Category: State News

DES MOINES – Libertarian candidates will not appear in elections for governor or for Iowa’s 3rd congressional district following a district court ruling on Thursday. KCCI-TV reports the party did not correctly conduct replacement nominations in either race at a meeting in August. Two candidates were being chosen to replace lieutenant governor candidate Jules Cutler and 3rd District candidate Marco Battaglia. Those two were removed by the State Objections Panel in June.

DES MOINES – The South Des Moines Girls Softball Association is moving forward after its former treasurer was accused of stealing $76,000 from the group. WHO-3 reports Jordan Dean was arrested last week and charged with four counts of theft after allegedly stealing cash from the organization.

DAVENPORT – A man wanted in a 2025 fatal Davenport motorcycle crash was arrested this week. KWQC reports 41-year-old Alex Uthoff was flown back from Mexico after he was arrested for the charges. He’s accused of operating a motorcycle in a crash that killed 31-year-old Samantha Burke in Davenport last year. Uthoff faces charges of homicide by vehicle, OWI homicide by vehicle and reckless driving with serious injury by vehicle.

DES MOINES – A Des Moines man was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for three counts of attempted sexual exploitation of a child and one count of possession of child pornography. According to court documents, 33-year-old Tyler Boyd Pavlick placed a mini video camera in the tank of a porta-potty at three Central Iowa events in 2025 with the purpose of creating visual depictions of minors lasciviously exhibiting private areas. After completing his term of imprisonment, Pavlick will be required to serve a 10‑year term of supervised release.

DES MOINES – The parent company of Facebook and Instagram reached a $17 billion settlement with 47 states to resolve claims related to the mental health of teenagers using the platforms. KCCI-TV reports the state of Iowa will receive $126 million over the next ten years, according to Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird’s office. Meta was accused of causing mental health issues among young people.

DES MOINES – The Des Moines City Council received a proposal from its city manager this week that aims to address a $17 million budget shortfall in the next two fiscal years. WHO-13 reports $11.5 million in reductions were presented in an initial package, including programs, staffing, and revenue changes. The reductions could amount to 40 full-time positions being reduced across the city. Des Moines leadership says the cuts are a result of property tax legislation passed this past spring.

TAYLOR COUNTY – A Missouri man died in a single vehicle crash in Taylor County. The Iowa State Patrol reports 41-year-old Scott Lance of Maryville was traveling on a rural road and lost control of his Chevy Impala, eventually crashing into a tree. He was not wearing a seat belt according to the report and died from his injuries.

IOWA CITY – The Iowa City School Board is working to fill the vacancy left by Director Jayne Finch’s resignation. KGAN-TV reports Finch stepped down last week after a board workshop featured conflict between members. The district faces several budget issues, and many public comments urged the board to fill the vacancy with someone who has financial oversight experience.

DES MOINES – The Iowa State Fair broke the all-time attendance record this year. KCCI-TV reports more than 1.2 million people made their way to Des Moines for the event for the first time in its history. This broke the 2024 record of 1.18 million attendees.

BLOOMFIELD – The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services and local public health agencies are continuing to respond to an outbreak of measles in southern Iowa. As of August 24, seventeen confirmed cases of measles have been identified in 2026, with evidence of person-to-person spread. The main communities impacted are in the Des Moines metro and Bloomfield in Davis County. Local public health agencies are working closely with affected families and community leaders to identify illnesses, share information, and ensure access to vaccination.

FAIRFIELD – One of three charges against an Iowa teacher accused of grooming a student have been dropped in Jefferson County. KCCI-TV reports 57-year-old Vannen Crabtree, Jr. is still charged with grooming and sexual exploitation, but a count of lascivious conduct with a minor was removed from the ledger. His trial is scheduled to begin on September 15th.

DES MOINES— A dozen Iowa State Fair vendors have donated approximately 11,000 pounds of surplus food to Food Bank of Iowa at the close of this year’s fair. The organizations reports that is nearly twice as much as the 5,929 pounds received for hunger relief following the 2025 fair. Hard-boiled eggs from the Iowa Egg Council make up more than half of this year’s 11,000-pound total. Food collected from the vendors is in addition to thousands of pounds of food donated by fairgoers on Sunday, Aug. 23. That will be sorted and weighed in the coming days.

DES MOINES — The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services and local public health agencies are continuing to respond to an outbreak of measles in southern Iowa. As of August 21, sixteen confirmed cases of measles have been identified in 2026, with evidence of person-to-person spread. Iowa HHS and local public health agencies are working closely with affected families and community leaders to identify illnesses, share information, and ensure access to vaccination.

SALIX – An Iowa community narrowly voted to place a one-year moratorium on data centers last week. Iowa Public Radio reports that the Salix City Council joined others across the state in putting a pause on allowing construction of the facilities. Nearly 900 acres of land in northwest Iowa had been annexed in April for a possible data center by MidAmerican Energy on behalf of Google. A nearby Winnebago tribe also raised concerns about the project and its impact on their reservation land.

DES MOINES – The Iowa State Fair was on track to break the attendance record for the entire event. KCCI-TV reports 1,114,985 tickets had been scanned for attendance through Saturday — meaning only 68,000 people needed to show up Sunday to break the 2024 record of all-time attendance. Four daily records were broken over the past two weeks.