A factory that once housed aquaculture shrimp in Webster City will become the home of a beverage production facility. Officials with the New Jersey-based Edible Garden AG Incorporated picked Webster City for the company’s expansion. 

Ottie Maxey, who is the director of economic development for Hamilton County and represents the county and Webster City at the Ames Regional Economic Alliance, said they worked closely with local leaders to draw Edible Garden away from two other cities out of state.

“They really rely on the site selector to vet the communities and the opportunities,” Maxey said. “And what they determined is the cost of employees is less in Webster City than it is in St. Louis or Grand Rapids.”

Edible Garden website states that the company is a leader in “sustainable indoor farming backed by a Zero-Waste inspired approach,” with its products being offered in more than 4,000 stores in the U.S.

Maxey said it will be a good fit in Webster City.

“They recognize that we have an extremely strong manufacturing base, and our employees are loyal,” he said. “We have great legacy companies, and they recognize the partnership with Iowa Central [Community College] for some of the other positions, [and] the pipeline with Iowa State being just down the road.”

The Iowa Economic Development Authority recently awarded $2.66 million in tax credits for the project. The $75 million capital investment is expected to create 42 jobs in Webster City.

The goal is to open late in 2027.

As our climate changes, extreme weather events happen more often. That’s been especially true throughout the central U.S. this spring, with huge temperature swings, flooding, drought, wildfires and even ice storms.

These weather events can have serious consequences for farms and ranches, which is something Larry Burgess experienced firsthand in March. Burgess lost 2,500 acres of pastureland to wildfires on his western Nebraska ranch this year.

For farmer Greta Jankoviak, owner of Harvest Thyme Farm in Michigan, the effects of severe weather showed up as a blizzard at first, then an ice storm hit and flooding came after that. The extreme weather events have set back her business, which would normally have started planting by now.

Read more of their stories and how other producers are coping with a changing climate from Harvest Public Media.

The Iowa Board of Regents is considering a policy change that would allow students to use other standardized tests besides the ACT and SAT when applying to the state’s public universities.

This could mean possible changes to the Regent Admission Index formula, which currently only accepts ACT or SAT scores. 

Earlier this year, a bill in the Iowa Statehouse would have required the Classic Learning Test (CLT) to be accepted for the admissions formula. The test has gained traction with Republican politicians, according to Education Week. Other states, including Florida and Indiana, now accept that test for their public universities. 

A 2024 study by the Board of Regents concluded the CLT should not be used for the automatic admissions formula. The board, which is under new leadership this year, will vote on the policy change in June. 

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said data center development in Iowa is in line with the Trump administration’s goal to rapidly build infrastructure for artificial intelligence. 

Wright was in Cedar Rapids Friday, where he visited the 600-acre site that QTS Data Centers is building a seven-building data center campus. Wright said the U.S. is in competition with China to add data center capacity. 

“We're going to see this emerging industry, artificial intelligence. It's going to be led and dominated by the United States,” he said. “We let other industries go overseas. We're not going to let artificial intelligence go overseas. We're going to lead right here in the United States.”

While in eastern Iowa, Wright also commented on a plan to restart the Duane Arnold Energy Center. He said restarting an existing nuclear power plant is faster and less expensive than building a new one.  

The Duane Arnold nuclear power plant was closed in 2020 after it was damaged by a derecho. NextEra Energy has plans to reopen the facility by 2029. Most of the power would be used by a proposed Google data center.   

“We really want to see new nuclear plants built and also existing assets that can be restarted – let's restart them,” Wright said. “More energy means more jobs, more manufacturing, more opportunities for Iowans and lower costs.” 

Wright said the Department of Energy can help restart Duane Arnold by providing low-cost financing and advising on its design. 

Birds are declining at a faster rate, and a new study reports industrial agriculture is the culprit — especially in the Midwest.

Although bird decline has been documented since the 1970s, the Ohio State University study found that bird populations are declining faster in areas with cropland and increased fertilizer and pesticide use.

Andrew Stillman, with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University, said the study’s findings are very important. Now, he said, more research needs to be done to find solutions.

“It’s time to understand the mechanisms behind these changes, using more localized studies that go above and beyond the correlations shown in this study to show which aspects of agricultural intensity are impacting birds the most and what can we do about it.”

The study found that across North America, more than 120 bird species are experiencing decline, and of those, more than half are experiencing accelerated decline.

Read more from Harvest Public Media.

The Polk County Attorney’s Office is creating a new website to publicly track and report cases going through the county’s court system. County prosecutors hope the database will create more transparency around how cases are filed and help them work more effectively.

People will be able to track the number of cases filed each month, sort by type of charge and see how or whether they are opened and dismissed.

Justin Allen, assistant county attorney, said the data will help identify case patterns so they can see where more staff are needed.

“Having this broad data by charge type, we’ll be able to use it for staffing purposes, both for attorneys and for support staff,” Allen said.

The database will provide more details than what is typically available in most counties. It’s expected to launch later this spring or early this summer.

The majority of the small-town Iowa newspapers that were at risk of closing this month have found new life. Mid-America Publishing quit printing more than 20 publications earlier this month. Since then, all but five have found new owners.

Chris Nelson, who runs Nelson Media in north-central Iowa, purchased five of the impacted papers. He plans to merge three of them into a new publication called the Butler County Eclipse.

“It's not ‘Newspapers are dying,’ or ‘Radio's dying,’ or ‘TV stations are dying,’" Nelson said. “We're adapting, we're figuring out what our consumers need and want and how they want to get their weather, their sports, their news.”

