Iowa
Expert says 2020 derecho may have helped poison hemlock thrive in new places
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Poisonous plants are continuing to spread in the state of Iowa.
Last summer, TV9 brought you a story about poison ivy and poison hemlock spreading in eastern Iowa.
A year later, an expert with Iowa State University says there are a variety of things causing poison hemlock to spread.
The plant with the white flower on top looks pretty unassuming.
“It looks a little bit like Queen Anne’s Lace,” said Shelly Wilson. Wilson was enjoying the Freedom Festival in Cedar Rapids this weekend with her friends when TV9 asked if she’d ever heard of Poison Hemlock.
“I have never heard of it, it’s always good to be aware,” said Donna Moeller, Wilson’s friend.
“I had never heard of it either,” Wilson added.
Experts at Iowa State University say the plant is highly toxic to people and animals and can be deadly if ingested.
“One of the problems with poison hemlock is that it can look like some species that are edible,” said Meaghan Anderson, a field agronomist at ISU.
Anderson says these dangerous weeds may be popping up in more places than they used to for a variety of reasons, including the 2020 derecho.
“It didn’t physically move these plants anywhere that they weren’t already. I think that’s fairly unlikely,” said Anderson. “I think what the derecho probably did do was it opened up a lot of what was historically good tree cover under fairly full shade, and perhaps provided lots of species, including poison hemlock, a little bit more of a niche where it got more sunlight and more opportunity for some of these invasive species that we think of like our bush honeysuckle type species, poison hemlock, poison ivy, garlic mustard, all kinds of these species we know we don’t like to see on the edges of woodlands or within woodlands, but it probably provided them with a pretty good opportunity to get better established than they would have if there was full canopy cover in these tree areas.”
Another way the plant spreads is through the movement of soil caused by human activity.
“We’re really effective as people in building things and expanding things and we move a lot of stuff around on equipment, so I do imagine that’s helping it a bit,” Anderson said.
The weed is commonly found along the edges of woodlands, fence lines, and crop fields, and is becoming increasingly common in ditches alongside roads.
If it pops up on your property, you can remove it yourself, just use caution. Wearing gloves is recommended.
“You can dig up those giant plants right now. Given the fact that they’re basically all flowering everywhere, I probably wouldn’t just lay it down on the landscape and leave it to rot, I would probably dispose of it as trash this time of year,” Anderson said.
Copyright 2025 KCRG. All rights reserved.
Iowa State football coach Jimmy Rogers on offense, defense development
Iowa State football coach Jimmy Rogers on how the Cyclones offense and defense is developing.
After securing multiple commitments on the offensive side of the ball, Iowa State football has landed its first defensive commitment in the 2027 recruiting class.
Keaton Wollan, a three-star linebacker out of Amery, Wisconsin, committed to the Cyclones on April 21. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound linebacker announced his decision on social media.
He chose Iowa State over other offers from Texas Tech and North Dakota State. He previously visited Ames in March, but he also took recent visits to Minnesota and Wisconsin.
As a junior at Amery High School, Wollan was a two-way standout and earned all-state honors for the 2025 season. Defensively, he racked up a team-high 125 total tackles, including nine for loss and 1.5 sacks. He also had four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, three interceptions and one defensive touchdown.
Offensively, he had a team-high 932 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 160 carries. He also caught 15 passes for 179 yards, and he was an impact player in the return game, logging more than 500 kick and punt return yards.
According to 247 Sports Composite rankings, Wollan is the No. 93 linebacker prospect in the country and the No. 11 overall recruit in his class from the state of Wisconsin.
Wollan is the sixth player to commit in the Cyclones’ 2027 recruiting class.
Iowa State football 2027 recruiting commitments
As of April 21
- Gavin Ericson-Staton, OL | Lombard, Illinois/Montini Catholic
- Isaiah Hansen, RB | Newton, Iowa/Newton HS
- Koen Hinzman, OL | Hudson, Michigan/Hudson Area HS
- Will Slagle, OL | Grinnell, Iowa/Grinnell HS
- Bryson Thompson, WR | San Antonio, Texas/Claudia Taylor Johnson HS
- Keaton Wollan, LB | Amery, Wisconsin/Amery HS
Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at erapay@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5.
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Prepare for more overnight closures at the northeast mixmaster as the Iowa Department of Transportation closes the ramp connecting westbound Interstate 80 and northbound Interstate 35.
Here’s what to know.
When will the Iowa DOT close the westbound I‑80 to northbound I‑35 ramp?
The westbound I-80 to northbound I-35 ramp will be closed to traffic from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. the next morning from April 21-24.
What’s the detour when the Iowa DOT closes the westbound I‑80 to the northbound I‑35 ramp?
During the closures, drivers wanting to go from westbound I‑80 to northbound I‑35 will follow a signed detour.
Instead of taking the closed ramp, motorists will stay on westbound I‑80, bypassing the northeast mixmaster connection. They’ll then exit at U.S. Highway 69, turn around, and head back east on I‑80, where they can connect to northbound I‑35 using the open portion of the northeast mixmaster.
Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at cworth@gannett.com or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.
An Iowa women’s basketball transfer portal visitor committed to one of the Hawkeyes’ conference foes instead. Former Iowa State guard Kenzie Hare took a visit to Iowa during her transfer portal recruitment, but the 5-foot-9 guard committed to Indiana on Sunday night.
Hare had several visits throughout her transfer portal recruiting process, including trips to Michigan and Illinois State, but the Des Moines Register’s Chad Leistikow reported that Hare also visited Iowa.
On3’s Talia Goodman reported Hare’s commitment to the Hoosiers.
Hare has one year of eligibility remaining. This past season with the Cyclones, in 32 games played and 31 starts, Hare averaged 6.0 points and 2.5 rebounds per game on 40.5% field goal shooting and 40% from 3-point range. A hip injury limited Hare to just 10 games during her first year with the Cyclones in the 2024-25 season.
The soon-to-be redshirt senior transferred to Iowa State before the 2024-25 campaign after spending two seasons at Marquette from 2022-24. Hare averaged a career-best 14 points per game on 45.5% field goal shooting and 42.5% 3-point shooting during the 2023-24 season with the Golden Eagles.
Had Iowa been able to lure the Naperville, Ill., native to Iowa City, Hare would have been another valuable addition to the Hawkeyes’ backcourt depth. But, Iowa has landed other backcourt reinforcements throughout this transfer portal cycle.
The Hawkeyes inked both Dani Carnegie and Amari Whiting.
Carnegie was a first-team All-SEC selection this past season at Georgia, averaging 17.8 points per game on 42.7% field goal shooting, 35.4% from 3-point range and 83.3% from the free-throw line. Whiting averaged 9.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.8 steals per game on 42.5% field goal shooting, 32.1% 3-point accuracy, and 71.6% free-throw shooting.
As Hare joins a promising core of players in Bloomington, the Hawkeyes will once again face the former Cyclone at least once this upcoming season as part of their Big Ten regular-season slate.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions. Follow Scout on X: @SpringgateNews
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