Iowa
Day before helping Iowa beat Nebraska, Aaron Graves became a father
Aaron Graves had a message for his wife Aubrey before departing for Iowa football’s rivalry game against Nebraska.
“I was like, ‘I’m not leaving you here in the hospital to lose,’” Graves said. “So I was like, ‘We better win this freaking game.’”
Graves echoed a similar sentiment to his fellow defensive linemen before the first drive of the Hawkeyes’ game in Lincoln.
“I was like, ‘Guys, I did not leave my baby in the hospital to lose this game,’” Graves said. “‘So we better freaking come out firing on all cylinders.’”
On Thanksgiving Day in 2025, Grayson Knox Graves was born at 3:07 p.m. On Black Friday in 2025, Graves helped Iowa beat Nebraska 40-16.
“The last 24 hours are probably the craziest of my life, for sure,” Graves said.
He added: “Just like the emotions of all that in the 24-hour time span is just ridiculous. I mean, last (regular-season) game as a senior, getting the win here in Nebraska and wife, obviously, giving birth to our boy, our first-born of our family.”
Aubrey went into labor on Wednesday. There was uncertainty whether Graves would even make it to Friday’s game if she had not yet given birth by kickoff. But those within the program provided support, including head coach Kirk Ferentz.
“He was just super happy for us, called us a bunch of times while we were in the hospital,” Graves said. “It was really just about Aubrey’s well-being and how we’re doing as a family. It was nothing like, ‘You better get to the game, too.’ It was just, ‘How are you guys doing?’ He just cares so much about his players, and you can’t ask for a better coach.”
Gestures like that speak to why Graves ended up at Iowa in the first place.
Once a high-profile prospect from Southeast Valley High School in Gowrie, Graves made his college decision long before signing day. Even though he was a member of the 2022 high school class, Graves committed to the Hawkeyes in June of 2019.
“Incredibly grateful,” Graves said of Ferentz’s support while Graves’ wife was in labor. “People ask me all the time like, ‘Why did you choose Iowa so young?’ That’s why. Because I get to play for an awesome man.”
Grayson was due in January of 2026, which could have brought a different set of challenges with the timing of his birth.
Graves is a finalist for the 2025 William V. Campbell Trophy, given to college football’s premier scholar-athlete. He is scheduled to attend an awards dinner in Las Vegas on Dec. 9. Plus, the Hawkeyes are likely to play their bowl game around the new year.
“Something that we’ve been praying about for a long time is just the timing of Grayson,” Graves said. “Because we didn’t know, like with the bowl game, how all that was going to work and going to Vegas here in a couple of weeks for the award banquet. Aubrey was going to stay home and she was really stressing about that, and I know that’s been at the top of our prayer list for a while. Both of our moms have been praying about good timing on it.”
It turned out to be fitting that Grayson was born on Thanksgiving Day.
“It was kind of funny because we found out on Easter that we were having a baby, and then he was born on Thanksgiving,” Graves said. “So my mom was like, he must really like holidays.”
Video: Aaron Graves became father the day before helping Iowa beat Nebraska
Aaron Graves meets with media after Iowa football’s 40-16 win over Nebraska.
Graves did not travel with the team to Nebraska. Iowa general manager and chief of staff Tyler Barnes stayed back with Graves. They flew on a donor’s plane to Nebraska, arriving around 10 p.m. the night before the game.
The game against Nebraska was Graves’ 51st appearance as a Hawkeye. He has been a consistent force on the Hawkeyes’ defensive line, starting each of the Hawkeyes’ last 25 games.
Iowa did not come out firing on all cylinders against Nebraska like Graves wanted. Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson shredded Iowa on the ground in the first half, rushing for 177 yards before the halftime break. Iowa led by eight points at the intermission.
“Just some guys getting out of the gaps a few times,” Graves said. “That was the main part. In the second half, it was more just, we need to tackle this guy. We need to wrap him up and actually get him to the ground. Stay in your gap and then get off the ball when he actually gets to your gap.”
It was an entirely different story after halftime. As a team, Nebraska totaled just 42 rushing yards in the second half. Iowa’s offense piled on points as the Hawkeyes turned the game into a blowout. Graves finished the game with two tackles and one pass breakup.
“Hats off to them, they’ve got a really good player in the backfield (Emmett Johnson),” Graves said. “He’s a great player and he made some good plays, but we kind of rallied there and found ways to stop him. That’s something that we like to take pride in, stopping the run.”
Grayson was on Graves’ mind quite often on game day. Asked what in particular he was thinking about, Graves got choked up and could barely muster a response. But he did get out a few words.
“Just how much I love him,” Graves said.
Graves followed through on his word: He didn’t leave his wife in the hospital to lose.
Iowa won the freaking game.
Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com
Iowa
Vote: Who Should be Iowa’s High School Athlete of the Week? (4/19/2026)
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.
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Iowa
Houston icon George Foreman laid to rest in Iowa, drawn by a peaceful 1988 visit
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.
Iowa
GOP governor candidate Zach Lahn pitches Iowa-first platform at Dubuque town hall
DUBUQUE, Iowa (KCRG) — About 50 Iowans braved the threat of severe storms to hear from Republican candidate for governor Zach Lahn at his town hall in Dubuque Friday night.
Lahn, a farmer and businessman, said his campaign is about solving the long-term systemic issues facing Iowans.
One priority is addressing what Lahn calls a cancer crisis in Iowa, as the state has the second-highest cancer rate in the country. Solving the crisis means ensuring Iowans have access to clean, nitrate-free drinking water, working with farmers to reduce agricultural runoff.
“Iowans are just ready for something that they should be able to count on, like clean drinking water,” Lahn said. “We have ways to clean up the drinking water in Iowa that isn’t on the backs of farmers, but is working alongside with them because they’re drinking the water too, and they want to do what’s right.”
Lahn also wants to stop Iowa’s “brain drain,” as more of Iowa’s college graduates left the state for opportunities elsewhere.
“Don’t leave! Give me some time! I’m going to fight to keep you here,” Lahn said. “I was one of these kids. I thought I had to leave the state to find something better. We have to prioritize Iowa’s incentive dollars to make sure they’re going to grow Iowa businesses that are going to be here for the long haul, so our kids have places to work.”
Running a distinct campaign feels challenging this election, as Lahn is one of five GOP candidates who want to be Iowa’s next governor, facing U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, former Department of Administrative Services Director Adam Steen, state Rep. Eddie Andrews and former state Rep. Brad Sherman.
Iowa Auditor Rob Sand is the only Democrat running for the state’s top office.
Lahn said he stands out by promising Iowa will be for Iowans, pledging to ban the use of eminent domain for private gain and tax out-of-state landowners and data centers at higher rates to lower property taxes.
“It always goes back to follow the money, so when it comes to not being a weak-kneed Republican today, I believe the paramount piece of that is answering only to the citizens of Iowa, not to special interests to pad their bottom line, but what’s best for the people of Iowa,” Lahn said.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.
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