(Radio Iowa) – The Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa — RAGBRAI — starts Sunday. However, riders and support crews started converging on Sergeant Bluff Wednesday, as the town is the starting point for this year’s route. Sergeant Bluff City Councilwoman Andrea Johnson says 28-thousand people are expected in the community for the opening festivities this weekend — so the city is asking motorists to avoid the entertainment zone.

“We are asking that people do not drive through our town just because we have lots of bikes and we’re just trying to keep everyone safe,” she says. Saturday’s series of concerts and other activities will begin around noon in Sergeant Bluff. The city has established designated parking areas and three shuttle routes. “We encourage everyone to come and eat our food and enjoy our bands,” Johnson says. Emergency officials are preparing for excessive heat and the possibility of severe weather.

Riders on a past RAGBRAI. (file photo)

Sergeant Bluff Fire Chief Anthony Gaul says his fire station will be the command post to deal with whatever Mother Nature has in store. “We did a final test of our outdoor warning system which is meant to alert people that are outdoors in case of severe weather or any other disasters,” Gaul says. “We have a voice function on that as well as the tone siren alert.” If a tornado or winds of more than 70 mile an hour are forecast, the outdoor warning system in Sergeant Bluff is triggered, but they plan to announce any severe weather that does not meet that threshold.

Fourteen campgrounds have been established around Sergeant Bluff for the RAGBRAI crowd. “We have established tornado and storm shelters for every campground. We have access to all of those public safety wise so we can open them up whenever need be and we have sent that all throughout the campground so they know where they are to go.” Gaul and other Sergeant Bluff officials are walking through the campgrounds, too, welcoming RAGBRAI riders and pointing out the emergency shelters. Gaul says the city has a valuable tool that likely will alter the crowds find shelter before dangerous lightning arrives.

“We have a lightning prediction system called THOR GUARD,” he says. “It is set to alert when we have about a 12-15 minute time frame before lightning impacts the community and over the last years it has been very accurate.” Officials have been handing out yard signs to Sergeant Bluff residents that indicate the home is open as an emergency shelter to bicyclists in case of severe weather. The latest forecast indicates there’s a chance for severe storms in the area on Saturday.

Early Sunday, RAGBRAI riders will leave Sergeant Bluff and pedal through Bronson, Anthon and Battle Creek before reaching the overnight stop in Ida Grove. The week-long ride covers 454 miles and ends in Lansing on July 30th.

This year is bittersweet for riders – it’s the first year without one of its founders. Ninety-one-year-old John Karras died due to complications from a stroke. He co-founded Ragbrai with Donald Kaul in 1973.

Officials with the Iowa Environmental Council (IEC), today (Friday), released their Beach Advisory for the week of July 22nd. There are eight 8 beach advisories this week, seven of which advisories are related to unhealthy E.coli levels:

• Backbone Beach (Dundee, Delaware County, IA)*
• Big Creek Beach (Polk City, Polk County, IA)*
• Black Hawk Beach (Lake View, Sac County, IA)*
• Lake Darling Beach (Brighton, Washington County, IA)*
• Lake of Three Fires Beach (Bedford, Taylor County, IA)* [temporarily closed; see note below]
• McIntosh Woods Beach (Clear Lake, Ventura, Cerro Gordo County, IA)*
• Prairie Rose Beach (Harlan, Shelby County, IA)*

There is also one beach with a Microcystin-related Advisory: Geode Beach (Danville, Des Moines County, IA)*

*Data from the Iowa DNR State Park Beach Monitoring Program
**Data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District

Lake of Three Fires is temporarily closed for swimming.
A Missouri resident who swam in Lake of Three Fires had a confirmed infection and passed away from Naegleria fowleri, commonly known as the “brain-eating amoeba.” There is no new information to share at this time other than the beach has been sampled and the samples have been sent to the CDC laboratory. The beach will remain closed pending test results. Additionally, the test results for E. coli exceed the advisory threshold this week.

(Radio Iowa) -The Iowa State Patrol estimates at least five-thousand vehicles are making their way to the parking lots at the Iowa Speedway today (Friday) — the first wave of traffic heading to Newton for IndyCar racing on Saturday and Sunday. The Patrol predicts daily crowds of 35-thousand at the Speedway on both Saturday and Sunday, with nearly 18-thousand vehicles on Interstate-80 at the Newton exit both days. Troopers are encouraging people to leave early to avoid heavy congestion. Newton Mayor Mike Hansen says keeping IndyCar Racing at the Iowa Speedway through 2024 wasn’t easy. “This was a 14-month negotiation between the City, the State, IndyCar Series, Penske Corp. and Hy-Vee,” he said.

Hy-Vee, the lead sponsor of the event, says a limited number of tickets are still available. The City of Newton has dedicated 33-thousand dollars this year and again in 2023 and 2024 to support IndyCar racing and other events at the Speedway.”So this is a direct contribution for tourism,” the mayor says.

The N-T-T IndyCar Series races will be held on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. A pre-race concert Saturday with Tim McGraw begins at 1 p.m. and the race will start at 3 p.m. Saturday’s post-race concert with Florida Georgia Line is scheduled to start at 5:30. Sunday’s schedule includes a concert with Gwen Stefani just after noon with the race starting at 2:30 p.m. The closing event of the weekend is a concert with Blake Shelton.