Nelson believes digital is the future of journalism, with people turning to electronic editions of newspapers and newsletters. His media company, which started in 2020, has more than 40 employees and plans to relocate to Mason City from St. Ansgar to help recruit more workers.

The newspapers still looking for new buyers are: The Calmar Courier, Eldora Newspapers, The News-Review in Sigourney, The Outlook in Monona and the Postville Herald.

Madeleine Charis King

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Iowa Public Radio

All over the country, tech giants are rushing to build massive data centers to support AI-driven demand. One proposed data center in eastern Iowa has become the subject of a standoff between two local jurisdictions.

The city of Palo and Linn County are at odds over a proposed Google data center. Public records show a busy timeline of negotiations between Google, the city and the county, and the two jurisdictions grappling with what a project of that size and scale could mean for each of their communities.

Read the full story.

Sheila Brummer

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Iowa Public Radio

Former 4th District U.S. Rep. Steve King has endorsed Republican Zach Lahn’s bid for governor.

King, a Republican, served nine terms in the U.S. House. He lost his campaign for reelection in 2020 to current U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, who’s also running for governor.

In a statement released by the Lahn campaign, King said he knows all the GOP candidates running for governor this year and “considers some of them friends.” But, he said Lahn is the only one who has the conservative credentials and “the resources to win the fight.”

Lahn, a businessman, has made a six-figure donation of his own money to his campaign effort.

Lahn said King was his congressman when he was growing up on a farm near Hinton, and it’s an honor to have his endorsement.

General education courses at the state’s public universities would have to be checked for certain diversity or race-related content under a policy being considered by the Iowa Board of Regents. 

Every two years, the board would have to review and identify courses that have “substantial” diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) or critical race theory (CRT) content. Reviewing the courses is estimated to take board and university staff over 1,000 hours. 

The first review of courses would be done this upcoming school year. The regents will vote on the policy change in June. 

A similar provision showed up in a bill (HF 2487) this year that’s stalled at the Statehouse.  It stated that the Board of Regent could tell an institution to cut courses with the targeted content. 

Maura Curran

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Iowa Public Radio

For the last century, Roosevelt High School’s synchronized swimming team in Des Moines has fostered a community for young women both in and out of the water. This year marks the Sharks’ 100th anniversary, making them the oldest club of their kind.

They’re celebrating the special occasion by inviting alumni back to swim in their annual pageant. Performances through Sunday at the Roosevelt pool auditorium.

Read the full story and see photos of how the show came together.

Across the Midwest, fertilizer and manure are increasing nitrate levels in groundwater, and many families may not be checking whether their wells are safe to drink from.

In south-central Kansas, scientists tested more than 200 private wells and found that half contained too much nitrate.

“I’d say the landowners that I talked to, most were not using any kind of treatment, aside from possibly a water softener, which isn’t really going to help much for nitrate,” said Matt Kirk, a geologist at Kansas State University.

In a survey of more than 8,000 private well owners in Iowa, 40% said they’re drinking the water without treating it — and they said they had not tested it recently.

Drinking too much nitrate is unsafe for babies and may have links to cancer.

Read more from Harvest Public Media.

Tornado survey teams from the National Weather Service will be scouting several locations in western and central Iowa throughout the day after a powerful line of storms rumbled across the state Thursday night, dropping an undetermined number of twisters.

Meteorologist Devin Chehak at the National Weather Service office in Valley, Neb., said a long line of storms churned out multiple dangerous cells.

“One of them likely produced a brief tornado near Little Sioux, Iowa,” Chehak said. “We still need to send out a survey team to confirm everything, but we do believe there was at least one tornado.”

The same line of storms is suspected of spinning off more twisters in southwest Iowa’s Fremont County, where Clayton Long is the emergency management coordinator.

“It sounds like we had two tornadoes that touched down east of Riverton and south of Farragut,” Long said. “There were two debris clouds that were shown. We’re still trying to work through the pictures and videos coming in.”

Long said the tornado touchdowns in the county were all reported on agricultural land and there are no reports of any serious damage or injuries.

Some areas of Iowa had large hail, high winds and heavy rain. Meteorologist Rod Donavon at the National Weather Service office in Johnston said more tornadoes struck as the storms moved into central Iowa.

“We did have quite a few reports of hail across western Iowa. We had a few tornadoes across southwest Iowa into central Iowa, a couple just south of Ames and one just east of the Des Moines area as well,” Donavon said. “We had some scattered reports of damage with that.”

The forecast calls for the chance for more scattered storms over Iowa on Sunday and into Monday.

Stephen Andrews

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Unsplash

A central Iowa nonprofit received a grant to help families connect with additional testing and resources if their newborn infants fail their initial screenings for hearing.

EveryStep was awarded nearly a $500,000 grant from the Oberkotter Foundation, which supports work with deaf and hard of hearing children. The three-year grant will help Iowans who may be hard of hearing get additional tests and resources. 

EveryStep Vice President of Clinical Services Molly Gosselink said many families face transportation and language barriers to get to appointments. She said it’s important that hearing loss is identified early in children.

“They are at risk for a variety of developmental delays … if they do have some type of a hearing need or hearing loss and that's not identified early on,” Gosselink said.

Gosselink said EveryStep’s plan is to start in central Iowa and eventually expand the program to be available statewide.

The Iowa Board of Regents could move forward with a proposal to try fixed tuition at one of the state’s public universities.  A board committee is recommending approval for a pilot program that would let resident students pay the same tuition for four years.  

