Iowa
Mexican clubs from Iowa showcased a slice of a Mexican rodeo at the Iowa State Fair
See Mexican culture come to the Iowa State Fair for the first time
The Iowa State Fair saw a slice of a Mexican rodeo with Charros and Ecaramuza from central Iowa performing for the first time at Elwell Family Park.
The Iowa State Fair saw a slice of an authentic Mexican rodeo on Sunday afternoon. Charros and Ecaramuza from central Iowa performed on the Fairgrounds for the first time at Elwell Family Park.
The show demonstrated a sport known as Charreria, which is composed of 10 events called Charreada. However due to certain limitations, only five events were displayed including dancing, horsemanship and roping.
“Performing at the fair is amazing,” Alejandra Pina, captain of the Escaramuza Quetzallihas, said. “We’re mostly Iowans so it’s the culmination of a lot of dreams.”
Charreria as a sport orginates in Mexico and requires contestants to demonstrate skills with a lasso and control of their horse. It involves both showmanship and carefully refined technical skill. While Sunday’s show wasn’t competitive, Pina said it was good practice.
“The rings are a bit smaller,” she said. “And the ground is very different. We’re used to soft, sandy surfaces.” Pina’s assistant team coach, Anna Garcia, said she’d rolled her ankle once already after the first show.
President of the Charros clubs in Iowa and announcer at the event Juan Pina said they were “making history as we perform.” The Charros have been in the State Fair Parade for 16 years, but this is their first time performing on the grounds.
The show started with a dance routine by Wendy Espinoza, who shared the ring with a horse that trotted around in time to the music. A live band was present to score most of the show, adding yet more Mexican flair to the event.
After Espinoza, a lone Charros performed a series of technical maneuvers including multiple 360 degree spins in a row. Some of the maneuvers were even performed without a bit, a tool that makes it much easier to control the horse.
One of the highlights was an impressive display of skill with a lasso by Dariel Delgado, one of the younger Charros who performed. Not only did Delgado lasso a horse that was at all full speed, but he also performed 40 consecutive jumps through his lasso, a trick called the Texas Skip.
The crowd was treated to several more dances and shows before the event came to an end.
Pina said he hoped the show would be able to come back next year. Garcia agreed, calling the sport and show a labor of love.
“It’s a really fantastic way to connect with your roots,” she said.
The Escaramuza team that performed can be found on Facebook.
Temu sued by Oklahoma AG over alleged deceptive practices
Oklahoma AG sues Temu, alleging illegal data harvesting, deceptive practices and counterfeit Oklahoma merchandise.
Online retailer Temu has sold cheap and counterfeit goods, used underhanded marketing tactics and lied about when and how it takes customers’ data, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird says.
Bird is suing the China-based retail giant, accusing it of numerous violations of the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act. Temu, which has aggressively been promoted in the United States under its “Shop like a Billionaire” tagline, competes with Amazon and other online retailers and operates online marketplaces for third-party sellers.
The lawsuit, filed July 1, cites years of complaints to the Attorney General’s Office, Better Business Bureau and other watchdog groups about the quality and reliability of Temu shopping, with reports often citing purchased merchandise that bear little resemblance to the photos of items offered for sale.
Those complaints are just the tip of the iceberg, Bird alleges. Her suit accuses Temu of dishonest pricing practices, such as labeling items for sale despite listing them at their normal price. Temu also allegedly uses “gamification” tricks to encourage users to make purchases, sign up their friends on Temu, and other actions, but often fails to deliver on the promised benefits, it says.
In some cases, the company is accused of simply fabricating sales. “Numerous” Iowans have reported receiving and being charged for Temu packages they never ordered and were unable to return, the complaint alleges.
The company also has lied about its business practices in other ways, including covering up its use of forced labor to manufacture many of the items it sells, Bird claims.
App allegedly violates data privacy laws
Temu isn’t just angling to make a sale, Bird claims. She also accuses the company of vacuuming up customers’ private data, even hiding code in the company’s mobile apps to bypass users’ cell phone security and collect private data without their consent.
The complaint states that forensic experts retained by Iowa found the app collects data far beyond what might be necessary to complete transactions, conceals its exfiltration of sensitive data and “reconfigures itself even after having been downloaded to a user’s phone” without consent.
Much of this echoes code previously found in Pinduoduo, another e-commerce app owned by the same Chinese conglomerate, which was banned from the Google Play store in 2023 due to malware concerns. Many of those programmers, and much of the banned code, has been transferred to the Temu app, Bird claims.
