Iowa
Caitlin Clark, Iowa women’s basketball set record TV ratings in run to Big Ten championship
As Caitlin Clark and the Iowa women’s basketball team won the 2024 Big Ten Tournament, they did so in front of a crowd that went well beyond the Target Center in Minneapolis.
The Hawkeyes’ 94-89 overtime victory against Nebraska in the Big Ten championship game on Sunday averaged more than 3 million viewers and peaked at 4.45 million viewers in overtime. The average viewership made it the most-watched women’s college basketball game on CBS in 25 years, trailing just behind a matchup between UConn and Tennessee on Jan. 10, 1999, that averaged 3.88 million viewers.
REQUIRED READING: Why Iowa star Caitlin Clark is one of the most likable figures in sports
To put that figure into a different context, the 3.021 million average viewers of Iowa’s win ranked just barely behind the 3.076 million who watched Saturday’s regular-season finale behind storied rivals Duke and North Carolina in men’s basketball, a game that aired on ESPN in prime time.
The win against the Cornhuskers, a game in which Clark scored a game-high 34 points to lead her team to a come-from-behind victory, was the second-most-watched women’s college basketball game on any network this season, behind only — you guessed it — Iowa’s 93-83 victory against Ohio State on March 3. In that matchup, Clark became the all-time leading scorer in Division I history, passing Pete Maravich.
It wasn’t just the Hawkeyes’ championship game performance that drew in a record audience, either.
Iowa’s 95-68 win against Michigan in the Big Ten semifinals last Saturday and its 95-62 victory against Penn State in the quarterfinals last Friday each brought in over 1 million viewers, with 1.075 million watching the former and 1.04 tuning in for the latter. It’s the first time in Big Ten Network history that a women’s sporting event has brought in more than one million viewers.
Those two contests became the second- and third-most-watched basketball games in Big Ten Network history, behind only the 1.2 million who watched a Big Ten men’s basketball tournament game between Michigan State and Wisconsin in 2022. They shattered the previous Big Ten Network record rating for a women’s athletic event, which was set earlier this year when 675,000 watched Iowa’s 111-93 victory against Penn State on Feb. 8.
Iowa City boasts a rich French history that dates back more than 175 years.
J. David Markham, Knight of the Order of the French Academic Palms and President of the International Napoleonic Society, traveled from Toronto to Iowa City to unveil a sign in Napoleon Park commemorating Iowa’s French past. A ribbon-cutting was held on May 5 at 2501 S. Gilbert Street on the 205th anniversary of Napoleon Bonaparte’s death.
Napoleon was the original name of Iowa City when it was founded in 1838. Along with Bonaparte, Marengo, Waterloo, and Massena, Napoleon/Iowa City is one of several Iowa locations named after battles or events associated with France’s first emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821).
Between 1800 and 1803, before the ratification of the Louisiana Treaty, the future state of Iowa was an overseas territory of the French Republic, ruled by the then First Consul, Napoleon Bonaparte. Iowa’s French past is reflected in its distinctly French-looking flag, inspired by the tricolor of the Revolution of 1789. Designed by Anna Barker, the sign installed at Napoleon Park highlights Iowa City’s and Iowa’s numerous French connections.
Iowans will need to see a doctor in person for abortion medication starting July 1.
Watch as Gov. Reynolds signs charter school funding bill into law
Gov. Kim Reynolds speaks during a bill signing for HF 2754, a charter school funding bill, on May 12, 2026, at Des Moines Prep.
Iowans will need to see a doctor in person to receive abortion medication under a new law Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed.
The Tuesday, May 19, signing came as Republican-led states across the country aim to restrict access to abortion pills, usage of which has increased since the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade.
A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling temporarily preserved access to mail-order prescriptions after Louisiana challenged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s expanded access. But the medication’s future remains uncertain as the legal battle plays out.
The bill, House File 2788, will require Iowans seeking abortion medication, including the drugs mifepristone and misoprostol, to have an in-person appointment with a doctor. They will be informed of specific health and safety information about the pill and screened for signs of coercion or abuse.
Republican lawmakers and anti-abortion advocacy groups championed the law, arguing it will crack down on the flow of pills into Iowa from groups and physicians in other states and create opportunities to detect domestic violence.
“We are providing a private clinical sanctuary where an expert can look them in the eye and ask, ‘Are you safe?’ That opportunity for intervention is lost the moment that we move this process to a computer screen, a phone or a mailbox,” Iowa state Rep. Devon Wood, R-New Market, said during debate on the bill May 14.
Maggie DeWitte, director of anti-abortion advocacy group Pulse Life Advocates, said the legislation will restore prior “safeguards.”
“This bill is a step in the right direction to protect Iowa women from this dangerous drug,” DeWitte said in a statement.
Decades of studies have shown that less than 1% of medication abortions result in serious complications such as severe bleeding or infection.
Reproductive rights advocates have criticized the legislation, contending it will limit access to the medication, which they say many Iowans have acquired through means including telehealth since Iowa implemented laws restricting abortion in recent years.
“All this bill does is it takes away power from the people, the people who are knowledgeable about giving care to those people who need it,” state Rep. Megan Srinivas, a physician and Des Moines Democrat, said during floor debate. “This doesn’t touch the problem of black-market abortions. It creates a problem of creating a void in care for so many Iowans.”
