WATERLOO, Iowa (KCRG) – John Deere announced Wednesday that 101 workers in Waterloo will be laid off next month, citing decreased demand and lower order volumes. The workers in Waterloo were notified Wednesday. Their last day will be October 17. 40 workers will also be laid off at Deere’s Des Moines Works facility. Those workers’ last day will be October 31. Deere says the impacted employees will receive unemployment pay and other monetary benefits. They will also be able to keep their healthcare benefits for at least six months. Deere has laid off hundreds of workers at its Iowa facilities in recent years as it deals with slower demand for farm equipment.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Following a three-hour closed session, the Iowa Board of Regents announced its decision on faculty members who had praised Charlie Kirk’s death on social media. The board has ordered its three universities to launch immediate investigations into their faculty and staff to determine if they broke social media policies. All staff under investigation will be placed on administrative leave or removed from the classroom. Some board members shared frustrations, with one member saying no investigations were conducted prior to the board’s decision, which prevented any terminations from being issued this week. Another member added, while some of the social media posts are “appalling”, the First Amendment protects those statements.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (KCRG) – Investigators are working to figure out what caused a fire early Wednesday morning in Cedar Falls. Cedar Falls Public Safety says firefighters were called to the 2400 block of West 4th Street at 2:03 a.m. Firefighters at the scene found a fire on the outside of the building and put the fire out. All people inside the building were evacuated. The building has smoke and fire damage.
NEWTON, Iowa (KCCI/KCRG) – The Iowa Speedway in Newton is noticeably absent from next year’s IndyCar schedule. The 2026 season has 17 events, opening March 1 at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in Florida and closing Sept. 6 at the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in California. There will be no Iowa stop between them, though. The first sign Indy might have put the brakes on its Newton stop was this year’s low turnout. Officials have estimated that IndyCar Race Weekend has an economic impact of more than $25 million in Iowa. Combine that with other races at the Iowa Speedway — including NASCAR’s Cup Series — and that impact grows to $100 million.