The program would start at one of the state’s universities for the 2027-2028 school year and would be optional. Students who opt in would have to pay an up-front fee. 

Earlier this year, the Iowa House passed a bill to start an opt-in guaranteed tuition program, but it has not passed the Senate.  
 
The full board will vote on the policy proposal in June.  

At its meeting on Thursday, the board approved a tuition increase of 3% for the upcoming school year at Iowa’s public universities.

The Iowa Farm Bureau is among several ag groups that have come out against a proposed merger of Union Pacific Railroad (UP) and Norfolk Southern.

The $85 billion deal has been in the works for some time, but in January the federal Surface Transportation Board rejected the initial merger application, calling it incomplete. Proponents of the deal have said the combination of UP and Norfolk Southern would create efficiencies that would be passed on to customers in the form of lower shipping costs.

John Crespi, agricultural economist at Iowa State University, said the merger would cut the number of major freight railroads in the U.S. from six to five.

“Anytime, anywhere on the supply chain you have more consolidation, farmers always get — probably rightfully so — nervous about it,” Crespi said.

Brent Johnson, a fifth-generation farmer and president of the Iowa Farm Bureau, doubts the cost savings will materialize for farmers like him.

“The reality of that efficiency and those dollars being saved coming back to a farmer through transportation costs and things, that's just not very likely,” Johnson said.

The CEO of UP said in a recent interview that his company will file a revised merger application by the end of April.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird and Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig are among several government officials in Iowa and across the country who are calling on the Surface Transportation Board to carefully evaluate the proposed merger.

The Iowa Board of Regents is looking to cut 20 academic programs at the state’s public universities due to low enrollment and concerns over long-term viability. The board said classes could still be offered in those areas of study and current students will still be allowed to finish their degrees.  

The board approved program closures at its meeting on Thursday, including seven at the University of Iowa and three at the University of Northern Iowa. Iowa State University has identified 10 programs to end but will push forward official recommendations for program closures at a later date.

James Kelley

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Iowa Public Radio

The Iowa City Police Department has identified a person of interest in the shooting that took place over the weekend. Damarian Marshawn Jones, 17, is being charged with five counts of attempted murder and several counts of assault causing serious and bodily injury, as well as going armed with intent. 

Police Chief Dustin Liston said Jones was engaged in a fight that included up to 40 people. He was handed a gun from another individual and then fired six times at the crowd. 

“We ask for your continued patience and cooperation as the investigation proceeds,” Liston said. “Together, we will ensure justice is served for the victims and their families. We are also encouraging anyone with information about the whereabouts of Damarian Marshawn Jones to come forward.” 

Liston said Iowa City police received more than 150 tips related to their investigation into the incident. Police are encouraging anyone who was at the pedestrian mall the night the shooting occurred to submit tips, particularly cellphone video. 

One of the five victims was shot in the head and remains in critical condition. Three of the victims are students at the University of Iowa. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced it will establish a new National Food Safety Center in Urbandale.

According to a news release, the department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) will repurpose existing USDA facilities in the Des Moines suburb. The new office, named the National Food Safety Center, will become the agency’s largest office in the U.S., with approximately 200 employees.

The center is part of an overall reorganization of the USDA by Secretary Brooke Rollins. The goal is to put key functions closer to the agricultural and food production systems that FSIS regulates and supports. The agency is in charge of inspecting meat, poultry and processed egg products.

The latest results from a free speech survey show employees at the state’s universities feel less free expressing their viewpoints on campus and online than in previous years.  

Compared to 2024 survey responses, 15% more employees said they “strongly disagreed” with feeling comfortable expressing their views on social media. The share of respondents who agreed they felt comfortable expressing their views at work dropped by 10%.  

The survey was conducted in 2021 and 2024 and is now done every two years.
 
Student results were similar to the last survey. A majority of survey takers agreed their campus supports free speech.  

A new report gives the Des Moines area a “D” when it comes to air quality.

The American Lung Association’s annual State of the Air report ranked the Des Moines area 80th in the nation for ozone pollution and 76th for particle pollution.  

Kristina Hamilton, director of advocacy for the American Lung Association, said the metro area’s ranking is slightly better than last year, but the state still has many pollutants, like factory emissions and wildfire smoke.

“Iowa is a leading state for renewable energy. However, there are still coal plants in Iowa that contribute to air pollution issues,” she said.

Hamilton said pollution can lead to breathing difficulties, aggravate conditions, like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and even cause lung cancer and heart disease. Children are more susceptible to the negative impacts of air pollution, as their lungs are still developing. 

Sheila Brummer

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Iowa Public Radio

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids may have faded from the headlines, but not from many people’s minds. In northwest Iowa, community members are stepping up to help immigrants living with uncertainty.

Native American activist Manape LaMere has been leading protest marches against the Trump administration’s immigration policies, including a recent "No Kings" gathering. LaMere is also the co-founder the Siouxland Guardians, a grassroots organization that teaches volunteers rapid response techniques as they anticipate possible ICE activity.

“If we didn't have people trained in that, we'd never know about Renee Good or Alex Pretti. We'd never know about it because people wouldn't have known to start recording,” LaMere said.

LaMere traveled to Minneapolis during the aftermath of Renee Macklin Good's and Alex Pretti's deaths and is bringing what he learned back to Sioux City to educate others about nonviolent frontline action.

“It does build a flame in my heart,” LaMere said. “For now, I advocate that we organize and we have the right to blow whistles on them.”

