Iowa
Drought descends on Iowa despite the wet spring
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Drought conditions are continuing to spread in Iowa, despite this year starting as the ninth wettest year on record after an unusually rainy spring.
“If we hadn’t received the rainfall recharge earlier this year, conditions would be exceedingly worse,” said Keith Schilling, a state geologist and the director of the State Geographical Survey.
It’s been 34 days since Cedar Rapids received measurable rainfall, the third longest stretch in the fall the city has experienced since 1892 when state record-keeping began.
Statewide, “severe drought” conditions increased 8.5 percent in Iowa in the past week, including a swath of northeast Iowa, partially driven by low moisture and humidity levels, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor released Thursday.
At this point, almost all of Iowa is experiencing some level of abnormally dry or drought conditions. Only a handful of Iowa counties in southern Iowa — Page, Taylor, Ringgold, Decatur and Wayne — are free of dry conditions.
In addition, the National Weather Service on Thursday issued a red flag warning, signaling increased fire danger.
September was the driest September in Iowa in 52 years. But even with that, 2024 still ranks around the 30th wettest year on record in Iowa.
How did drought conditions creep back into Iowa after the state had such a wet spring?
Like ‘clockwork’
Schilling said it’s like “clockwork.”
“The soil moisture conditions are like a clock that continually needs to be rewound to keep from slowing down or stopping,” he said. “The rain earlier this year reset the clock and filled the soil moisture system. But crop water use during the summer and the lack of rain this late summer and fall are causing drought conditions to emerge again.”
In a normal year, Iowa would have had enough rainfall this fall to reset the soil moisture conditions before heading into winter, Schilling said.
“Any level of low-level drought occurring now began only a couple of months ago instead of several years ago, so we are in a much better place than would have been if (spring) rainfall had not occurred.”
Dry October
Justin Glisan, state climatologist with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, said the state experienced only 10 percent of its typical precipitation in the first half of October.
Looking at the year as a whole, Iowa has had about 30.5 total inches of precipitation, about 5 inches under the state’s annual average, with two-and-a-half months left in 2024.
“That just shows you how wet and how dry last year was,” Glisan said.
Cedar Rapids went without rain 55 days in the fall of 1952, the record, he said.
“Throughout the remainder of October, coming in November, it’s a pretty critical time for us to try to get some moisture down into that soil profile,” said Joshua Michel, an Iowa State University Extension and Outreach field agronomist for northeast Iowa. “Otherwise, our soils most likely will be on the drier side when we come around into spring,”
Michel said northeast and Eastern Iowa has fallen to “anywhere from 2-1/2 to 3 inches below normal (rainfall) or more” in the past 30 days. In the past 60 days, precipitation is anywhere from 4=1/2 to 6 inches below normal or more.
Given that “pretty significant deficit,” he said he wasn’t surprised to see drought conditions expanding in this week’s drought monitor.
He anticipates a slow, continued expansion of drought conditions across the state. Looking ahead, however, Michel said he does not anticipate “extreme” and “exceptional” drought coming to Iowa.
Glisan, the state climatologist, said Iowa’s climate conditions, including drought statistics, go back to 1895.
If Iowa receives rain in late October and into November and December, drought conditions will improve.
“But if the rain stopped completely, and this is all we got, it would be the 55th driest year,” he said of 2024.
Fighting drought
When it comes to Iowa’s current conditions, Glisan said, a “drought is a drought,” but Iowans can do a few things to conserve water, even though water scarcity, as of now, is not on his radar.
For example, landowners with irrigation systems can water their lawns or plants in the evening, since water evaporates faster during the day with warmer temperatures.
Homeowners also should check their faucets and pipes to make sure water isn’t leaking from them.
Despite about 50 percent of the state’s harvest being completed, Michel said it’s important that farmers and their helpers clean and maintain farm machinery and equipment to help mitigate the risk of fires.
A good way to do this, he said, is by taking a power washer, using compressed air or even a leaf blower at the end of the day to clean out machinery’s air filters. He also recommends workers check their coolant and oil levels and remove any material that may be wrapped around any belts, chains or moving parts on the machine.
“Everything creates an enormous amount of heat, especially when you have these very high winds and low humidity levels,” he said. “All it takes is some leaf material, plant residue or some dry chaff getting caught somewhere, and it has the ability to warm up and start smoldering,” Michel said. “It’s not going to be very hard for that to take off, and all of a sudden, you have a problem on your hands.”
