Iowa

Expert says 2020 derecho may have helped poison hemlock thrive in new places

Published

12 months ago

June 29, 2025

Press Room

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.

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Iowa

Reynolds orders flags lowered for funeral of Iowa Sen. Julian Garrett

Published

43 minutes ago

June 19, 2026

Press Room

Reynolds orders flags lowered for funeral of Iowa Sen. Julian Garrett

DES Moines, Iowa — Gov. Kim Reynolds has ordered all flags in Iowa to be lowered to half-staff Saturday in honor of state Sen. Julian Garrett, who died June 8 at the age of 85.

Flags will be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset June 20, the day of Garrett’s funeral, on the Iowa Capitol Building and across the Capitol Complex. The order also applies to all public buildings, grounds and facilities throughout the state.

Garrett served 16 years in the Iowa Legislature, first representing House District 55 from 2011 to 2013 before serving in the Iowa Senate through the 2026 legislative session.

In addition to his legislative service, Garrett was a farmer, attorney and former employee of the Iowa Attorney General’s Office.

“Sen. Garrett was a friend who served our state with integrity — whether as a cattle producer, a Little League coach, an attorney in the executive branch, or a legislator,” Reynolds said in a statement. “For 15 years, we worked together to unleash opportunities for the Iowans we served, and his impact will be felt for generations to come.”

Reynolds is encouraging individuals, businesses, schools, municipalities, counties and other government entities to lower their flags to half-staff during the same time period as a sign of respect.

Garrett represented southwest Iowa in the Legislature and was known for his work on judiciary and agriculture-related issues during his tenure at the Statehouse.

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Iowa

Iowa man injured in 3-vehicle crash on I-35 near Albert Lea

Published

11 hours ago

June 19, 2026

Press Room

Iowa man injured in 3-vehicle crash on I-35 near Albert Lea

An Iowa man was injured Thursday afternoon after three vehicles traveling northbound on Interstate 35 collided near Albert Lea.

Thomas Gene Anderson, 34, of Winnebago, Iowa, was taken by Mayo Ambulance to Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea for non-life threatening injuries, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.

Anderson was listed as the driver of a 2019 Chevrolet Blazer.

The report states the Blazer and a 2020 Nissan Rogue, driven by Brenda Sue Bangs, 52, of Glenville, and a 2021 Chevrolet Blazer, driven by Lisa Ann Bettin, 64, of Altoona, Iowa, were all northbound on I-35 near milepost 10 when the vehicles collided at 3:49 p.m.

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Iowa

Iowa High School Baseball Stats: Leaders On The Diamond This Summer

Published

21 hours ago

June 18, 2026

Press Room

Iowa High School Baseball Stats: Leaders On The Diamond This Summer

As we work through the month of June, things are starting to heat up on the diamond around Iowa high school baseball.

With the start of postseason play just around the corner in July, teams are working to get prepared for the stretch run.

High School On SI Iowa has a Top 25 state power ranking while the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association releases weekly class-by-class rankings.

Here are leaders as of June 17, 2026 for several major hitting and pitching categories. Stats are from those uploaded to the Bound website.