The Siouxland Guardians are learning when to use warning whistles and how to interact safely with agents and track their actions. They also run a hotline to report ICE sightings and for immigrants to call if they need help.

Keep reading.

Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley said Monday that he’s recovering from surgery to remove a gallstone.

Grassley, 92, announced on social media that he underwent surgery over the weekend and is “gr8ful for the excellent care from local health care providers.” Grassley’s staff has indicated the senator is working from Iowa and is in “good spirits.”

Grassley has served in the U.S. Senate for over 44 years and won reelection to his eighth term in 2022. He’s currently the oldest member of the Senate.

James Kelley

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Iowa Public Radio

Members of the Iowa City community gathered for a vigil Monday night to lament the shooting that took place near the University of Iowa over the weekend.

People filled the pews of Trinity Episcopal Church in downtown Iowa City to hear from community leaders of different religious faiths and to bring attention to the impacts of gun violence. The group then marched to the site where the shooting took place to say a prayer and have a moment of silence. 

The Rev. Nora Boerner told the crowd that lament, anger and pain are all legitimate forms of prayer. 

“We gather today in common grief for the epidemic of gun violence,” she said. “To be with all those who suffer from the lasting trauma from gun violence and that it leaves in their wake.” 

There were five victims of the shooting that happened early Sunday morning. Three of them are still in the hospital, with one in critical condition.

Temple Hiatt, who leads the local chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, was at the vigil to offer support.

“Don't let anyone make you feel like what you experienced is something you just have to get over,” Hiatt said. “Take all the time you need, and when it’s needed, take more time.” 

The Iowa City Police Department is following numerous leads and has positively identified several people of interest who may be responsible for the shooting. The police department hasn’t shared whether it has made any arrests. 

Madeleine C King

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Iowa Public Radio

The Iowa Senate honored Sen. Jack Whitver, R-Ankeny, Monday as he’s set to retire after about 15 years in the Legislature. 

Whitver served as the Senate Majority Leader from 2018 until last fall, when he stepped down from leadership and said he wouldn’t seek reelection. He was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2024.

Whitver said when he first ran for the Senate in 2011, he never thought he’d be there this long. But he said he wanted to shape the future of the state for his kids and all children. 

“As I step away to focus on my health, I wish this entire chamber nothing but the best,” Whitver said. “This is a special place, much give and take, and we usually end up in the right spot.” 

Whitver’s fellow senators praised his leadership and said he empowered them to achieve conservative priorities and make a difference for Iowans.

Lucius Pham

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Iowa Public Radio

State Auditor Rob Sand, the only Democrat running for governor, has released more details about his proposal to legalize marijuana.

He said Iowans 21 and older should be able to buy legal cannabis in the state. Sand’s plan includes restrictions on advertising and THC content, and he favors banning public use of marijuana. He’s also calling for child-resistant packaging.

Sand discussed this last year during a taping of Iowa Press on Iowa PBS. He said Iowans are buying cannabis in other states, and legalizing and taxing it here would help boost state revenue.

“It’s a drug. It’s like alcohol. It can be dangerous,” Sand said. “We should regulate and tax its use rather than pretending that we want to throw everyone in prison when we’ve already got a workforce crisis anyway. That would be one of the biggest single steps that we could take towards fixing that deficit.”

Sand announced his plan on Monday, April 20, the unofficial holiday for celebrating marijuana.

Robin Opsahl

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Iowa Capital Dispatch

Republican candidate for governor Adam Steen wants to expand state-funded education savings accounts (ESA) to cover homeschooled students.

The state of Iowa provides about $8,000 per student to help families pay for private school tuition. 

Steen, one of five Republicans running for governor, said protecting and expanding the program would be one of his key priorities if elected. He said that includes allowing homeschooled students to qualify for ESAs. 

Steen said he would also ensure the state doesn’t weaken the independence of private schools.

“In a Steen administration, our independent private and Christian schools will be protected from reckless government overreach, and our students will be equipped to learn at the choosing of their parents,” he said.

Steen also criticized U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, the likely GOP primary frontrunner, for declining to debate his opponents. He said ESAs would be a good topic to debate because Feenstra recently said “every school has to make sure they take every child.”

The Cedar Rapids Community School District is suing the Iowa Department of Education over a decision that reduced the district’s spending authority by $18 million.

The Iowa School Budget Review Committee voted to cut the district’s spending authority following an investigation by the Iowa Department of Education.

The $18 million was special funding the district had designated to help at-risk students in the 2026-2027 fiscal years. 

The School Budget Review Committee said the district didn’t have the authority to request the funding because its plans for at-risk, alternative education and dropout prevention did not meet state requirements. The district approved that plan in 2022.

Now, the district is asking a judge to reverse the committee’s decision, saying it believed it had followed state law when it approved the plan. In the lawsuit, the district says it exhausted all other options.

Guest farm workers holding H-2A visas are more important than ever for agriculture, especially after President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. But efforts to expand the program are opposed by groups across the political spectrum.

Last year, the Trump administration changed the way H-2A wages are calculated. It split H-2A workers into two different categories based on skill, allowed employers to start charging for housing and threw out the old way of calculating H-2A wage rates.

Cutting guest worker wages will make the program more attractive to farmers and likely drive more growth. But a flood of guest workers raises issues for farm workers’ groups who are concerned with pay and for immigrant hardliners, alike.

John Miano is legal counsel for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which calls for strict immigration limits. He backs much of Trump’s MAGA agenda but does not view the H-2A visa program as “America First.”

