Jacob Gill hopes to add experience and play-making to the Iowa wide receivers. Gill transferred to Iowa after spending the past three years at Northwestern and looks to add depth to a position group that expects to be improved.
Gill has made the transition to Iowa while taking part in summer drills.
Gill transferred to Iowa along with his former quarterback at Northwestern, Brendan Sullivan.
The Hawkeyes open the season on August 31st against Illinois State.
Iowa guard Lucy Olsen felt Iowa was the right fit for her. Olsen finished third in the country in scoring last season by averaging more than 23 points per game at Villanova. She joins an Iowa program that lost several key players from a team that played in back-to-back national championship games.
Olsen does not view herself as a replacement for two-time national player of the year Caitlin Clark.
Olsen says she has adapted quickly to Iowa City.
(Radio Iowa; UPDATED) – Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig says he’s concerned about what state law says about how crop land and pastures are to be restored after a hazardous liquid pipeline is built. “Should we look at that law? I think we can,” Naig says. “Eminent domain use should be rare. It should be used when there are significant property agreements in place.” But Naig says the legislature’s priority should be establishing guardrails and defining terms.
“I would be careful of going in and saying specifically: ‘This kind of project should or should not be allowed,'” Naig said. “Look at those broader principles. Does it have an overwhelming impact?…Is it used in cases where there’s voluntary agreement? What’s the right number for that?…Maybe some additional teeth in the restoration process to ensure that land is useful afterwards. I think those are things that are very logical to look at after we’ve gone through a process now.” Naig has read through the Iowa Utilities Commission decision granting a construction permit to Summit Carbon Solutions.
“Nobody likes eminent domain. Nobody, but Iowa law allows for it and Iowa law allows for it when it’s justified. How is it determined whether it’s justified? Utilities Board. Should we look at that law? I think we can,” Naig said. “Eminent domain use should be rare. Eminent domain should be used when significant voluntary agreements are in place.” But any eminent domain changes would be for projects proposed in the future, not the Summit pipeline. Naig says there could be an upside for the ethanol industry and corn growers if the pipeline’s built.
“Whether you like it or not…there could be an expansion signal even sent to the ethanol industry as we look at now using ethanol to make sustainable aviation fuel. If you’re going to make sustainable aviation fuel, you’ve got to lower the carbon intensity of ethanol,” Naig said. “There are many ways to do that, but we should be looking at all the options there. So is there potential value in this? Yes.” Naig expects lawsuits will be filed to challenge the state-issued construction permit for the pipeline and he says there may be other things lawmakers can learn through that process.
Naig made his comments during a recent appearance on Iowa Press on Iowa P-B-S.
(Omaha/Valley, NE & Des Moines/Johnston, IA NWS Offices) – Storms raced through Nebraska this (Wednesday) evening, bringing heavy rain, damaging wind, a few tornadoes/funnel clouds and some hail. Here is a list (as of 8:18-p.m.) of the significant KJAN listening area storm reports:
8:35-p.m. – Trees and power lines down near the Cass County Fairground in Atlantic
7:41-p.m. – 64 mph thunderstorm wind gust 4 miles S/SW of Menlo (MesoNet automated wx station)
7:30-p.m. – Trees down in Casey.
7:28-p.m. – 59 mph thunderstorm wind gust 1 mile NW of Audubon
7:08-p.m. – 59 mph thunderstorm wind gust at the automated wx site at the Atlantic Airport w/50 mph gusts lasting at least 10 minutes.
6:52-p.m. – 58 mph thunderstorm wind gust 4 miles SW of Logan
6:35-p.m. – 58 mph thunderstorm wind gust 4 miles SW of Logan (Harrison County)
6:29-p.m. – 59 mph thunderstorm wind gust 7 miles S/SE of Henderson (Personal weather station); Montgomery County.
6:27-p.m. – thunderstorm wind damage in Oakland – tree down on a house, & power lines down.
6:23-p.m. – 69 mph thunderstorm wind gust 1 mile S/SE of Missouri Valley
6:15-p.m. – Large tree down blocking Main St. in Neola; Power lines down also.
