# Why Iowa is seeing a rise in 'deaths of despair'

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/river-to-river-1060576/why-iowa-is-seeing-a-rise-in-deaths-of-despair
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/river-to-river-1060576/why-iowa-is-seeing-a-rise-in-deaths-of-despair.md
Podcast: [River to River](https://stenobird.com/podcast/river-to-river-1060576)
Published: 2026-07-14T12:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.iowapublicradio.org/podcast/river-to-river/2026-07-14/why-iowa-is-seeing-a-rise-in-deaths-of-despair
Audio file: https://traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/4c9587f2-e550-4709-b293-ad0300ce922d/5d200c83-8a20-48a7-ab87-ad51012cafbe/ddc55ba6-b2d9-426f-ac59-b486012ab398/audio.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/river-to-river-1060576/episodes/why-iowa-is-seeing-a-rise-in-deaths-of-despair
Duration seconds: 2884

## Resource

Nationally, deaths from suicide, drugs and alcohol are declining. But in Iowa, they're rising, and they're often referred to as "deaths of despair." On this episode, we hear from Lauren Williams, an Iowa woman who lost her brother to suicide, and from Kayla Mayer of Cherokee County Public Health, who's working to decrease the local rate of suicide. We also talk with Daniel Wheaton of the Midwest Newsroom and Dr. Alison Lynch of the University of Iowa on why our state is seeing more deaths of despair and what can be done about it.

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## Transcript

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