012 Presidential Intentions

by Keely Kemp March 4, 2011August 10, 2026