IOWA – Iowa has joined 30 other states in banning handheld cellphone use while driving. The Des Moines Register reports Governor Kim Reynolds signed Senate Fill 22 on Wednesday. The bill goes into effect on July 1st, 2025 and adds fines for use, with some exceptions for law enforcement and utility workers. Reynolds read out the names of those who have died due to crashes related to distracted driving during the ceremony, with many surviving family members in attendance.

DES MOINES, – A Boone man was sentenced to five years in federal prison for attempted transfer of obscene material to a person he believed to be a minor. According to public court documents, Travis Lee Morgan used a Facebook account to communicate with a person he believed to be a 13-year-old female, but was instead a law enforcement officer. Between June and August 2023, Morgan sent numerous explicit videos and images.

IOWA CITY – University of Iowa first-year head coach Jan Jensen is the 2025 NCAA Maggie Dixon Division I Rookie Coach of the Year, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association announced on Monday. The award honors a head coach who has led their team to a successful season during their first year on the sideline. It is named in honor of the late Maggie Dixon, who in her inaugural season as the Army head coach, led the Black Knights to the 2006 Patriot League title and their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship tournament shortly before her unexpected death following the season.