Medication abortion has increased since Iowa Republicans passed a law restricting abortions at roughly six weeks after conception. They comprised 63% of all abortions in the country in 2023, compared with 53% in 2020, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit that supports abortion rights.
Planned Parenthood North Central States President and CEO Ruth Richardson said abortion pills will continue to be available at the organization’s Iowa health centers “within legal guidelines.”
“Medication abortion has been trusted by providers and patients for more than 25 years. It is safe and effective care. Make no mistake: both nationwide and state attacks on abortion care do nothing to protect patients,” Richardson said in a statement. “There’s no medically necessary reason to restrict how Iowans can access this common, trusted, and safe method of abortion care.”
The Iowa legislation also clarifies the definition of “abortion” to specify that miscarriages and treatment of ectopic pregnancies do not qualify as abortions under the law. which will go into effect July 1.
Federal lawsuits could limit law’s scope
Out-of-state providers who dispense abortion pills in Iowa without following the legislation’s requirements will face civil liability. Licensed physicians and pharmacists in Iowa would be immune from that penalty and could only be subject to licensing discipline.
But lawsuits at the federal level could either expand or stymie Republican lawmakers’ efforts to restrict abortion medication, as shield laws remain in place protecting health care workers in other states who prescribe mifepristone to out-of-state patients.
Rapid Response Politics Reporter Maya Marchel Hoff can be reached at mmarchelHoff@usatodayco.com. You can find her on X (formerly Twitter) at @mmarchelhoff.
Waukee Northwest sets another Iowa all-time best in 4×400 relay win
Hear from Logan Vogt, Quinn Jorgensen, and Avery Vogt after Waukee Northwest’s record-breaking win in the 4×400-meter relay at Drake Relays.
The premiere event of the Iowa high school track and field season – the state meet – is just a few days away.
Some of the top athletes in the state will converge on Des Moines for the three-day event, which features returning state champions and all-time best record holders, as well as athletes looking to pull off an upset.
From sprinters to long-distance runners, jumpers to throwers, here are 10 high school girls athletes to watch at the Iowa track and field state meet from May 21-23.
Athletes are listed in alphabetical order by last name.
Elise Coghlan, Sr., ADM
Events: 100m hurdles, 400m hurdles, shuttle hurdle, 4×400
Coghlan is one of Class 3A’s best in the hurdles, with the fastest time this season in the 100 and the second-best time this year in the 400. Her talents helped the Tigers nearly reach top-three qualifying times in both of her relay events.
Morgan Fisher, So., Ankeny
Events: 200, 400, sprint medley, distance medley
It’s only her second season of high school track, but Fisher is already among the state’s top talents. She holds the second-fastest times, statewide, in the 200- and 400-meter dashes and she could help Ankeny to a spot on the podium in both of her relay races.
Kylee Hill, Jr., Burlington
Events: discus, shot put
She won state titles in the shot put in 2024 and 2025, and she is coming off a Drake Relays championship in the event. There is a good chance she adds a third title this season, entering the state tournament with a statewide longest throw of 52-5.50.
Aubrey Johnson, Fr., Gilbert
Events: 100m hurdles, 4×100, shuttle hurdle, long jump
Johnson is only a freshman, but she shouldn’t be underestimated. She holds the fourth-fastest time in 3A in the 100-meter hurdles, and her long jump of 19-4.62 is the best in her class this season.
Quinn Jorgensen, So., Waukee Northwest
Events: 200, 4×200, sprint medley
There are plenty of standout runners on the Wolves roster, and this sophomore is one of them. She holds the fourth-fastest time this season in the 200-meter dash, and she ran legs of the 4×100, 4×200, and 4×400 squads that posted the state’s fastest times at Drake Relays.
Morgan Karr, Sr., Valley
Events: 100, 100m hurdles, 4×100, shuttle hurdle
No one in the state comes close to Karr this season; she’s the only athlete in Iowa to finish the 100-meter hurdles in under 14 seconds. She’s also a part of 4×100 and shuttle hurdle relay teams that hold top-five times heading into the state meet.
Payton Maas, Sr., West Liberty
Events: 100m wheelchair, 200m wheelchair, 400m wheelchair, 800m wheelchair
The West Liberty senior has spent the past few seasons steadily improving her times and enters the state meet with the top time in each of her four events. She already has a state title, and there’s a good chance she adds four more before the end of the weekend.
Abby Mecklenburg, Sr., Linn-Mar
Events: 200, long jump
A few weeks ago, Mecklenburg became the first girls long jumper to surpass 20 feet at Drake Relays. She’s Iowa’s record-holder, jumping 20-8.25 last season, and she enters the state meet with a jump of 20-5.50 this season.
Laura Streck, Jr., Van Meter
Events: 800m, 1500m, 3000m, 4×800
Streck’s name is all over the leaderboards in Class 2A’s distance events. She holds the fastest times in the class in the 1,500- and 3,000-meter runs, and the third-fastest time in the 800.
Katie Willits, Sr., Waukee Northwest
Events: 100, 200, 100m hurdles, 4×100
This senior speedster holds the fastest times statewide in the 100- and 200-meter dashes and the second-fastest time in the 100-meter hurdles. She is also a part of several Wolves relay teams that have run the state’s all-time fastest times: 4×100, 4×200, sprint medley and shuttle hurdle.
Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.
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