From the KCRG-TV9 Newsroom:
An air quality advisory is in effect through tomorrow morning due to thick smoke from wildfires in Canada. The Iowa DNR says the smoke measured in the unhealthy category for several hours yesterday. Sensitive groups and the general public may experience health effects. The DNR recommends cutting back on long and intense activities as well as taking more breaks while outside until air quality conditions improve.
A school bus crash in rural Cedar Falls sent two people to the hospital, including a child. The Black Hawk County Sheriff’s office says the Cedar Falls School District bus lost control, went into the ditch and rolled onto its side a little after 12:30 Tuesday afternoon on the 37 hundred block of North Union Road. An adult driver and three children were on board at the time. The driver and one of the children went to the hospital but are expected to recover.
An Iowan who’s worked for several years to get other people elected has decided it’s time for her to be the candidate. Democrat Julie Stauch of West Des Moines confirmed today that she is running for governor. She would face fellow Democrat Rob Sand in a primary. Governor Kim Reynolds has announced she will not run for re-election next year.
Governor Reynolds signed a bill aimed at helping recruit and retain volunteer first responders. About 92 percent of the roughly 850 fire stations across the state are volunteer stations. The state aims to combine local and state funding to provide eligible volunteer first responders with up to $500 a year. It will be up to each individual entity to decide how that money is used, such as a pension plan or yearly payout.
It took just seconds for Kirkwood Community College’s wind turbine to tumble to the ground yesterday. The structure that dominated the skies over Kirkwood has sat dormant over the past few years, in need of expensive repairs. The wind turbine opened in 2012 and was featured in a class at the college, but that program closed in 2023 due to low enrollment.
