Author: Iowa Radio News

DES MOINES – Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird announced on Monday how the state will use $126 million received from a settlement with Meta over violation of consumer protection laws. WHO-13 reports that just over half of those dollars will resolve harm caused, which includes a restitution fund for Iowa children impacted. The Attorney General announced $31 million will go toward consumer protection enforcement, grants for Iowa schools to bolster social media protections, and a special victims unit for those impacted by deep-fake or artificial intelligence-based sexual content.

DES MOINES – Des Moines city leaders voted on Monday to approve several-million dollars in budget cuts to address a $17 million projected shortfall in the coming fiscal years. KCCI-TV reports that 15 city employees were laid off and 28 vacant positions were eliminated as part of $12 million in reductions. Des Moines city leadership referenced the property tax bill passed by the Iowa Legislature capping revenue growth at two percent annually for cities as to why the cuts were happening.

IOWA – While there will be times of dry conditions, the overall pattern will be a wet with periods of heavy rainfall this week. The locally heavy rainfall will lead to the potential for flash flooding, which started for communities just west of the Des Moines metro overnight, with some communities receiving four-to-six inches of precipitation. As the water routes into area waterways, river levels will rise as will the potential for river flooding on some rivers by later this week, according to the National Weather Service.

IOWA – Heavy rainfall and localized flooding will be possible on multiple days this week across many parts of the state. Over the course of the next several days, total rainfall of more than two inches will be common and some areas will receive more than four, according to the National Weather Service. Several Iowa communities remain well-above average for precipitation this year, which may cause additional flooding concerns with repeated rounds of rainfall.

IOWA CITY – The Iowa Hawkeyes football team moved up three spots in the Association Press Top 25 rankings after defeating Iowa State in the CyHawk football game 16-13 on Saturday. The Hawkeyes held off their rivals after trailing for a large portion of the contest, and held the Cyclones scoreless over the last 25 minutes of game action. Caden Buhr hit a 42-yard-field goal with 15 seconds left to get the game-winning score.

SPIRIT LAKE – Two people were injured in a boat crash on East Lake Okoboji over the weekend. KTIV reports the Iowa DNR is investigating the collision, which included ab oat flipping upside-down near the shoreline after colliding with a dock, host, and another boat. Two people had to be rescued, one of which suffered serious injuries.

STUART – An Iowa State Patrol trooper injured while responding to a deadly shooting in Stuart has been released from the hospital. KCCI-TV reports Chase Carruthers is recovering at home after he was shot when responding to an incident last month. Forty-six year old Austin Nichols Reed is accused of killing Toni Elena-Ann Salazar and attempting to murder Trooper Carruthers.

IOWA – After several Iowa communities were once again responding to flood concerns this past week, several additional rounds of precipitation are in the forecast starting on Sunday. According to the National Weather Service, widespread rainfall amounts of two-to-four inches are expected across the majority of the state through next weekend. Several area rivers and streams filled quickly this past Tuesday after rainfall reports of four to seven inches across many Iowa communities along the Interstate 80 corridor.

IOWA CITY – The Iowa State Cyclone Football Varsity Marching Band will join the Iowa Hawkeyes in honoring the late Derek Phillips at this evening’s CyHawk football game. KGAN-TV reports Iowa State will join the halftime performance with the Hawkeye Marching Band, and will wear special patches on their uniforms. Phillips died from sudden cardiac arrest and heat stroke this past Saturday.

DES MOINES— Governor Kim Reynolds ordered flags at half-staff from sunrise to sunset on today, in honor of Patriots Day and in memory of those who lost their lives in the September 11th terrorist attacks 25 years ago. Among the nearly 3,000 people who died on September 11, 2001, there were eight known victims with connections to Iowa: James Cleere of Newton, Karen Ann Kincaid, of Waverly, Mari-Rae Sopper, of Ames, Michael Tinley of Council Bluffs, SPC Craig Scott Amundson of Cedar Rapids, Lt. Col. Gary F. Smith of Council Bluffs, Timothy Aaron Haviland of Ames, and Sandra Dawn Teague of Des Moines.

AMES – Iowa’s three public universities reported their fall enrollment numbers on Thursday. Iowa Capital Dispatch reports the University of Northern Iowa reported an increase in its freshmen class of just over 10% for the incoming class, and total enrollment of 9,366 is the most it has had since 2020. Total enrollment at the University of Iowa dropped from 31,563 last year to 31,382 in 2026, and Iowa State University declined from 31,105 to 30,772, although the Cyclones retained 83% of its two-year enrollees.

IOWA CITY – The University of Iowa Hawkeye Marching Band announced plans to honor a member who died due to a heat stroke incident last weekend. KCCI-TV reports Derek Phillips suffered sudden cardiac arrest during the Hawkeyes first football game of the season, with his family announcing earlier this week that he was taken off of life support. A moment of silence is planed at Kinnick Stadium before Saturday’s Cy-Hawk game, and will honor Phillips during their halftime performance.

ANKENY – Voters in Ankeny approved a local option sales tax increase after several years of attempts by the community’s city council to get the go-ahead. The Des Moines Register reports the special election held Tuesday was to increase the city’s sales tax to seven percent, instead of the current rate of six. Ankeny was one of just five Iowa communities that did not have a local option sales tax rate, which could generate up to $12 million for the city.

DES MOINES – Multiple Iowa schools were impacted by severe weather and heavy rain that dropped six-to-eight inches of precipitation in some communities on Tuesday evening. The National Weather Service received multiple reports from border-to-border of rainfall that exceeded half-of-a-foot of water by early Wednesday morning. Several flash flood warnings were issued, which delayed some classes and closed other school buildings in central Iowa. This is the second major flash flooding event of the summer, the first of which was just before the 4th of July.

DES MOINES – A Des Moines native and U.S. Navy sailor was welcomed home on Wednesday after more than 250 days at sea. KCCI-TV reports Aviation Machinist’s Mate 2nd Class Peyton Decker was on the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln for close to a year, and hadn’t spoken with his family since December. He was greeted by friends and family at the Des Moines International Airport, and will return to service soon in California.