DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Democrat Abby Finkenauer, a former congresswoman, is running for Republican Chuck Grassley’s U.S. Senate seat. The 32-year-old former state lawmaker would offer a stark contrast to the 87-year-old Grassley, who was elected to his first term in the Senate eight years before Finkenauer was born.

IOWA (IRN) – The latest weekly update on the state of the coronavirus in Iowa shows a large increase in cases and hospitalizations, but no significant upward trend in deaths from the virus. Cases are up 51% over last week.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Numerous agencies in Polk County conducted a large-scale law enforcement operation on Wednesday. Arrest and search warrants, part of investigations by the Mid-Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force and the FBI, were executed at 13 locations.

IOWA (IRN) – Ticket sales for the Iowa Lottery have increased during the pandemic. Through the first 11 months of this fiscal year, Iowa Lottery sales totaled over $417 million. That’s a nearly 25 percent increase in sales and surpasses the previous 12-month record, which was $390 million in 2019.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – There are reports that the University of Iowa plans to name the field at Kinnick Stadium for Duke Slater, a trailblazing Black player who was an All-American tackle a century ago, two people familiar with the proposal said Wednesday. After leaving Iowa, Slater became the NFL’s first Black lineman and a pioneering Chicago judge, and he will be inducted next month into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Slater died in 1966 at age 67.