“It provides a subsidy for employers to bypass the free market,” Miano said. “I can go for a massive pool of cheap, cheaper foreign labor that undermines Americans.”

The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, which has served as a blueprint for much of the president’s domestic agenda, calls for the H-2A visa program to be phased out over the next decade or two.

At the same time, the United Farm Workers union is suing to stop the U.S. Department of Labor’s H-2A rule change, arguing that the department acted without first offering a public comment period, as required by law.

Read more from Harvest Public Media.

Iowa’s population grew by nearly 7,900 residents last year. But a new report from an Iowa-based research group found the slow pace of that growth is a drag on the state’s economic outlook.

Ben Murrey, Iowa director of Policy and Research at the Common Sense Institute, said Iowa has been struggling with the same demographic challenges for decades, including an aging population.

“More people are leaving Iowa than coming in,” he said. “We have falling birth rates and rising rates of death, which makes sense with our aging population.”

Iowa’s birth rate last year was 71% below the average birth rate between 1991 and 2019.

For the second year in a row, more people moved from Iowa than moved to the state, with a net loss of 970 in 2025. While that’s better than the long-term trend, Murrey said Iowa ranked 39th nationally in outward migration to other states.

“We don’t have the best weather here, let’s be honest. We don’t have mountains. We don’t have coastlines,” Murrey said. “When you look at the Midwestern states, Iowa’s not doing particularly well. We looked at 12 Midwestern states, including Iowa, and Iowa ranked 11th out of 12.”

The Common Sense Institute recently examined factors that might be influencing this trend and found the state struggles to keep graduates of the three public universities.

“You see Iowa producing highly educated graduates, not having enough jobs for all of them and so some of them have to leave Iowa to find work in their field,” Murrey said. “But then you hear employers say, ‘Well, we can’t find the workforce we need.’ Oftentimes what that employer needs is somebody who maybe isn’t highly educated.”

According to U.S. Census data, over 93% of Iowa residents over the age of 25 are high school graduates, and about 30.5% of them have a college degree.

Kendall Crawford

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Iowa Public Radio

A new study has found pollinators may be an important factor in supporting plant diversity.

It’s long been known that having a diverse group of plants attracts pollinators like bees, butterflies and bats. But a group of Iowa State University researchers decided to see if these important pollinators are the reason groups of diverse plants thrive.

ISU Professor of Ecology Brian Wisley said that researchers carefully set up and monitored plots of restored prairie over the course of four years. At some locations, they purposely excluded access to bees. 

Wisley said he was surprised to find less seed production and fewer plant species at the bee-free plots. 

“There's a lot of things that we've looked at and how to get seeds established,” he said. “I would have never thought the pollinators were important for plant diversity and plant establishment.”

The study is ongoing, and Wisley said researchers will continue to monitor the plots. 

James Kelley

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Iowa Public Radio

The Iowa City Police Department is investigating a shooting that happened early Sunday morning near the University of Iowa campus. Five people were injured and taken to nearby hospitals, with one individual in critical condition.

Officers responded to reports of a large fight just before 2 a.m. at the downtown Pedestrian Mall. When officers arrived, they heard gunfire. Video footage shows people fleeing the scene. 

Three of the victims are students at the University of Iowa. UI President Barbara Wilson said the university is in close communication with local law enforcement and her thoughts are with the students and their families.

No arrests have been made, although ICPD released a photo of several people of interest. Anyone with information is encouraged to call 319-356-5275. 

Read more.

New data shows a big increase in the number of immigrants arrested and deported in Iowa since President Donald Trump returned to the White House.

The Deportation Data Project uncovered information showing more than 1,600 immigrants in Iowa were deported in the past 15 months. That number is three times more than when President Joe Biden was in office.

Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice Communications Specialist Elena Casillas-Hoffman said every number represents a person.

“Every individual that is detained and deported from Iowa is an individual that came here potentially seeking safety, freedom and opportunities,” she said.

She added that the past year has been a challenging time for immigrants.

“Individuals are finding that they have little to no other resources to fight their cases,” Casillas-Hoffman said. “Potentially, individuals had a status and lost that status, not by anything that they did, but because the government pulled that out from underneath them.”

The data also shows more than 1,500 immigration arrests in Iowa last year, which is more than five times the previous year under the Biden administration.

Casillas-Hoffman said the true numbers are likely higher because the federal government has not released complete information on arrests and deportations.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security told IPR News that nearly 70% of all U.S. and Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests involve someone with criminal charges, and 3 million people have been deported nationwide. The department did not provide specific information for Iowa.

The family of a man shot and killed by a Sioux City police officer last year has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city and the officer.  

The Iowa Attorney General’s Office ruled that officer Dyllon Frederickson was justified in the shooting death of 30-year-old Vicente Hernandez of Hull on Feb. 22, 2025.

Hernandez was a passenger in a vehicle during a routine traffic stop, when police tried to take him into custody on an outstanding warrant. Police said Hernandez tried to get into the driver’s seat and struggled with the officer for control of the car. Officer Fredrickson then fired two shots before falling to the ground outside the vehicle. 

The family’s attorney said a video of the shooting released by police was heavily edited and shows that police falsely accused Hernandez of using the car as a weapon.

Photo Courtesy of the City of Sioux City

It was revealed Thursday that boxing champion George Foreman was buried in Iowa, even though he never lived in the state. The Texas native died last year at 76. His family made the surprise announcement of his final resting place during a news conference in Sioux City.

His son, George Foreman Jr., said his father fell in love with the Loess Hills of western Iowa during a visit more than 40 years ago. He said it’s the perfect peaceful place for his father.