6:14-p.m. – 58 mph thunderstorm wind gust 3 miles SW of Underwood; 66 mph gust in Missouri Valley
6:06-p.m. – 70 mph thunderstorm wind gust 4 miles SW of McClelland
6:05-p.m. – 64 mph thunderstorm wind gust 3 miles W/NW of Silver City
6:04-p.m. – 76 mph thunderstorm wind gust 2 miles NW of Silver City
6:03-p.m. – semi tractor-trailer flipped-over on I-29 2 miles southwest of Crescent (Pottawattamie County)
5:57-p.m. – Tornado reported by law enforcement miles SE of Council Bluffs.
Other reports:
8:20-p.m. – 66 mph thunderstorm wind gust at the Dsm Intl. Airport
4:45-p.m. – Eppley Airport in Omaha was closed until about 8:25-p.m. to assess thunderstorm wind damage. There were some expected flight delays.
10:30-p.m. – KETV reports damage to Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo. The zoo said the upper portions of the zoo will be open and the rest will be closed on Thursday (8/1). The Lee G. Simmons Wildlife Safari will also be closed on Thursday due to storm damage. Zoo officials said no animals or staff were hurt during the storm.
Numerous trees down in Sac and Dallas Counties.
Pottawattamie County, Iowa – Pottawattamie County is continuing a commitment to make communication with its residents a top priority by hosting another town hall meeting in Oakland, its third in the last 16 months. The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, August 14 th, from 6:30pm to 8:00pm. The informational discussion will occur inside the Oakland Community Center at 614 Dr Van Zee Road, with no formal deliberation or action from the Board of Supervisors.
Pottawattamie County held two similar forums in 2023, providing an opportunity for residents to hear from county leaders about the latest developments. “Understanding residents aren’t always able to attend our weekly meetings, we continue to do our best to find ways to engage and inform,” said Susan Miller, Chairperson for the Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors. “We selected a venue for this town hall meeting that may be easier to access for some of our rural residents, a time of day that may be more manageable, and a time of year that doesn’t interfere with harvest season,” said Miller. “We’ve been strategic in our planning of the event.”
PowerPoint slides are expected to accompany brief presentations by leaders of several county departments during the meeting, before concluding with a question-and-answer session with those in attendance. “We’ve bolstered communication through our website and social media channels, but creating avenues to deliver information in-person remains important as well,” said Miller. “This platform allows an opportunity to outline the services our departments work hard to provide and celebrate the many reasons that make Pottawattamie County a special place to work, live, and play.”
Representatives will also be on hand to provide guidance to property owners and residents impacted by tornadoes, storms, and flood events occurring between April and July. FEMA Individual Assistance is available and team members will provide survivors with application status updates and referrals to community resources. Those impacted by the April tornadoes have until August 23rd to apply for FEMA assistance.
About the Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors: Regularly scheduled meetings for the Board of Supervisors are held every Tuesday at 10:00am. To view archived meetings, visit YouTube.com/PottawattamieCountyIA. To learn more about the Board of Supervisors, visit PottCounty-ia.gov/departments/board_of_supervisors.
AMES, Iowa – Iowa State defensive back Jeremiah Cooper is one of 42 defensive backs named to the prestigious Paycom Jim Thorpe Award Preseason Watch List.
Cooper is one of five Big 12 players to earn a spot on the list. He has now been named to three preseason watch lists, also earning a spot on the Nagurski Trophy and Lott Impact Trophy Watch Lists.
Cooper, a junior from El Paso, Texas, is a preseason All-Big 12 selection after earning first-team honors in 2023. He played and started 11 games last season and finished second in the Big 12 Conference and sixth nationally with five interceptions. Cooper tallied 45 tackles and ranked fourth nationally in passes defended per game (1.4).
Tickets for the 2024 football season are on sale now with a slate that features Kansas State and a Homecoming showdown with Texas Tech as well as others. Fans can purchase season tickets for as low as $299, while mini-packs, single-game tickets and parking are also on sale.
The Cyclones open the season August 31 against 2023 FCS Playoff qualifier North Dakota.
(Radio Iowa) – When school starts in less than a month, students in 10 Iowa districts will go to school just four days a week. Iowa Senate President Amy Sinclair says it’s happening because of a recent change in Iowa law. It lets schools choose to calculate the required amount of classroom instruction each school year by the total number of days or just over a thousand hours.