STATE BASEBALL RESULTS – THURSDAY

CLASS 2A STATE SEMIFINALS @ Carroll

• Estherville-Lincoln Central 7, Mid-Prairie 4
• Van Meter 9, Beckman Catholic 4

CLASS 4A STATE SEMIFINALS @ Iowa City

• Johnston 11, Waukee Northwest 3
• Dowling Catholic 6, Iowa City High 4

STATE BASEBALL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE – FRIDAY

State Championships @ Carroll

• Class 1A: Remsen St. Mary’s vs. New London @ 12:00 PM
• Class 2A: Estherville-Lincoln Central vs. Van Meter @ 2:30 PM

State Championships @ Iowa City

• Class 3A: Assumption vs. Western Dubuque @ 5:00 PM
• Class 4A: Johnston vs. Dowling Catholic @ 7:30 PM

CLASS 4A STATE TOURNAMENT SCORES – THURSDAY

• Championship: Winterset 3, Dallas Center-Grimes 1(Neela Applegate 2R HR)
• Consolation: North Scott 5, Carlisle 2

Class 4A All-Tournament

• Thea Banning, Winterset
• Aubrey Johansen, Dallas Center-Grimes
• Bridget Stover, Winterset
• Izabella Mulder, Dallas Center-Grimes
• McKinley Toohey, North Scott
• Reagan Roling, Carlisle
• Maddy McDermott, North Scott
• Olivia Huston, Dallas Center-Grimes
• Riley Kious, Winterset
• Macee Reiling, Dallas Center-Grimes
• Jena Young, Winterset (Captain)

CLASS 5A STATE TOURNAMENT SCORES – THURSDAY

• Championship: Waukee Northwest 2, Fort Dodge 0
• Consolation: Muscatine 6, WDM Valley 2

2022 Class 5A All-Tournament Team

• Lucy Porter, Fort Dodge
• Zuri Patterson, Waukee Northwest
• Mariah Myers, Fort Dodge
• Ava Smith, Waukee Northwest
• Karly Ricketts, Muscatine
• Gianna Lara, West Des Moines Valley
• Maura Chalupa, Muscatine
• Tory Bennett, Fort Dodge
• Kiana Carnes, Waukee Northwest
• Jalen Adams, Fort Dodge
• Maddie Oetzmann, Waukee Northwest (Captain)

STATE SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE – FRIDAY

Class 3A State Tournament

• Championship: Mount Vernon vs. Assumption @ 2:30 PM

Class 2A State Tournament

• Championship: Regina Catholic vs. Wilton @ 5:00 PM
• Consolation: Central Springs vs. North Union @ 3:30 PM

Class 1A State Tournament

• Championship: Southeast Warren vs. Twin Cedars @ 7:30 PM
• Consolation: North Linn vs. Martensdale-St. Marys @ 6:00 PM

Iowa sophomore receiver Arland Bruce says it is important not to over promise in this new era of name, image and likeness. The Iowa City NIL Club was recetly introduced and it designed to help members of the football team.

Bruce says the new club is designed to help all the players on the team and not just the stars.

One preview magazine believes the Iowa Hawkeyes can make a run at another division crown this season. Phil Steele’s College Football Preview calls the Big Ten West wide open and for the Hawkeyes it will be defense and special teams that make them a contender.

Steele says one of Iowa’s biggest obstacles is its schedule.

Steele says playing Ohio State and Michigan make the road more difficult.

Iowa forward Kris Murray is ready for the high expectations that will meet his junior season. Murray tested the NBA Draft waters after averaging nearly 10 points last season. Twin brother Keegan earned All-American honors while posting more than 23 points per game. He was taken fourth in the NBA Draft by Sacramento.

Murray says next season will be a chance for him to leave his own mark on the program.

Iowa coach Fran McCaffery says it will be a new challenge.

The IHSBCA announced the all district teams for the 2022 season.  Below are the lists for each class.

2022 All-District Teams Class 1A

2022 All-District Teams Class 2A

2022 All-District Teams Class 3A

2022 All-District Teams Class 4A

First Team
Abby Hiatt (Loma)
Erikah Rife (Loma)
Jadyn Huisman (Treynor)
Grace Pierce (Underwood)
Keelea Navara (Treynor)
Audrie Kohl (Missouri Valley)
Macanna Guritz (Loma)
Natalie Hagadon (AHSTW)
Brooklyn Lange (Missouri Valley)
Ally Meyers (AHSTW)
Amelia Evans (Loma)
Rylie Knop (AHSTW)
Ali Fletcher (Underwood)

Second Team
Hayden Thomas (Tri – Center)
Claire Cook (Underwood)
Delaney Mathews (Treynor)
Hannah Thygesen (Audubon)
Mary Stephens (Underwood)
Jordan Porsch (Audubon)
Kali Irlmeier (Audubon)
Katie Troxel (Loma)
Ruby Patomson (Underwood)
Elly Henderson (Riverside)
Marki Bertelsen (Loma)
Rachel Kinsella (Treynor)
Victoria Asmus (Audubon)