Today on KXEL Live & Local with Jeff Stein… Mighty John Marshall, The Record Guy, joins us live… Jordan Bergren of the New Bohemia and Czech Village Group on tomorrow’s 3rd Street Block Party event… KXEL’s Tim Harwood with Iowa Gallivant JayJay Goodvin on Marshall County… and a preview of this weekend’s “Radio Free Hillsdale Hour” with Scot Bertram.

On yesterday’s KXEL Live & Local with Jeff Stein… Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, GOP candidate for U.S. Senate… Lydia Zerby of the Iowa Food and Family Project on the group’s state fair trading cards giveaway… national financial journalist Dennis Kneale… KXEL’s Tim Harwood with Rebecca Johnson of Vitl Work… and Dustin Hoffmann of the Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network with an RFD1540 conversation from the Iowa State Fair.

Don’t forget…the KXEL Morning News with Tim Harwood  is on weekdays from 6-8 a.m.

“The Biggest of the Big” is the topic for today’s Iowa Politics with Jeff Stein.

Here’s today’s KXEL Poll Question of the Day:  “Who do you think should be the new White House Press Secretary?” Weigh in at kxel.com/poll.

Scroll down for today’s KXEL Morning News summary…and as always, contact us via email (kxel@kxel.com) or text (319-235-1540).

Make the most of your day!

Marion Police say a man has died after a crash involving an electric bicycle. Police say 52-year old Scott Rawson was operating the e-bike Saturday at a high rate of speed on the Grant Wood Trail when he struck another person using the trail. Rawson was not wearing a helmet and suffered severe head injuries after falling on the paved trail. Police say both speed and alcohol may have been contributing factors in the crash.

Details on an autopsy were at the center of testimony yesterday in the murder trial of Kaleek Lewis. The fifth day of the trial in the September shooting death of Dedric Arnold starts this morning. State deputy medical examiner Dr. Jonathan Thompson was asked about the bullet hitting Arnold’s neck, killing him. Prosecutors say Arnold and Morris Gray had gone to Lewis’ home searching for their missing wallets. But threatening messages were exchanged in the hours before the shooting. Lewis claims he was defending himself. He faces life in prison if he’s found guilty of first-degree murder.

The Satanic Temple is suing Iowa officials, accusing the state of religious discrimination after repeatedly being denied permission to hold a holiday event at the State Capitol. The lawsuit claims the state violated The Satanic Temple’s rights to free speech, religious freedom and equal protection. The group was allowed to put up a holiday display in the Capitol rotunda in 2023, but this lawsuit says the state has been either denying or delaying its requests for a family-friendly holiday event beginning in 2024, while allowing other religious groups to use the space.

A man who escaped prison in connection with the murder of Melody Hoffman in 2024 will now spend 10 years behind bars. According to court documents, Logan Kimpton made several violations while serving on parole. In June, he escaped from his work release facility. A few months prior, he tested positive for marijuana and meth. Last year, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit a forcible felony in the murder of Hoffman.

A person in Iowa City is charged for allegedly destroying a Flock license plate reader. Police say they actually used Flock to identify him. 21-year-old Alex Rattenborg is charged with third degree criminal mischief. A criminal complaint says he dismantled the pole holding the Flock camera outside of Currier Hall on Clinton Street. That caused the camera to fall to the ground. The complaint says it cost $100,000 to repair and replace the Flock device.

(WASHINGTON) -- The Kennedy Center board voted on Thursday to close the famed cultural institution for two years for renovations and to again add President Donald Trump’s name to the facade, Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty, an ex-officio member of the board, said in a statement.

This is a developing story.

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In the show ring Zoomer took his time to move onto the scale. Despite several people trying to guide him towards his weigh-in destination, Zoomer was not in a hurry to move. Owner Todd Schuler says that is typical of Zoomer’s day-to-day temperament.

Schuler says that the biggest components of Zoomer’s diet are home grown, right here in Iowa.

Zoomer is a Chester/Hampshire cross and was the heaviest of the five competitors at this year’s Big Boar contest. Todd Schuler says that this is his second year competing in the Big Boar contest and he loves the competition. Schuler adds that he typically raises show pigs and purebreds that he brings to the Iowa State Fair to show.