Breaking down the drought monitor
The U.S. Drought Monitor categorizes drought conditions as:
- D0: Abnormally dry
- D1: Moderate drought
- D2: Severe drought
- D3: Extreme drought
- D4: Exceptional drought
The drought monitor has broken down the historically observed impacts of the five drought categories. They list the impacts as:
- Abnormally dry: Corn shows drought stress; soil is dry
- Moderate Drought: Grasses are brown; more grass fires occur; burn bans are issued; pond levels decline; soybeans abort pods; corn weights are struggling
- Severe Drought: Dryland corn has extremely low yields; commodity shortages are noted; livestock is stressed; fire danger is high; surface water levels are low; algae blooms increase; voluntary water conservation is requested
- Extreme Drought: Pastures are dry; producers sell cattle; crops are tested for toxins; crops have pest infestation; seasonal allergies are worse; farmers are stressed about high feed prices; trees drop leaves; acorns are underdeveloped; warm water leads to fish kills; stream beds are low to dry
- Exceptional Drought: Aquatic invertebrates in waterways increase; extreme measures are taken to conserve water; row crop yields and forage production have significant impacts
Olivia Cohen covers energy and environment for The Gazette and is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues.
Comments: (319) 398-8370; olivia.cohen@thegazette.com
Wells Fargo Arena signage removed in preparation for Casey’s Center
See Wells Fargo Arena signage be removed from the arena in preparation for the venue’s renaming to the Casey’s Center on July 1, 2025.
The Iowa Events Center could soon get a new operator as Polk County leaders consider putting the complex’s management contract up for bid for the first time since its opening.
Polk County officials are poised to bid out a management contract for the Iowa Events Center complex in downtown Des Moines as its current agreement with the Oak View Group expires this year.
Polk County supervisors in mid-June voted 3-2 to hire the event center’s representative, JLL Consulting, to help select and oversee its next operator during the first year. That agreement will cost $197,500, county documents show. Outgoing supervisors Angela Connolly and Tom Hockensmith voted against the move.
Connolly said the county could use a consultant to better understand the complex’s operations and budget. Still, she and Hockensmith agreed it would be difficult for a new firm to outdo Oak View Group’s success.
“And it just seems to me that we are trying to fix something here that is not broken,” Hockensmith said.
The county-owned Iowa Events Center complex is Des Moines’ primary convention center and arena. The complex includes the EMC Expo Center — previously Hy-Vee Hall — Community Choice Convention Center and the Casey’s Center. Formerly the Wells Fargo Arena, the nearly 17,000-seat arena was renamed the Casey’s Center in July 2025.
The events center has hosted acts such as Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift and The Eagles.
Oak View Group has managed the events center since acquiring in 2021 its original contractor, Global Spectrum/Spectra, which had held the contract since 2004. The firm describes itself as a full-service venue management company that helps clients host sports, live entertainment and conventions, according to the complex’s website.
The Iowa Events Center brought in about $1.8 million to the county in fiscal year 2025, which began July 1, 2024, general manager Chris Connolly told the Des Moines Register. As they close out the 2026 fiscal year, they’re projecting about $2 million in revenue. In the 2024 fiscal year, the events center had its best operating year, raking in more than $3 million, Connolly said.
He points to the firm’s role in selling the naming rights of the arena to Casey’s and the expo center to EMC Insurance. Before the arena opened in 2005, Wells Fargo paid $11.5 million for the naming rights for 20 years. Casey’s paid $18.3 million to have the rights for 10 years.
Beyond the numbers, “we’ve forged relationships with these people for years and think that that is huge,” he said of partnerships with corporations like Casey’s and EMC.
Connolly said the Oak View Group was told last fall that the county would likely hire a consultant and the management contract could be out for bid. That’s standard practice, he said.
“None of it was a surprise. We get it,” Connolly said. “Like I said, I think our performance speaks for itself, so I’m not worried about that. If a consultant wants to come in and take a look at it, maybe there’s some efficiencies that can be improved.”
He said Oak View Group would bid on the contract should the county issue a request for proposals.
“I almost see this as going through a process … and whatever direction that goes, we’ll be ready for it,” Connolly said.
Outgoing supervisor chair Matt McCoy told colleagues that bringing in JLL Consulting to help oversee a competitive bid process affirms the county’s responsibility to be transparent with taxpayers about its contracts.
“You do RFPs with long-term partners to keep each other honest and to make sure that you’re getting a rigorous review of investment of Polk County taxpayer dollars,” he said.
“And to just say we’re not going to do that, to me, it shorts the taxpayer. It tells the taxpayer that, you know, we have such a cozy relationship that we don’t even need to go out and check our numbers,” McCoy added.
