Iowa
This Iowa native is being inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame
New Juno spacecraft images show Jupiter’s moon
NASA’s Juno spacecraft is at it again, delivering some of the most high resolution and amazing photos of Jupiter’s biggest moon.
An Iowa native will be inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame this year.
David Hilmers, born in Clinton, and Marsha Ivins will join the 107 astronauts who are part of the hall of fame with a ceremony scheduled for June 1, according to a news release.
“These two veterans of the space program have demonstrated outstanding accomplishments in furthering NASA’s mission of exploration and discovery,” said Curt Brown, board chairman of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, which stewards the selection process. “Both Hilmers and Ivins represent the committed spirit of exploration, bravery and teamwork that make our space program a continued success. We are proud and honored to have them join the ranks of the space pioneers recognized in the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.”
Who is David Hilmers?
Born in Clinton in 1950, Hilmers considers DeWitt his hometown, according to the news release.
The Iowa native worked for NASA for 12 years, logging 493 hours in space over the course of four missions, the Des Moines Register reported in 2021.
He was selected as an astronaut in 1980, previously enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps and attending Naval Postgraduate School in California.
His roles at NASA included shuttle software testing, extravehicular activity suit development — or the kind of suit used for spacewalks, according to NASA — capsule communicator for six shuttle flights and as operating as the head of the mission development branch of the astronaut office.
Hilmers flew on several missions, including as a mission specialist on STS-51J. The Department of Defense mission marked the first flight of space shuttle Atlantis, occurring from Oct. 3-7, 1985, according to NASA.
He was also part of the 1988 mission that “returned American astronauts to space,” NASA reported, following the Challenger disaster that killed seven crew members in an explosion quickly after launch in 1986. Hilmers flew as a mission specialist.
In February 1992, Hilmers retired from NASA and as a colonel in the Marine Corps. Currently, he is a professor of internal medicine and pediatrics at the Houston-based Baylor College of Medicine, according to the news release. His involvement with space continue. He works with NASA as the exploration medicine technical lead for the Clinical Science Team.
What is the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame?
Inductees are selected by a committee of hall of fame astronauts, former NASA officials, flight directors, historians and journalists, according to the news release. The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida has displays for the hall of famers that visitors can see.
See photos of other Iowans who have made it to space
Iowans have long contributed their talents and intelligence to make space exploration possible.
More: A look at the Iowans who have made it to space
These individuals include:
- Clayton Anderson, who graduated from Iowa State University and completed six spacewalks by his retirement in 2013;
- Laurel Clark, who was born in Ames and spent 15 days, 22 hours and 20 minutes in space aboard space shuttle Columbia, which disintegrated upon re-entering Earth’s atmosphere;
- Walter Cunningham, the Creston-born man who piloted the 11-day Apollo 7 flight in 1968;
- Dale Gardner, who spent a total of 337 hours in space and considers Clinton his hometown;
- James Kelly, the Burlington-born astronaut who piloted the space shuttle Discovery on flights STS-102 and STS-114;
- George “Pinky” Nelson, who flew in several missions during the 1980s and was born in Charles City;
- Loren Shriver, the Jefferson-born man who was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2008;
- Peggy Whitson, who grew up in Beaconsfield and became the first woman to command the International Space Station; and
- Raja Chari, the Cedar Falls astronaut who served as commander of the NASA SpaceX Crew-3 mission in 2021.
Paris Barraza is a trending and general assignment reporter at the Des Moines Register. Reach her at pbarraza@registermedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza.
Five people were shot and injured at an Iowa City pedestrian mall near the University of Iowa campus overnight, police said Sunday. Students from the university were among the injured, according to school officials.
The Iowa City Police Department responded to a report of a large fight in the 100 Block of East College Street at 1:46 a.m. early Sunday, the department said in a news release. Arriving officers heard gunfire.
Multiple victims were hospitalized, police said. Police confirmed to CBS News that one person was in critical condition, while the other four victims are stable.
University of Iowa President Barb Wilson said in a statement that three students were among those shot. None of the victims has been publicly identified.
No arrests have been made, and the investigation is ongoing. Police said they are seeking information about five “persons of interest associated with this shooting.” The university also shared the request for information.
The pedestrian mall was closed for several hours and reopened Sunday afternoon.
Here are the candidates for High School on SI’s Iowa high school athlete of the week for April 13-18. Read through the nominees and cast your vote.
Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. PT on Sunday, April 26. The winner will be announced in the following week’s poll. Here are this week’s nominees:
Taylor Roose, Pella boys track and field
Roose competed in three events at the Norwalk Invitational, winning all three in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash and long jump.
Daxon Kiesau, Urbandale boys track and field
Kiesau swept the throwing events at the Norwalk Invitational, taking first place in the shot put and the discus.