The burial at Logan Park Cemetery was kept a secret until Foreman’s memorial was uncovered a year later. The cemetery is located near the scenic Stone State Park.

Foreman won an Olympic gold medal in 1968 and a heavyweight boxing championship five years later. He became an ordained minister before returning to the ring. At age 45, he became the oldest champion before launching a successful business career with the George Foreman Grill.

Read more.

The Iowa Supreme Court has sided with the City of Davenport in a case that challenged whether the state auditor can access records from closed meetings.

In 2023, the Davenport City Council approved nearly $2 million in payments to three former employees to settle their claims of harassment by city officials. Two of the payments were later overturned by a judge. 

The payments were allegedly approved in closed session before city elections but were not announced publicly until after the elections.  

The auditor opened an investigation into the timing of the settlements and demanded records of the council’s closed meetings. The city refused the request, saying the records did not have to be shared because they were covered by attorney-client privilege.

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled in favor of the city, sending the case back to the lower court for next steps.

State Auditor Rob Sand said he respects the ruling, but in a statement said that state law allows a city to hide payments from taxpayers by keeping an attorney in the room. 

The Trump administration’s proposed budget for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is raising concerns from some in the Midwest and Great Plains. The White House is hoping to cut USDA spending by nearly $5 billion next fiscal year — that would be a 19% decrease.

One of the suggested cuts is to zero out funding for a program that provides loans and grants to rural businesses with fewer than 10 employees. Kalee Olson, senior policy manager at the Center for Rural Affairs in Nebraska, called the proposal disheartening.

“Coming from an administration who claims to care deeply about rural communities, eliminating programs that are set up to give them opportunity in the future is discouraging,” Olson said.

Both the U.S. Senate and House have yet to release their suggested budgets for the fiscal year that begins in October.

Read more from Harvest Public Media.

Madeleine Charis King

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Iowa Public Radio

New federal campaign finance filings show Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ashley Hinson raised the most money in the first quarter of this year. 

Reports from the Federal Election Commission show Hinson raised more than $2.3 million from January through March. During that time, her Republican challenger, Jim Carlin, raised about $47,000.

Reports also show Democratic candidates Josh Turek and Zach Wahls raised about $1.1 million each during the first quarter.  

Hinson continues to have the most cash on hand, reporting $6.5 million in the bank as of March 31. She’s followed by Wahls, who has just over $1 million, then Turek with about $750,000. Carlin reported around $14,000 in cash on hand.

Both parties will hold their primaries on June 2. 

Prices for beef cattle set a record this week. That means consumers will probably see prices go up before they come down.

The U.S. cattle herd is the smallest it’s been in over 75 years, and it continues to shrink. Patrick Wall, beef field specialist at Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, said current conditions are adding to the problem.

Wall said many producers in western Nebraska are liquidating their herds following wildfires in March. In Iowa, limited pastureland is stopping producers from expanding their herd sizes. Even if there was enough land available, he said it would take two to three years for it to show significant growth.

“Quite honestly, the beef price has been fairly stable for quite some time now, and there's no indicators that we're going to see cheaper beef retail or at the restaurant any time soon,” Wall said.

He said another growing problem is that Iowa beef producers are aging, and many don’t have a succession plan. Wall added that the high price of cattle and inputs are obstacles to younger people getting into the beef business.

The Polk County Health Department is creating a Community Health Improvement Plan to address key issues impacting the community. The plan focuses on non-medical factors that affect an individual’s well-being, like access to care and housing, as well as their mental health and economic stability.

County Health Supervisor Michelle Seibert said the department has spent the last year working with community organizations to figure out how they can help create real change.
 “Our community really does have some of this infrastructure already in place,” Siebert said. “How can we build on that, expand or enhance what’s already going on?” 

She said they are looking into things like training more child care providers and helping renters build credit. They also want to make sure there is support for people returning from incarceration or inpatient mental health treatment.

The Polk County Health Department is finishing the planning process before the project launches in June. 

Iowa State University is launching a women’s wrestling program that will begin competing in 2027.

The decision to add women’s wrestling comes after ISU chose to end women’s gymnastics. Athletics Director Jamie Pollard said he feels women’s wrestling will thrive at Iowa State because it has strong support from fans and boosters. 
“The number of young women that participate in wrestling in this state gives me a lot of confidence,” Pollard said.

The University of Iowa added women’s wrestling in 2021, and it became an official sport under the NCAA last year. 

ISU named Alli St. John as head coach for the new program. St. John is a former college champion and medalist in world competition.   

Iowa State also announced that longtime men’s wrestling coach Kevin Dresser is moving to a new role as the director of Men’s and Women’s Wrestling. Assistant coach Brent Metcalf has been promoted to lead the men’s program.

Michael Bridgford for Congress

Independent candidate Michael Bridgford has jumped into Iowa’s 1st Congressional District race. Bridgford is from Bettendorf and works as an independent financial advisor.

He believes the political system in Washington is stuck, and independents can help members of Congress on both sides of the aisle reach compromises and work together. 

Bridgford said he sees an appetite for change as more voters disengage with the two major parties.

“Once we get on the other side, I think we’ll look back five or 10 years down the road, we’re going to say it was obvious that this had to happen. Things got so out of whack, there was just no ability to get things done and work together that we needed to make a change,” he said.

The latest data from the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office shows active “no party” voters make up the second-largest faction of registered voters, behind Republicans. That number is up from the start of the year. 