Hockensmith pushed back, saying that Oak View Group’s revenue numbers are undisputed and calling McCoy’s comments vindictive.
Supervisor Mark Holm said he views the action as primarily bringing JLL on board to evaluate operations and budgeting for the future.
JLL Consulting will help Polk County build a framework for the new operator contract, which includes ways to measure the complex’s success and details on monitoring the facility’s condition, according to county documents.
Virginia Barreda is the Des Moines and Polk County government reporter for the Register. She can be reached at vbarreda@dmreg.com.
With June rapidly finishing up, that means the Iowa high school softball season is preparing to enter the stretch run of the year.
The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union State Softball Tournament will begin Monday, July 20, in Fort Dodge at Rogers Park, bringing together many of the top teams and players in the state. High School On SI Iowa currently provides a Top 25 state softball power rankings, so now, we need to see who the top players are.
Below are the nominees for the High School On SI Iowa Class 1A Softball Midseason Player of the Year in each classification. Stats listed with the player are from Bound and based on those numbers imputed as of June 26, 2026 at noon CT.
Feel free to vote as many times as you like, with voting set to close on Friday, July 3, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. CT.
High School On SI Iowa Class 1A Softball Midseason Player Of The Year Nominees
Rachel Eglseder, Edgewood-Colesburg, Senior
Eglseder owns a 16-5 record, striking out 225 batters with a 1.66 earned run average while adding 11 extra-base hits and 40 RBI at the plate.
Rylee Mudderman, Kee, Junior
Mudderman continues to be a difficult out, batting .488 this season with two homers, 11 doubles and four triples. She has driven in 38 and scored 35 times, stealing 10 bases.
Faith Shirbroun, St. Edmond, Senior
Speaking of tough outs, Shirbroun owns a batting average of .606 this season, recording seven homers, 17 doubles and five triples. She has driven in 36 and scored 37 times, stealing 22 bases while setting several school records for hitting.
Sydney Lovrien, Clarksville, Senior
The ace for the defending state champions, Lovrien is 13-5 with 100 strikeouts in 86 innings pitched. She also has 23 hits and 21 RBI at the plate.
Sam Kruckenberg, Mason City Newman Catholic, Senior
A veteran now, Kruckenberg owns an 18-4 record with 227 strikeouts and a 1.23 earned run average. She is batting .440 with five homers, 11 doubles and 23 RBI at the plate.
About Our Midseason Player of the Year 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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The Iowa chapter of the Land Improvement Contractors of America (LICA) officially opened a new facility on its 80-acre demonstration farm in Marshall County Thursday.
Iowa LICA President Scott Bohle said having classroom and meeting space will make it easier to educate the next generation of professional contractors, along with government employees, lawmakers and students, to help conserve soil and water in the state.
Bohle said the building “gives people a place to gather, collaborate and continue the important work that defines our association.”
Just outside the new space are wetlands, terraces, sediment control basins, bioreactors and other features, which members have built since LICA purchased the farm near Melbourne in 2000.
“We call it the one-stop shop, where you can see anything being put to practice by our landowners,” said Kelby Kiefer, executive director of Iowa LICA.
Together, these “edge-of-field” practices remove 50% of phosphates and almost 100% of the nitrates from the runoff of a 1,000-plus acre watershed, according to the association.
Adding more wetlands, saturated buffers and bioreactors across the state are a key part of Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy. It aims to cut nitrogen and phosphorus losses from farm fields by 41% and 29%, respectively.
The strategy is part of a broader effort to reduce nutrient pollution in the state’s waterways and the Gulf of Mexico by 45% compared to the 1980-96 baseline period. It does not include a target date.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said the state has accelerated edge-of-field practices in recent years, in part through the Batch and Build model. The approach bundles projects in a targeted watershed to reduce costs and save time for farmers and contractors.
Nearly 150 nitrate reducing wetlands and around 500 saturated buffers, bioreactors and multi-purpose oxbows had been built in the state as of 2024. Thousands more will be needed to meet the state’s nutrient reduction targets.
“[Clean water is] something we need to be focused on, and we can be proud of the work that’s happened, but we know that we need to do more,” Naig said. “Buildings like this help.”
Naig said scaling up conservation infrastructure across the state will require more skilled contractors. He described them as the “critical link” between concepts and “getting things on the ground.”
“It’s from that point where you say, ‘We have a design that’s ready to go, a willing landowner,’ but somebody needs to make it happen,” Naig said. “The land improvement contractor sits in that very important spot.”
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