Iowa

Hines: Iowa State football has big opportunity against Houston in Big 12 Conference opener

Published

1 year ago

September 24, 2024

Hines: Iowa State football has big opportunity against Houston in Big 12 Conference opener

AMES – It’s not easy for an athletic department to go from the Group of 5 to the Power 4. It’s incredibly difficult, actually.

And it’s probably most difficult for the football programs within those athletic departments. They, and the money they hope to generate, are the reason for the move, and yet they are the most disadvantaged by it on the field. When you’re facing the teams that historically could poach your best recruits on a whim at the 11^th hour, you’re gonna have a problem.

That was certainly the case for the Big 12’s four newcomers last year. BYU, Cincinnati, UCF and Houston went a combined 4-24 against the league’s legacy programs in 2023. Houston was the only team to accrue two wins against those Power 4 mainstays, and coach Dana Holgorsen got fired for his efforts.

That puts the Cougars in a doubly difficult spot – trying to level up in a league while also implementing a culture of a first-year coach.

More: Join Travis Hines’ Cyclone Insider text-messaging group for behind-the-scenes access

“You throw in the two mixes of new league and new coaching staff,” Iowa State football coach Matt Campbell said Tuesday, “that’s just unique.

“It’s not easy.”

Houston coach Willie Fritz would certainly appear to be up for the job, with Tulane’s turnaround under his watch the most recent accomplishment in a career that spans three decades and includes four Division I head coaching stops.

But there’s a lot of work to do.

More: Hines: How Iowa State football set up and executed Ben Brahmer’s big play Saturday

The Cougars will host No. 19 Iowa State (3-0) on Saturday (6 p.m.; FS1) with a 1-3 record that most recently added a 34-0 loss to fellow Big 12 newcomer Cincinnati. They played No. 18 Oklahoma tough in a road loss, but a 27-7 season-opening home setback to UNLV certainly doesn’t inspire confidence that this team may be better than its early outcomes.

“They’ve got elite playmakers and elite talent,” Campbell countered, “and it’s just trying to find that consistency.

“Any time there’s a coaching change, you’re trying to create the mentality that you want, and there’s going to be a little bit of inconsistency at times.”

More: Hines: Matt Campbell is set to become Iowa State football’s winningest coach

Houston’s situation, to state the obvious, is quite different than Iowa State’s. Though they are not unrelated.

The Cyclones will head to Texas riding just the second 3-0 start for the program in the last decade, with a top-20 ranking and real designs on a Big 12 title game appearance. Much of those Big 12 aspirations – and the College Football Playoff implications associated with them – are tied to a schedule that features, well, several teams like Houston.

Which is to say, eminently winnable games.

This, of course, is not a ‘must-win’ game in September for the Cyclones, but it definitely is a ‘should win.’ Campbell talked last week about building momentum with the 52-7 win over Arkansas State, and the Cyclones’ November prospects will be hugely determined by the momentum they can build in this stretch of their schedule.

With games against the Cougars, Baylor (2-2), at West Virginia (2-2) and UCF (3-0) rounding out the October schedule, this is where Iowa State can establish itself as a true Big 12 and national threat. It could also establish itself as a team capable of playing good football but also losing against so-so competition.

More: Hines: Iowa State football shows its potential in runaway victory over Arkansas State

To demand a 7-0 record heading into the season’s final month is probably a bit much, but, looking at what Iowa State has on its roster and these teams on its schedule, anything short of 6-1 probably feels like a major missed opportunity, right?

Just like Iowa State did against the Red Wolves last week, now is the time for simply taking care of business. Style points are nice, but convincing performances and wins are better.

They’re nearly essential for Iowa State to piece together the type of special season it last enjoyed in 2020, and completely required if the Cyclones want to exceed what that team full of future NFL players accomplished.

A trip to a rebuilding Houston program isn’t the most exciting way to open Big 12 play, but, with the heights Iowa State hopes to reach this season, every single step matters. Even the easy strides can threaten a stumble, and they’re essential to get where you want to go.

Iowa State columnist Travis Hines has covered the Cyclones for the Des Moines Register and Ames Tribune since 2012. Contact him at thines@amestrib.com or (515) 284-8000. Follow him on X at @TravisHines21.

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Iowa

Iowa DOT to rebuild I-35 between Huxley and Ames. When will it start?

Published

3 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Iowa DOT to rebuild I-35 between Huxley and Ames. When will it start?

Ames commuters: Now is the time to send in your feedback for proposed changes to Interstate 35.

