CEDAR RAPIDS POLICE SPENT THE OVERNIGHT HOURS LOOKING FOR THE PERSON WHO REPORTEDLY DROVE AWAY FROM A CAR-MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT. THE COLLISION HAPPENED ON THE NORTHEAST SIDE AT BLAIRS FERRY ROAD AND C AVENUE SHORTLY AFTER SUNSET. THE MOTORCYCLE RIDER’S INJURIES WERE CHARACTERIZED AS SERIOUS.
A DAY ON THE CEDAR RIVER QUICKLY TURNED DANGEROUS YESTERDAY AFTERNOON. CEDAR RAPIDS FIRE OFFICIALS SAY A MAN WAS BEING TOWED ON THE WATER WHILE TUBING BUT ENDED UP CRASHING INTO ANOTHER BOAT. THE 40-YEAR-OLD VICTIM REPORTEDLY SUFFERED SIGNIFICANT HEAD INJURIES AND HAD TO BE FLOWN FROM THE RIVERSIDE TO UNIVERSITY OF IOWA HOSPITALS AND CLINICS IN IOWA CITY.
YOU DON’T HAVE TO GO FAR IN RURAL IOWA TO FIND A SOYBEAN FIELD. EVEN THOUGH SOYBEANS COVER MILLIONS OF ACRES, AARON PUTZE OF THE IOWA SOYBEAN ASSOCIATION RECENTLY REMINDED KXEL THAT THE CROP IS A RELATIVELY RECENT ARRIVAL. APPROXIMATELY 500 MILLION BUSHELS OF SOYBEANS ARE GROWN IN IOWA EACH YEAR.
IT’S WIN-AND-ADVANCE FOR THE WATERLOO BUCKS. TONIGHT AT RIVERFRONT STADIUM, THE BUCKS TRY TO ELIMINATE THE DULUTH HUSKIES IN GAME TWO OF THE BEST-OF-THREE DIVISIONAL SERIES BETWEEN THE TEAMS. WATERLOO WON 8-6 LAST NIGHT IN DULUTH. FIRST PITCH TONIGHT IS SCHEDULED FOR 6:35. IF NECESSARY, GAME THREE WOULD BE TOMORROW NIGHT, ALSO AT RIVERFRONT STADIUM.
AS THE TALIBAN HAS SURGED TO BOTH HIGHLY STRATEGIC AND SYMBOLIC GAINS IN AFGHANISTAN, IOWA REPUBLICAN SENATOR JONI ERNST EXPRESSED HER FRUSTRATION. THE FORMER NATIONAL GUARD OFFICER WHO SERVED IN IRAQ WAS A RECENT GUEST ON FOX’S “THE STORY WITH MARTHA MACCALLUM”. TALIBAN FORCES ENTERED THE AFGHAN CAPITAL OF KABUL OVER THE WEEKEND. AMERICAN EMBASSY PERSONNEL HAVE BEEN RELOCATED TO THE CITY’S INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, WHERE WESTERN CITIZENS AND VULNERABLE AFGHAN NATIONALS ARE BEING EVACUATED.
DOZENS OF ASSAULTS EACH MONTH AT THE IOWA STATE TRAINING SCHOOL IN ELDORA ARE LEADING TO A REASSESSMENT OF DISCIPLINARY OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO STAFF. MORE THAN 100 REPORTS OF VIOLENCE WERE RECORDED IN THE FIRST THREE MONTHS OF THIS YEAR ALONE. AN INDEPENDENT MONITOR NOTED THE PROBLEMS AND SAYS THE THREATENING SITUATION UNDERMINES THE ABILITY OF THE FACILITY TO HELP YOUTHS WHO HAVE BEEN SENT THERE. THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES WOULD LIKE TO ISOLATE THOSE DEEMED MOST DISRUPTIVE, AN OPTION WHICH WAS ELIMINATED BY A COURT ORDER LAST YEAR.
FALLING RURAL CENSUS NUMBERS MIGHT BE STABILIZED BY IMMIGRATION REFORM, ACCORDING TO BOTH IMMIGRANT ADVOCATES AND SOME IN AGRIBUSINESS. WHERE RURAL COMMUNITIES ARE SEEING OPPOSITE POPULATION TRENDS, THOSE CHANGES WERE DRIVEN BY THE ARRIVAL OF HISPANIC AND LATINO RESIDENTS. MANY ARRIVE TO WORK ON FARMS OR IN MEATPACKING PLANTS. IOWA’S LEAGUE OF UNITED LATIN AMERICAN CITIZENS NOTED AG COMPANIES UNDERSTAND THAT THEY CANNOT SURVIVE WITHOUT IMMIGRANTS.
TWO PEOPLE WERE HOSPITALIZED AS THE RESULT OF A CRASH ON HIGHWAY 30 NEAR THE WESTERN EDGE OF CEDAR RAPIDS SUNDAY AFTERNOON. LINN COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPUTIES SAY IT WAS SHORTLY BEFORE 1 O’CLOCK WHEN AN SUV AND A PASSENGER CAR COLLIDED. THE SUV WAS ALLEGEDLY ATTEMPTING TO CROSS THE DIVIDED HIGHWAY. THE DRIVER OF THE CAR, ALONG WITH A PASSENGER, WERE BOTH TAKEN TO MERCY MEDICAL CENTER. NEITHER INJURY WAS BELIEVED TO BE LIFE-THREATENING.
AN ARRAY OF CHALLENGES ARE WAITING FOR ELECTION OFFICIALS HEADING INTO THE 2022 MIDTERM ELECTIONS: THREATS OF FOREIGN INTERFERENCE, RANSOMWARE, CHANGES TO ELECTION LAWS, EVEN CONCERNS ABOUT PHYSICAL SAFETY. THE NATION’S SECRETARIES OF STATE HAVE BEEN MEETING IN CENTRAL IOWA WITH THE GOAL OF BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS ACROSS STATES, SHARING BEST PRACTICES, AND HEARING FROM EXPERTS. THE LONG LIST OF CHALLENGES WERE OUTLINED DURING PANEL DISCUSSIONS OVER A FOUR-DAY CONFERENCE. PARTICIPANTS SAY PREPARATIONS FOR 2022 HAVE ALREADY BEGUN.
HALF A BILLION BUSHELS OF SOYBEANS ARE EXPECTED TO BE HARVESTED IN IOWA THIS FALL. AARON PUTZE OF THE IOWA SOYBEAN ASSOCIATION RECENTLY SPOKE ON KXEL ABOUT WHY THE STATE IS WELL-SUITED FOR SOY GROWERS. HEAR MORE FROM PUTZE ABOUT HOW SOYBEANS ESTABLISHED THEMSELVES IN THE STATE DURING NEXT HOUR’S KXEL NEWSCAST.