(WASHINGTON) -- The top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao on Wednesday demanding more information about the extended deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln amid the war with Iran and raising further questions about the Navy's ability to preserve service members' well-being while sustaining its current "operational tempo." 

In his letter, Sen. Richard Blumenthal noted the Lincoln has been deployed for more than 250 days and has gone more than 200 days without a port call. 

"There have been widespread reports of shortages of basic supplies, water contamination, plumbing issues, deteriorating mental health, deck safety concerns, and disruptions in the mail system, which have caused many care packages en route to the ship to be lost in transit for months," Blumenthal wrote. "These reports warrant immediate attention, but they also raise a broader question: whether the Navy can sustain the operational tempo now being demanded of its carrier force, particularly as this Administration repeatedly commits U.S. forces to conflicts of its own choosing and increasingly relies on aircraft carriers to sustain those operations."

His letter comes amid reports that the sailors are exhausted and, according to Military Times, one family member alleges a sailor attempted to go overboard from the USS Abraham Lincoln.

A U.S. official confirmed to ABC News that a sailor went overboard last month from the Lincoln and was quickly recovered. The incident is under investigation, the official said. 

Hegseth on Thursday pushed back on reports of a sailor going overboard from the Lincoln and accounts of sailors struggling through an unusually long deployment have been "completely misrepresented."

"We make sure every ship, every crew, every captain has everything we can provide them at every single moment," Hegseth told Newsmax. "Some deployments are longer than others, and I have more respect and gratitude for those sailors than anybody."

A Navy official told ABC News in a statement that the Lincoln has not seen an uptick in mental health issues and has "not identified an increase in reported suicidal ideation or suicide attempts aboard the ship."

But it acknowledged sailors are strained.

"We know that extended deployments place a significant strain on our service members and their families, and we are grateful for the resilience and sacrifices they make in support of our nation's security," the statement said. 

A U.S. official told ABC News on Thursday that the Navy's data shows its not uncommon for suicidal ideation to occur on deployed ships and that typically the rates are higher at the start of a deployment. The official said the data shows the Lincoln is following that trend and so far there have been no deaths or suicides since the it departed from San Diego last November.

The 5,000 sailors aboard the carrier have access to mental health assistance as well as chaplains, according to the official.

The ship was slated for a normal six-month deployment to the Pacific but has been extended on an unusually long nine-month deployment due to the war with Iran, where it was redirected earlier this year. It's not clear when it will be allowed home and is currently serving in North Arabian Sea.

Cao told Lincoln families during a town hall last week that another carrier will eventually swap out with the Lincoln, though he did not provide a timeline.

A U.S. official told ABC News on Thursday that the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, which is homeported in Japan, will replace the Lincoln as part of a long-planned rotation of ships.

Blumenthal notes in his letter that the Lincoln is not an isolated case, highlighting the prolonged deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford earlier this year.  

"Recent carrier deployments have repeatedly stretched beyond their originally anticipated durations, suggesting that extended deployments may be becoming a feature rather than an exception of the Navy's force-generation model," Blumenthal wrote. 

Blumenthal wrote that Lincoln's extended deployment is especially concerning because of the war. 

"The Administration has yet to adequately explain the objectives, end state, or anticipated duration of those operations. If the Administration intends to maintain a prolonged military campaign or an elevated carrier presence in the region, it must explain how it intends to ensure today's operational requirements do not create tomorrow's readiness crisis," Blumenthal wrote. 

The letter requests responses from Hegseth and Cao about the Navy's plan for sustaining carrier strike groups in the Middle East for the next 12 to 24 months, about who authorized extensions of the Lincoln's deployments and when, and about what military objective the Lincoln's extended deployment is aimed at achieving.

Blumenthal also requests an accounting of the "habitability, supply and quality-of-life problems" aboard the Lincoln, and he asks for further information on what metrics the Navy is using to address "fatigue, morale, mental health and crew readiness."

Blumenthal is not the only Democrat to weigh in. 