The Iowa Department of Transportation is proposing new construction to widen I-35 between Huxley and Ames and rebuild sections of U.S. Highway 30 as part of a multi-year plan.

What’s in the Iowa DOT’s construction plan for I-35 between Huxley and Ames?

The Iowa DOT has been planning these changes for more than ten years. Around 2005, about 35,000 vehicles using I-35 south of U.S. 30. In 2024, that number’s now at approximately 47,000 vehicles — and expected to continue growing.

Some of the improvements include:

Replacing and widening I-35 bridges over U.S. 30 in Ames
Lowering U.S. 30 to improve clearance for I-35 bridges
Reconstructing ramps at the U.S. 30 interchange
Widening I-35 to 6 lanes between Huxley and the U.S. 30 interchange in Ames

How much will I-35 improvements between Ames and Huxley cost?

The cost of the project is expected to total $100 million.

When will construction start on I-35 in Story County?

Construction is expected to begin in spring 2027 and be completed by the end of 2030. The project also requires permanently closing 564th Avenue south of Ames between 280th and 290th Streets.

The public input period concludes at the end of December. You can submit questions and comments on the DOT’s website.

Lucia Cheng is a service and trending reporter at the Des Moines Register. Contact her at lcheng@gannett.com or 515-284-8132.

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Local business highlights Iowa agriculture impact during Iowa Secretary Mike Naig visit

Published

15 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Local business highlights Iowa agriculture impact during Iowa Secretary Mike Naig visit

CENTERVILLE, Iowa (KYOU) – A state innovation grant is helping a local meat processing facility serve area farmers and strengthen Iowa’s food supply chain.

Country Roads Meat Processing received funding through Iowa’s “Choose Iowa” butchery innovation grant program to update equipment at their facility.

Owner Melanie Seals said the business processes beef from multiple local farmers.

“Probably at least purchase beef from at least 20 to 25 different farmers,” Seals said.

Seals, who grew up on her family farm butchering meat, now runs Country Roads Meat Processing with her husband.

On Monday she gave Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig a tour of the facility.

“I mean we both grew up on farms we always butchered our own meat, and we just want to the local movement ally just excel and to grow,” Seals said.

The Choose Iowa butchery innovation grant helps small meat processors update and expand their operations. Seals used the money to update the facility’s equipment, which she said helps supply an important link in the food chain.

Seals said the grant is also helping the business increase visibility for more farmers in the community.

“We like to get as many as we can on the board up there so that way more people can know,” Seals said.

Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig said he wants to see this kind of success statewide.

“What we’re seeing is a reasonable investment on the part of the state results in a significant investment locally which again drives more businesses,” Naig said.

The success matters as farmers continue to face challenges ahead.

“Were optimistic for another good growing season but that the marketplace will respond,” Naig said.

For Seals, the grant represents a solution that pays off by investing in the future for local farmers.

“We like to help those people that are local have their own businesses and we just kind of want to be a hub for all of that,” Seals said.

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Iowa National Guard identifies 2 soldiers killed in ‘ambush’ in Syria

Published

1 day ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

Iowa National Guard identifies 2 soldiers killed in ‘ambush’ in Syria

The Iowa National Guard on Dec. 15 identified the two soldiers killed by a gunman with suspected ties to the Islamic state in Syria.

They are Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, and Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25.

The two sergeants killed were members of an Iowa Army National Guard unit deployed to the Middle East as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S. military’s counter-ISIS mission, the Iowa National Guard said in its announcement.

The soldiers were killed alongside their interpreter in an “ambush by a lone ISIS gunman,” U.S. Central Command said in a Dec. 13 statement. “The gunman was engaged and killed.”

Three servicemembers were also injured in the attack, according to the statement.

Howard’s father, the chief of the Meskwaki Nation Police Department in central Iowa, shared on Facebook that his son was one of the soldiers killed.

“My wife Misty and I had that visit from Army Commanders you never want to have. Our son Nate was one of the Soldiers that paid the ultimate sacrifice for all of us,” Chief Jeffrey Bunn wrote in a post on Dec. 13.

Bunn identified the interpreter killed as Ayad Sakat.

The troops were killed while they were on a “key leader engagement” in Palmyra, a city in central Syria, chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said on X. “Partner forces” killed the attacker, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on social media.

The shooter was a member of the country’s security forces who had been investigated and assessed to harbor possible extremist views just days before the attack, according to Syria’s government.

President Donald Trump vowed to retaliate after the attack. “There will be very serious retaliation,” he wrote in a social media post.

Trump has tightened ties with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former al-Qaida fighter who toppled his predecessor, Bashar al-Assad, in a stunning overthrow late last year.

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