IOWA – Corn for grain production in Iowa for 2024 was estimated at 2.63 billion bushels, according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service Crop Production Annual Summary. Current year production was up four percent from the previous year’s 2.52 billion bushels. Iowa’s corn for grain yield was estimated at a record 211 bushels per acre. Area harvested for grain was estimated at 12.5 million acres, 100,000 below 2023.

CLAY COUNTY – The conviction of a day care provider for her role in the death of an infant was reversed by the Iowa Supreme Court on Friday. The Des Moines Register reports the trial of 41-year-old Alison Dorsey of Massena was improperly moved to another county, according to the ruling. Dorsey was charged with first-degree murder for the 2019 death of a baby found with injuries consistent with being shaken. Her first trial ended in a hung jury, and proceedings were moved to Pottawattamie County, where she was convicted of second degree murder. The Iowa Supreme Court ruled that Dorsey was improperly denied the right to a trial in her home county. According to the Register, a third trial is possible.

HILLS – The mayor of Hills wrote in a regular newsletter to residents about a dispute with the Iowa City School District after the closure of an elementary school. KCRG-TV reports Mayor Tim Kemp is upset and stopped just short of using profanity to react to a decision by the school district not to sell the land of Hills Elementary. Demolition is set to begin soon on the facility, and the superintendent expressed the need to maintain the land for a potential new building if Hills resumes growth.