Sen. Chris Coons, the top Democrat on the Senate Defense Appropriations subcommittee, told CNN on Thursday that reports of a sailor jumping from the ship are "another reminder of how the president and his team, while asking for a huge increase in defense spending for all sorts of exotic new undertakings like the Trump-class battleship or Golden Dome missile defense system, are not making the investments in the daily lives and the care and the support of our sailors and soldiers, airmen and marines that they deserve."

Coons said this is an example of how the U.S. has "pushed our Navy to the limit."

White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales said in a statement to ABC News, "President Trump and Secretary Hegseth are committed to ensuring that the brave American patriots serving our country in uniform are equipped with the resources necessary to counter any threat to the United States." Coons said he is only aware of media reports about the Lincoln and has not been briefed on it. 

Coons blamed "unscheduled, unplanned deployments to the Southern Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific for repeated strikes against Venezuela and alleged drug boats, long deployments into the Middle East" and the "now six month war against Iran and deployments around the world because of increasing threats" for straining the Navy. 

Democrats earlier this year blocked the Senate from proceeding with consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act, a massive, must-pass defense bill that authorizes pay raises for the troops and funding for the military, due to their objection to the administration's actions in Iran that Congress has not authorized. 

A number Democrats in Congress have posted concerns about the Lincoln. Sen Ruben Gallego called for the Navy to allow a bipartisan congressional delegation to visit the Lincoln and investigate.

Sen. Mary Kelly wrote that "long deployments are hard" but that "they are a lot harder when the mission isn't well defined and there is no end in sight."

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Spider-Man: Brand New Day is continuing to break records.

The Sony Pictures film is now the fastest movie to make $700 million at the domestic box office. It reached $704.5 million on Wednesday, according to numbers from the studio.

It currently stands at #6 on the all-time North American box office chart, meaning it swung past Black Panther's sum of $700 million to get there. The next title it could pass is Top Gun: Maverick, which earned a sum of $718 million domestically.

Additionally, the film has earned over $1.108 billion internationally, making it Sony Pictures’ biggest film of all time overseas. It surpassed Spider-Man: No Way Home's total of $1.106 billion to get to that spot. It's also now the 10th highest-grossing film ever internationally.

Brand New Day opened in theaters on July 31. Its box office run continues with its upcoming third weekend on the horizon.

Tom Holland stars as the titular webslinger in the movie. Zendaya and Jacob Batalon also return in this fourth film in the franchise, which is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton.

Sadie Sink joins the universe alongside Tramell Tillman and Liza Colón-Zayas. Marvel mainstays who also appear in the movie are Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova/Black Widow, Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle/The Punisher, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/The Hulk and Marisa Tomei as May Parker.

The film follows Peter Parker as he fights full time as Spider-Man in a world who doesn't remember who he is. As he sees his old friends move on without him, Peter sparks a change "he may not have the power to control," according to an official description. "But that transformation might also be the only thing that can stop a shocking new threat to the city and those he loves — a powerful villain no one can even see. The world may have forgotten Peter Parker, but he hasn’t forgotten them."

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(NEW YORK) -- Tropical Storm Lala has formed in the central Pacific Ocean and is forecast to strengthen, possibly nearing hurricane strength, in the coming days as it approaches the Big Island of Hawaii on Saturday.

A hurricane watch was issued Thursday for the Big Island.

The storm is currently about 680 miles east-southeast from Hilo, Hawaii, on the east coast of the Big Island, as of Thursday afternoon. Winds are 40 mph.

Tropical Storm Lala could reach near-hurricane strength in the next several days as the storm is forecast to gradually strengthen.

The storm is currently moving west at 10 mph. It is expected to pass near or just south of the Big Island on Saturday and pass south of the other Hawaiian islands the rest of the weekend.

Heavy rain, strong winds and rough surf are likely this weekend. The exact timing and intensity of the impacts are still uncertain and will depend on the Lala's exact track.

Heavy rainfall on the Big Island on Friday could bring life-threatening mudslides and landslides, especially in areas with steep terrain.

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Weidner said he’s already looking ahead to other reports, like the upcoming Pro Farmer Crop Tour, for other market movers.

Weidner said it’s important for farmers to stay prepared for potential price rallies from reports like the WASDE report, as it’s nearly impossible to react to the news quickly enough.

For more information, visit landus.ag.