“I have started the process of looking at the results,” she says. “We always want to know how this is impacting student achievement, how this is impacting families who utilize public schools.” Over 16-hundred districts in 24 states have opted for a four-day week and most offer child care on the other weekday. Sinclair says research shows parents depend upon schools for child care.
“Unless the data prove us otherwise in student achievement or in a family’s ability to maintain meaningful work, I’m happy letting those local school districts make those decisions,” she says. There’s been some push-back in other states on a four-day school week. A bill introduced in Louisiana sought to ban four day school weeks and legislators in Missouri and Texas have considered limiting which districts can switch to four days a week.
(The following Iowa school districts will have four-day weeks: Cardinal Community, East Union, Highland, Martensdale-St. Mary’s, Mormon Trail, Moulton-Udell, Murray, North Iowa, Saydel and Waco.)
(Radio Iowa) – An Iowa advocate for Ukrainian immigrants says it’s become harder to get people out of the war-torn country. Martha Hulshof of Ireton has helped about 150 Ukrainians move to northwest Iowa through her sister, who is a missionary in western Ukraine. Hulshof says the process that has taken a couple of months can now take more than six months. She hasn’t being told why there’s been a delay, but says it is putting lives at risk.
“It’s heartbreaking what is going on over there. It’s war. And people forget since we don’t see on the news anymore what war’s really like with all the death and torture.” And Hulshof says flooding has compounded the issue of finding help for the refugees.“The situation here is hard, and it’s just that much harder to find houses and vehicles when people here have lost so much, too,” Hulshof says.
Hulshof says she is looking for northwest Iowans who want to open their homes to Ukrainian refugees.
(By Sheila Brummer, Iowa Public Radio)
(Radio Iowa) – Iowa is mirroring the national trend with a slight drop in deaths due to alcohol, drugs, and suicide, according to a report from a non-partisan public health policy organization.
Dr. Nadine Gracia, president and CEO of Trust for America’s Health, says figures for 2022 show the first substantial drop in those deaths in five years, though there’s still much work to be done. She says the long-term trend is still alarmingly high.
“In the state of Iowa, the data show that there were over 1,600 individuals who died due to alcohol, drugs and suicide,” Gracia says. “That was about a 1% decrease from the previous year. We saw decreases in alcohol induced death and drug overdose deaths, but there was actually an increase in suicide deaths by 6%.”
Over the past two decades, the study finds deaths from alcohol, drugs, and suicide in the U.S. increased by 142 percent. Gracia says drug overdoses, in particular, rose relentlessly in the past ten years as synthetic opioids gained in popularity. She says rural residents appear to be especially at risk.
Trust for America’s Health graphic
“We do see, for example, higher death rates among people who died from suicide from people who are living in rural areas, people who are men,” Gracia says. “For drug overdose deaths, we also see higher rates for adults who are ages 35 to 54, as well as males.”
In the report, “Pain in the Nation 2024: the Epidemic of Alcohol, Drug, and Suicide Deaths,” researchers found a slight drop in the combined rate of alcohol, drug, and suicide deaths, but that rate is still more than double what it was 20 years ago. Gracia points to a lack of access to treatment options.
“You look at the state of Iowa, for example, about 59% of the state’s residents actually live in an area that has a mental health care shortage,” Gracia says, “so we need to assure that we’re bolstering and increasing access to mental health care services for anyone and everyone who needs them.”
To save lives, she says more work needs to be done to implement prevention and harm reduction strategies, and to ensure access to mental and behavioral health care.
(Atlantic, Iowa) – Cass County Deputy Auditor Sheri Karns, today (Wednesday), said the first person to file as a candidate for the November General Election, is Linda L. Pelzer, who is running for one of three positions as a member of the Cass County Hospital Board Trustees. Candidates running for that Board may file their papers any time.
As a reminder: the filing period for candidates for Non-party political organization (NPPO) and Non-Affiliated persons for the upcoming General Election to be held November 5, 2024, are as follows:
County positions open are:
For more information and for the number of signatures required for each office, please contact the Auditor’s office at 712-243-4570
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
RSS