Four other candidates are running for the seat, including incumbent U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks. She faces a Republican challenger in David Pautsch. Democrats Christina Bohannan and Travis Terrell are also vying for the seat.

Read more.

The National Weather Service is again reminding Iowans to be weather aware Wednesday afternoon and evening.

Meteorologist Ashley Bury said the state has already seen a strong thunderstorm in north-central Iowa this afternoon that produced hail up to 2 inches in diameter.

“We'll see additional development here over the next few hours and continue through the rest of the afternoon to the evening,” Bury said. “With that, we could see large hail, damaging winds and a tornado potential as well during that time frame.”

Skies should start clearing from west to east late Wednesday evening, and provide a break from stormy weather on Thursday, with sunshine and cooler, breezy conditions. Another system is forecast for Friday, where Iowans could see more strong storms hit parts of the state.

UnityPoint Health has announced it’s eliminating 207 IT jobs, citing long-term financial concerns.

The West Des Moines-based health care system said it will transfer some of its IT and revenue cycle functions to a third-party vendor later this year to address rising costs, reductions in reimbursements and increased demand for complex care services.

In a statement, UnityPoint CEO Scott Kizer called the decision “incredibly difficult.”

UnityPoint employees more than 31,000 people and operates more than 400 clinics and hospitals across the Midwest.

Powerful storms moved through eastern Iowa Tuesday night, bringing reports of tornadoes, large hail and high winds.

Delaware County Emergency Management Coordinator Mandy Bieber said there were multiple reports of damage along Highway 20.

“We saw machine sheds and outbuildings damaged, lots of trees down, power lines down,” Bieber said. “With the heavy rain, we have some washed out roads, lots of field tile, ditch flooding.”

In Independence, sheet metal roofs were ripped off barns, and hail measuring 3.5 inches in diameter was seen north of town.

Tornadoes were reported near Winthrop and Masonville, and power lines were downed in Delaware County. The Delhi area saw heavy damage to farm buildings as well, and wind gusts of 88 mph were recorded at the Dubuque Regional Airport.

A rope tornado was also captured on video near Onslow in Jones County.

More storms coming

National Weather Service Meteorologist Donna Dubberke said there’s the potential for more severe storms Wednesday afternoon and again later in the week.

“Friday looks like another one. In fact, the risk for Friday is greater than it is today,” Dubberke said.

She said cold air will move in Friday night and into the weekend, with temperatures dipping into the 20s. As for Thursday, Dubberke said the forecast shows calmer weather.

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) representatives said their inspection processes for the Duane Arnold Energy Center have not changed following executive orders that aimed to speed up the agency’s processes. The executive order signed by President Donald Trump last year directs the NRC to be more efficient and reduce unnecessary burdens.

The agency held a public meeting in Cedar Rapids Tuesday to share updates about its review of the nuclear plant ahead of its potential reopening.

April Nguyen, who is overseeing the NRC’s inspections of the Duane Arnold nuclear plant, said the inspection process, which includes verifying the plant’s components and equipment for safe operation, is not going to change because of the executive order. 

“Fundamentally, we want to make sure that all the systems and components that prevent accidents from happening, that would mitigate potential accidents and those barriers between the plant and the public, are still intact,” she said. 

Nguyen said her team has already started looking at the structural integrity of the plant’s reactor vessel. She also said there will be a public comment period in the summer on the environmental assessment they are currently conducting.

NextEra Energy Resources has submitted what the NRC calls a licensing bundle, with applications in various stages of review. It aims to have Duane Arnold operational by late 2028 or early 2029. 

Marco Verch

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Flickr

The Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau has released the results for the recent statewide hands-free driving law enforcement effort. The numbers show 551 citations were given to drivers, in addition to 329 warnings.

The initiative took place April 6-10 to bring awareness to Iowa’s hands-free cellphone law. It was the first statewide effort since law enforcement started writing tickets for violations on Jan. 1. According to the report, more than 3,600 citations and 3,100 warnings have been issued since then.

The Des Moines Fire Department (DMFD) said medics were able to give a blood transfusion to a patient before transport to the hospital for the first time under a pilot program.

In November 2025, the DMFD and the West Des Moines Fire Department started the program that allows first responders to carry blood with them for transfusions. It was adapted from a process used by the military to treat wounded soldiers in the field to stabilize them.

DMFD Lieutenant Dan Davis said medics gave blood to a security guard who had been stabbed at the Polk County’s Life Services Center on Feb. 19.

“It was recognized right away that this person was critical,” Davis said. “They were able to jump on it right away, and they knew well ahead of the time the patient got in the back of the squad that they were ready to go with the blood.”

He said the transfusion helped keep the security guard alive until he could get to the hospital.

“He was really starting to go downhill, and when it gave him the blood, it kind of leveled him off until he could get to the hospital and have the trauma surgeons take a look at him and start working on him,” Davis said.

Davis said this was a case where the program really paid off.

“I believe he ended up getting 30 or more units of blood during the whole process,” he said. “I’m not sure that he would have survived without it.”

The goal is to eventually extend the pilot program statewide.

Rachel Cramer

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Iowa Public Radio

Wet conditions have slightly slowed the start of planting compared to last year.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture crop report shows 1% of corn was planted as of April 12. By this time last year, 2% of corn had been planted. The report shows no soybeans have been planted, placing it behind 2025, when 1% had been planted.

There were only about three days suitable for fieldwork during the week of April 6-12, compared to six for the same period last year. State data shows much of southern Iowa had above average rainfall last week, while drier conditions continued in the northwest corner.