Iowa Wave among fake merch sold on Temu
Temu often has been accused of violating intellectual property laws, and those practices have directly affected Iowa, Bird claims. The complaint includes examples of unauthorized University of Iowa, Iowa Wave and Dowling Catholic clothing.
Bird notes in her complaint that a portion of sales of authentic Iowa Wave merchandise goes to benefit pediatric cancer patients and others at the Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital.
Iowa businesses and sellers on other marketplaces also have reported Temu stealing their branding and in some cases simply copying their product photos and descriptions to market unauthorized products.
Iowa joins several states, including Oklahoma, Texas and Nebraska, that have filed consumer protection lawsuits against Temu in recent months. Temu did not respond to a message seeking comment.
William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com or 715-573-8166.
What happens when you call 911?
Here’s everything a dispatcher does to get emergency services to your location when you dial 911.
Miguel Fernandez, NorthJersey.com
A 14-year-old Dyersville girl has died from injuries caused by a watercraft collision on Clear Lake on the 4th of July.
The crash involved five people in two personal watercrafts and occurred around 5:30 p.m. near the McIntosh Woods State Park boat ramp on a part of the lake called Little Lake, according to a release from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
Passengers on a nearby pontoon immediately helped the victims before the Iowa DNR water patrol and conservation officers, Ventura and Clear Lake fire departments, Iowa State Patrol, Clear Lake Police Department and the Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Office came on scene.
The release does not give the names of the four children involved.
A 35-year-old woman, an 11-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy, all from Greenwood, South Carolina, were treated at the Mercy-One Medical Center in Mason City and released on July 4. A 15-year-old Mason City girl was transferred to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and is in serious condition.
While the investigation is ongoing, Iowa DNR officers have ruled out alcohol or other impairments as contributing factors to the crash, the release states.
Isabelle Foland is a communities reporter for the Register. Reach her at ifoland@registermedia.com.
As the Iowa State Cyclones get set for the 2026 campaign, the program is also looking toward the future and rebuilding a program that was hit hard by departures.
Last season, Iowa State battled a lot of injuries, but was still able to have a pretty good year. However, following the campaign coming to an end and before bowl season kicked off, the team lost head coach Matt Campbell to the Penn State Nittany Lions.
As expected, a lot of players from the program ended up leaving, leaving the team with nearly an entire roster to rebuild. However, new head coach Jimmy Rogers has been able to come in and make a good impression early on.
While Iowa State might not be as talented as they were last year, they have a good coach and a lot of depth. The Cyclones will be hoping that he can develop and get the most out of some of these new players, but the team certainly won’t be competing for a Big 12 title next season.
For Iowa State, with at least this year being a rebuild for the program, they will be looking toward the future. With that comes a need to recruit well, and that is something Rogers and the staff have been impressive at so far.
Iowa State Recruiting Class Shaping Up Nicely
Following the four-star addition of Chuck Alexander, who flipped from the Louisville Cardinals, the 2027 recruiting class is looking really strong right now for Iowa State. According to Rivals, they rank 49th in the country right now, and that is a strong place to be for the team.
With Alexander being the new top recruit for the team, he will be joining a class that has been highlighted by some good offensive talent so far. Running back Isaiah Hansen is regarded as a very good player at his position, and the team also has offensive lineman Will Slagle.
With the three top recruits so far being offensive players, a future core might be starting to come together for Rogers and the program. While the team might be a bit more defensive-minded this year, there is clearly a focus on improving offensively for the future.
Overall, with time still to go, this class could continue to get better. However, it is really encouraging to see what Rogers and the staff have been able to accomplish so far. Recruiting will be key for Iowa State to get back to where they want to be, and they are off to a strong start.
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow
-
San Francisco, CA4 minutes agoA Locals-Approved Modern Guide to Fisherman’s Wharf: Seafood, Beer Gardens + Iconic Bay Views
-
Dallas, TX10 minutes agoNew glitzy Houston steakhouse Juliet opens next to Delilah this summer
-
Miami, FL17 minutes agoAllapattah man faces charges over armed robbery after crash in Miami’s Liberty City
-
Boston, MA20 minutes agoSomehow, This is a Fitting, Confusing End to Jaylen Brown’s Boston Celtics Career
-
Denver, CO25 minutes agoDenver Broncos 2026 schedule
-
Seattle, WA32 minutes ago‘They had hyped us up so much’: Seattle businesses near World Cup stadium report declining sales
-
San Diego, CA34 minutes agoSan Diego and a yoga instructor go the mat over a ban on public classes
-
Milwaukee, WI40 minutes agoVice President JD Vance to visit Milwaukee on Wednesday
