Iowa
500-plus AmeriCorps members at 15 programs gone across Iowa after DOGE cuts this month
Part of a series.
When the order rescinding federal funding this year for AmeriCorps dropped on April 15, 568 people doing a wide array of service work stopped for at least 15 Iowa nonprofit, faith-based and community organizations.
Indian Creek Nature Center, the 400-acre Cedar Rapids attraction with scenic trails, an amphitheater, outdoor classrooms for children and classes, abruptly lost a team of 10 that did more work removing invasive species and conducting prairie burning in six weeks than the staff and volunteers could do all year.
But it lost the possibility of having any more corps members return for the rese of what was supposed to be eight months of service work.
“We hope there is a pathway for these programs to come back,” director John Myers said. “These people only get paid a stipend for what really is a national public service program that enables young people to get on-the-job experience.”
President Donald Trump and DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, have made headlines over the past four months amid roughly 140 executive orders, slashing tens of thousands of federal workers and laying waste to a wide array of federally funded programs amid campaign promise to squeeze the size of the budget and ease mostly wealthier Americans’ tax burden.
However, President Trump’s federal government has spent about $220 billion more in his first 100 days compared with the same period last year, and is spending more every day than was spent in nine of the last 10 years, according to a analysis released Wednesday of the Treasury Department’s daily financial reports by CBS News.
The exception, the news agency said, was 2021, when the government was spending trillions to fight the coronavirus pandemic and prevent an economic collapse.
With a budget of roughly $1 billion, AmeriCorps has long provided on-the-ground support to essential community programs in schools, food banks, homeless shelters, youth organizations, veterans’ facilities and other nonprofits — in much the same way the Peace Corps does abroad.
But there one day and gone the next was a helping hand for a wide mix of Iowa organizations with disparate needs: Iowa Legal Aid had been using corps members to help Iowans access legal information, resources and support.
Youth Connect, based at Iowa State University, used corps members to help with a child-welfare program, helping youth transition from foster care to independent living.
The University of Iowa had obtained an AmeriCorps grant to expand its public health program.Polk County Conservation had been using its funding for an environmental education program, engaging Polk County teens, building its volunteer programming and increasing adaptive programming with veterans.
The Economic Development Authority of Iowa used AmeriCorps members to address food insecurity and provide resources for Iowans in need.
World Relief, the humanitarian arm of the National Association of Evangelicals in Scott County and Camp Fire Heart of Iowa, both received funding so corps members could do self-sufficiency work with refugees.
Since 1993, when AmeriCorps was created in the National and Community Service Trust Act signed by President Bill Clinton, the program enjoyed bipartisan support in Congress, sending tens of thousands of corps members into American communities.
The abrupt end this month to funding for AmeriCorps programs in all 50 states, several territories and Washington, D.C., promises to shutter more than 1,000 programs and end service opportunities for more than 32,000 AmeriCorps workers, according to America’s Service Commissions, the nonprofit that represents AmeriCorps’ state and territorial service commissions.
Chad Driscoll, training and technical assistance manager for the ASC and a Bondurant City Council member, is among those urging Iowans to contact their congressional delegation to protect the national service program.
Driscoll could not be reached April 30 for comment.
The White House, when it rescinded an estimated $400 million in remaining federal funding this month, cited “improper” payments totaling over $40 million to AmeriCorps, which already had been reported and largely addressed. About 85% of its 500 employees were sent home, uncertain of the program’s future.
Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, which also lost AmeriCorps funding, said the money was rescinded “in an effort by the federal government to rebuild the program,” according to Alex Murphy, communications director. “Iowa HHS is reviewing the areas impacted and determining what priority programming can be absorbed elsewhere.”
The cuts prompted about two-dozen states, including Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota, to sue the Trump administration for cancelling grants worth millions for projects across the country from the independent federal agency. It alleges DOGE illegally reneged on $557 million in congressionally approved funding this year. The state of Iowa is not a part of that federal lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges shutting down AmeriCorps violates both the Administrative Procedures Act and the separation of powers under the U.S. Constitution.
“Congress has created AmeriCorps and the programs it administers, and the president cannot incapacitate the agency’s ability to administer appropriated grants or carry out statutorily assigned duties. Further, by dismantling AmeriCorps and its programs, which are creatures of Congress, the Trump administration has violated the executive branch’s obligation to take care that the law is faithfully executed,” a press release issued by Minnesota’s attorney general says.
At stake for those serving in AmeriCorps positions in Iowa were promised stipends and access to certain student loans. Those in AmeriCorps’ National Civilian Community Corps received basic expenses and housing for roughly 10 months of service.
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.
Follow
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.
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.
-
Austin, TX2 minutes agoStorms dump small hail throughout Austin area Saturday
-
Alabama8 minutes agoYMCA of South Alabama holds Healthy Kids Day in Spanish Fort
-
Alaska14 minutes ago
Bear injures two US soldiers during military training in Alaska | The Jerusalem Post
-
Arizona20 minutes agoNFL mock draft: 4-round projections for Arizona Cardinals
-
Arkansas26 minutes agoNo. 6 Arkansas ends top-ranked OU’s 31-game home winning streak with 3-2 decision
-
California32 minutes ago
Billionaire Steyer’s spending binge dwarfs rival campaigns in California governor’s race
-
Colorado38 minutes agoLandeskog – April 18 | Colorado Avalanche
-
Connecticut44 minutes agoOvernight Forecast for April 19