Madeleine Charis King

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Iowa Public Radio

Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn voiced support for some of the president’s actions in Iran but said he would not back prolonged involvement in the Middle East. Nunn, who represents Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District, spoke at a campaign event hosted by MAGA Nation Monday night in West Des Moines.

Nunn told the crowd that he’s “proud” of U.S. strikes last year on Iranian nuclear sites and that the U.S. is in a stronger position now to eliminate Iran’s nuclear program, as well as its proxy forces in the region.  

Nunn is a colonel in the Air Force Reserve and served as the director of cybersecurity for the National Security Council during the Obama administration.

The congressman told the crowd on Monday that he won’t support a “forever war.” 

“I want to see this resolve speedily,” Nunn said. “We have a clear objective. Iran must move toward not only nuclear disarmament, but it can't be a number one sponsor of terrorism ever again.”

Last month, two Iowans were killed in an Iranian air strike in Kuwait. In February, Nunn defended the U.S. military operation in Iran on social media but said he did not support “boots on the ground.”

Read more.

Traffic deaths in Iowa continue to trend above the record low recorded last year. Stuart Anderson, with the Iowa Department of Transportation, gave the state Transportation Commission an update at its meeting Monday.

Anderson reported that fatalities reached 73 as of April 13. He said that’s 15 more than last year at this time and seven more than the five-year average.

“January was a challenging month. March, also, certainly was a challenging month with those numbers,” he said. “We’re seeing those being driven by fatalities with younger drivers and older drivers.”

January traffic deaths were up by seven compared to last year, and deaths in March reached 30, whereas last year there were 17. Despite the trend so far this year, Anderson said it’s too early to say 2026 traffic deaths will end up higher than 2025.

“These trends are more meaningful longer term, so we don’t want to react too much just based on the data we have so far this year,” he said. “But we certainly hope that these numbers start getting on the trend we saw last year more.”

The state saw a record low of 258 traffic deaths in 2025.

Mark Welsch is no stranger to the difficulties of beekeeping. The Omaha beekeeper has been caring for hives for the last nine years, and he understands that not every colony makes it through the cold winter months.

But the winter of 2024-2025 was particularly brutal for him.

“I had 12 hives going into the winter,” Welsch said. “I lost nine of them."

He wasn’t the only one. About 1.6 million colonies died across the U.S. between June 2024 and March 2025, according to surveys from bee research nonprofit Project Apis m.

The losses hit commercial beekeepers as well as backyard honey producers, with many losing 60% to 80% of their colonies.

“Last year, there was a really swift and sudden cry for help from beekeepers,” said Danielle Downey, executive director of Project Apis m.

For decades, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Beltsville Agricultural Research Center has been the one to answer such cries for help — a place where beekeepers turn when major disasters happen. Six months after the massive die-off, scientists from the USDA facility identified a likely cause: viruses spread by pesticide-resistant mites.

But now, the Trump administration plans to close the research lab, leaving beekeepers to question the future of federal research.

Keep reading more from Harvest Public Media.

The regional administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) said a new agency initiative is focused on boosting U.S. food production, particularly in the meat processing industry.

Former Republican state Sen. Brad Zaun is the SBA’s administrator for Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska. He said the “Grocery Guarantee” program is meant to help more businesses thrive in the food industry through easier access to loans.

To encourage banks to approve loans to food processors and related businesses, the SBA will guarantee a larger portion of the loan if the business defaults.

“Typically, we have anywhere from a 60% to 75% guarantee,” Zaun said. “This raises it to 90% and what it does is the liability for the lenders is so much less, they’re probably more likely to loan that money out.”

Zaun has been meeting with businesses in the region to promote the new SBA loan guarantee in hopes of expanding processing capacity, particularly for smaller “mom and pop” shops.

“We don’t believe there’s enough competition in the meatpacking industry, and that includes poultry,” Zaun said. “That is one of the reasons we’ve got this special program.”

The Grocery Guarantee program is not just for food processors, but for businesses all along the food chain, from agriculture to logistics to grocery stores.

Businesses can begin applying for these loans May 1. Last year, the SBA backed loans to 85,000 U.S. businesses.

There’s an elevated risk of strong to severe thunderstorms Monday afternoon, especially across northern Iowa. National Weather Service Meteorologist Mike Fowle said the main threat is hail.

“A few of those storms could get into northern Iowa late this afternoon, but more likely this evening or into the early overnight hours,” Fowle said. “There’s not going to be a lot of storms, but any storms that develop could be severe.”

Fowle said it’s just the start of what could be a very stormy week for the state.

“We’ve got a more widespread threat on Tuesday, a very similar pattern — warm, humid,” he said. “We could see more numerous thunderstorms on Tuesday. Some of them could be severe. All hazards are in play: large hail, damaging winds and an isolated tornado.”

He said the risk of severe weather continues daily through Friday for wide sections of the state.

Madeleine Charis King

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Iowa Public Radio

Consumers can expect to pay more at the grocery store in 2026.

The latest federal forecast shows food prices are projected to increase by 3.1% this year. That rate is higher than the same report from February — before the start of the war in Iran and the corresponding spike in fuel prices.

Andy Harig, with FMI – The Food Industry Association, said food companies are still trying to assess how higher fuel costs will affect their supply chains.

"It's going to impact prices, and it's going to be in a longer window than just, you know, the day the war ends," Harig said.

He said consumers are already paying more at the grocery store because of inflation in recent years, so processors will likely try to keep food prices stable by passing the cost up the supply chain to farmers.

Read more from Harvest Public Media.