Basketball

In 2022, Ava Jones was an outstanding high school basketball player, heading for a college career at the University of Iowa, when her life changed in a moment. Jones was walking with her parents and younger brother in Louisville, Kentucky, when an impaired driver jumped the curb and struck them. Ava and her mother Amy were seriously injured, and her father Trey died days after the incident. The University of Iowa honored Jones' scholarship to attend college, and 2025 brought her another life-altering circumstance: a cancer diagnosis. She is now in remission and shares her story of resilience. Later in the episode, Cathy McMullen of Iowa State University joins to talk about woodland wildflowers that are beginning to bloom around the state, and how Iowans can grow their own.

On this Newsbuzz edition, we break down the latest from the Iowa Statehouse with Marissa Payne of the 'Des Moines Register' and NPR White House correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben joins to discuss how the war against Iran is impacting farmers. We also discuss the Hawkeye men's basketball team's historic run so far during March Madness and the Iowa State men's team with sports writer Mike Hlas. Plus the upcoming severe weather season and federal court rulings on immigration in Iowa.

Iowa State's women's basketball star Audi Crooks is one of the leading scorers in the country. The spotlight on her has also brought criticism, but it has helped Crooks emerge as a role model for young players.

Hands-free driving, prairie chickens and college basketball are among the topics on this week's Newsbuzz episode.

Author and poet Hanif Abdurraqib discusses his latest work ahead of the Des Moines Book Festival. And we revisit a conversation about the Wings2Water nonprofit based at the Cedar Rapids airport.

For 24 years, the University of Iowa Women's Basketball coaches Lisa Bluder and Jan Jensen worked side by side, but their relationship goes back even further to when Jensen was a player and Bluder was head coach at Drake University.

Iowa is expected to receive about $174 million in opioid settlement funds over the next 18 years.

Megan Gustafson and Kate Martin overlapped for one year at the University of Iowa. Now they share the court playing for the WNBA's Las Vegas Aces. The former Iowa players reflect on their Hawkeye roots and leveling up in the professional league.