After a spectacular senior year with Iowa basketball, point guard Bennett Stirtz won Iowa Athletics’ men’s Athlete of the Year and men’s Hawkeye of the Year awards at the athletic department’s 10th annual Golden Herky awards ceremony.

Stirtz, who made stops at Northwest Missouri State and Drake before his lone season at Iowa, finished with a career Division I average of 19.5 points, 5.0 assists, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game on 48.7% field goal shooting, 37.2% 3-point shooting, and 82% from the free-throw line.

This past season, the 6-foot-4, 190-pounder from Liberty, Missouri, averaged 19.8 points and 4.4 assists per game on 47.7% field goal shooting and 35.8% 3-point shooting, to accompany 4.4 assists, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.4 steals through approximately 37:44 of action in his 37 games played.

At the end of the season, Stirtz’s play earned him AP and USBWA honorable-mention All-America honors, first-team All-Big Ten recognition, and the winner of the prestigious Chris Street Award.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – A University of Iowa student critically injured in an April 19 shooting at the Pedestrian Mall is off a ventilator after multiple surgeries.

Miranda, who suffered the most serious injuries in the shooting, was taken off a ventilator and breathing through her tracheostomy with oxygen support as needed, according to a May 2 update on a GoFundMe page organized by her sister, Janjay Peters. The fundraiser has raised more than $195,000.

Doctors said if Miranda continues to do well with her breathing, she may be moved out of the ICU soon. The family expressed appreciation for the support they have been receiving.

The shooting happened at the Pedestrian Mall in Iowa City, around 1:45 a.m. on April 19. Five people were hurt, one critically.

Iowa City Police said 17-year-old Damarian Jones of Cedar Rapids was involved in a fight before he retrieved a gun from another person and fired six shots into the crowd, hitting five people.

Authorities said there is no evidence Jones targeted any of the victims, and none were involved in the initial fight.

Iowa City Police are still searching for Jones. He is facing five counts of attempted murder among several other charges.

The Iowa City Police Department said it expects to arrest more people in addition to the charges for Jones.

IOWA (KWQC) – Iowa Democrats responded to Vice President JD Vance’s visit and endorsement of Rep. Zach Nunn in a press release.

The statement addressed Vance’s comments on tax cuts for American manufacturers. Democrats said corporate greed and policies pushed by Republicans including Vance and Nunn have led to the ongoing closure of Burlington’s CNH plant.

The release stated that from 2015 to 2024, CNH made $11.6 billion in profit and the CEO made $113 million during that time period. The statement said the money could have provided as much as $5 per hour per employee and could have been used to keep plants open in the U.S. and Iowa.

Vance discussed opening regulation for E15 fuel so Iowa farmers can have another revenue source, along with recent progress made for the Farm Bill.

A farmer from central Iowa remarked on the recent Farm Bill, saying a new Farm Bill has just passed the House, but it is not future-looking and continues to support big operations. The farmer said the bill gives money for precision agriculture development and purchases for farmers.

The statement referenced the president’s February executive order to purchase metric tons of beef from Argentina instead of supporting Iowa’s beef production.