Alex Burger, Southeast Valley boys track and field
Competing at home, Burger dominated, earning four gold medals. He won the 400-meter hurdles and the long jump while running on the winning 4×200-meter relay and shuttle hurdle relay.
Kolby Hodnefield, Clear Lake boys track and field
Hodenfield, a defending state champion, broke the meet, venue and school record in the 200 and the 400 at the Clear Lake Invitational. He added victories as part of the 4×100 and 4×400 relays. Both relays also set meet records.
Easton Moon, North Polk boys tennis
Moon has started off his senior season on the courts unbeaten, winning all four matches while dropping just one game in 44 played.
Ava Lohrbach, Gilbert girls golf
One of the top golfers in the state, Lohrbach has had a hot start, firing a 35 in her nine-hole debut and a 72 for her 18-hole opener.
Nathan Manske, Algona boys golf
An elite quarterback and basketball player, Manske is showing his golfing skills this spring, coming out with a state-low 30 in a nine-hole event.
Ella Hein, Tipton girls track and field
Hein set school records in the 400-meter run and long jump at the Tiger/Tigerette Relays while also locking in the Blue Standard and qualifying for the Drake Relays. She won the long jump (18-6) and was second in the 400.
Maeve Bowen-Burt, Iowa City High girls track and field
The sophomore helped the Little Hawks land three Drake Relays events on the last night of qualifying, advancing in the 400 hurdles, along with the sprint medley and 4×400 relays.
About Our Athlete of the Week Voting
High School on SI voting polls are meant to be a fun, lighthearted way for fans to show support for their favorite athletes and teams. Our goal is to celebrate all of the players featured, regardless of the vote totals. Sometimes one athlete will receive a very large number of votes — even thousands — and that’s okay! The polls are open to everyone and are simply a way to build excitement and community around high school sports. Unless we specifically announce otherwise, there are no prizes or official awards for winning. The real purpose is to highlight the great performances of every athlete included in the poll.
Follow
The late boxing great George Foreman lies buried in a cemetery in the northwestern corner of Iowa – a place he has no connection to outside of a lone visit to the region nearly 40 years ago.
Foreman died March 21, 2025, at the age of 76 in Houston and was buried in Logan Park Cemetery at Sioux City, Iowa, a month later, city officials confirmed. Foreman’s family returned Thursday to his burial site, holding a news conference with Sioux City Mayor Bob Scott to reveal Foreman’s burial place, marked by a large monument that bears an image of him as a teen following his Olympic gold medal boxing win.
The family explained in a statement released by Sioux City officials that he had visited the Iowa city in 1988, and often recalled the sense of peace he experienced there.
After traveling to the city on April 17 last year to bury Foreman, his family said they immediately understood the region’s appeal.
“Our father lived a life of purpose, faith and gratitude,” the family said in a statement released by Sioux City officials. “To see him laid to rest in a place that brought him peace means everything to us.”
Scott joined the family at Foreman’s monument that lies just a few miles north of the Missouri River in an upper Midwest city of nearly 87,000 people. The cemetery overlooks the scenic Loess Hills, created by windblown silt deposits that reach up to 200 feet high (about 61 meters) and line the river along the Iowa border for 200 miles (322 kilometers).
“Their story is a reminder of how one place can stay with someone for a lifetime,” Scott said.
A native Texan, Foreman rose to fame when he made the 1968 U.S. Olympic boxing team, winning gold in Mexico City. He became the heavyweight champion of the world in 1973 by defeating the great Joe Frazier, only to lose the title a year later to Muhammad Ali in the famous “Rumble in the Jungle.”
A full 20 years later in 1994, Foreman became the oldest man to win the heavyweight championship at 45, defeating Michael Moorer in an epic upset.
Foreman retired in 1997 with a 76-5 career record.
He then moved on to the next chapter in his life as a businessman, pitchman and occasional actor, becoming known to a new generation as the face of the George Foreman Grill. The simple cooking machine sold more than 100 million units and brought him more wealth than boxing.
A biographical movie based on Foreman’s life was released in 2023.
Copyright © 2026 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
-
Michigan5 minutes agoMichigan Democrats seek to mend old divides at contentious convention
-
Minnesota17 minutes agoUCLA baseball remains perfect in Big Ten by beating Minnesota
-
Mississippi23 minutes agoMississippi Lottery Mississippi Match 5, Cash 3 results for April 19, 2026
-
Missouri29 minutes ago
Missouri Lottery Pick 3, Pick 4 winning numbers for April 19, 2026
-
Montana35 minutes ago
Montana Lottery Big Sky Bonus results for April 19, 2026
-
Nebraska41 minutes ago
Nebraska Lottery results: See winning numbers for Pick 3, Pick 5 on April 19, 2026
-
Nevada47 minutes agoArmed Robbery at the Tamarack Casino
-
New Hampshire53 minutes ago
NH Lottery Pick 3 Day, Pick 3 Evening winning numbers for April 19, 2026