Iowa
Four Iowa hospitals ranked among the best for maternity care by U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News and World Report releases annual “Best Hospital” rankings
This year’s list features an “Honor Roll” of 22 hospitals, replacing rankings and focusing on specialties, conditions, procedures & regions.
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Four hospitals in Iowa, including one in Des Moines, have been named among the high performers for maternity care in the United States by U.S. News & World Report.
U.S. News analyzed 817 hospitals across the United States for seven metrics: rates for cesarean section, severe unexpected newborn complications, breast milk feeding, routine vaginal birth after cesarean deliveries and episiotomies and whether a hospital meets new federal criteria for “birthing-friendly” practices and tracks and reports outcomes for patients of different races and ethnicities.
Only half of evaluated hospitals were recognized as being among the best for maternity care.
The U.S. News ratings focused only on uncomplicated pregnancies and not high-risk ones, such as those involving mothers with diabetes or high blood pressure or who are pregnant with twins.
“The hospitals recognized by U.S. News as best hospitals for maternity care showcase exceptional care for expectant parents,” Jennifer Winston, a health data scientist at U.S. News, said in a news release. “These hospitals demonstrate significantly lower C-section rates and severe unexpected newborn complications compared to hospitals not recognized by U.S. News.”
What Iowa hospitals were named best for maternity care by U.S. News?
The hospitals in Iowa City, Mason City and Cedar Rapids received excellent ratings for minimizing avoidable C-sections, with less than 24% occurring in connection with first-time, low-risk pregnancies at full term.
At MercyOne Des Moines, severe newborn complications were low compared to the other three hospitals, where complications occur at an average rate, U.S. News said. Severe newborn complications occur when full-term newborns with normal birth weight and no preexisting conditions are injured or develop infections.
The median hospital rate of severe newborn complications is 13 per 1,000 births, according to U.S. News.
MercyOne Des Moines, Mercy Medical Center Cedar Rapids and the University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center all have an episiotomy rate of less than 5%. An episiotomy, a surgical cut made in the perineum during childbirth, is not recommended for routine use except in specific clinical cases.
The national and Midwest averages for babies exclusively breastfed during their hospital stay are 49% and 51%, respectively. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and Mason City hospitals exceeded these averages, with Mercy Medical Center Cedar Rapids being the highest at 81%.
What other hospitals in the Midwest were named high-performing hospitals for maternity care by U.S. News?
Here are the number of hospitals recognized as high-performing for maternity care in states bordering Iowa.
Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at cworth@gannett.com or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.
The weather might still not be great, but the high school boys’ tennis season has started in Iowa.
Over the years, some high-level players have competed in Iowa, and this year is no different.
Defending Class 1A state champion Charlie LeGrand of Cedar Rapids Xavier is back, as are runners-up Easton Moon from North Polk and Dylan Schulte of Cedar Rapids Prairie.
Here is a look at some of the top players in Iowa high school boys tennis. Stats are from those on the official Bound website.
Iowa High School Boys Tennis Top Returning Players
Charlie LeGrand, Cedar Rapids Xavier, Senior
LeGrand returns off a state-title junior season that saw him finish 14-3 overall.
Easton Moon, North Polk, Senior
Moon lost just once last year, falling to Charlie LeGrand of Cedar Rapids Xavier in the 1A final. He was 29-1 overall winning nearly 300 games.
Dylan Schulte, Cedar Rapids Prairie, Sophomore
The 2A runner-up to his brother, Anthony Schulte, Dylan Schulte went a perfect 17-0 competing at No. 2 for the Hawks as a freshman.
Noah Narmi, Council Bluffs St. Albert, Senior
Narmi had a strong junior season, going 21-7 overall and competing at the state tournament in 1A.
Parker Stroh, Columbus Catholic, Junior
In 20 matches last year, Stroh lost just two, going 33-6 overall in sets played while reaching the state singles tournament.
Lucas Persson, North Scott, Senior
Persson finished with a perfect 17-0 record in the regular season, dropping just two sets in 32 played. He was a qualifier for the 2A state singles tournament.
Jonathan Pyatak, Chariton, Junior
As a sophomore, Pyatak was tough to beat, compiling a mark of 16-4 overall at No. 1.
Tyler Grote, Sergeant Bluff-Luton, Senior
Grote enters his senior season off a 15-2 campaign last spring that saw him reach the state tournament in 1A.
Leif Lundberg, Clear Lake, Senior
Like Grote, Lundberg went 15-2 competing at the No. 1 spot for the Lions, while also qualifying for state.
Garrett Bauermeister, Linn-Mar, Senior
Bauermeister went 30-6 in sets played at the top spot, finishing with a 15-2 record and a spot at the 2A state tournament.
William Feagler, Iowa City High, Sophomore
The talented second-year player had a big freshman season, going 15-1 at No. 2 and qualifying for state.
Karthik Ganesh, Pleasant Valley, Senior
Competing at the No. 2 spot in the order, Ganesh went 14-2 last season, losing just three sets.
Joseph Wright, Sergeant Bluff-Luton, Senior
Wright forms a strong 1-2 punch with Grote, as he was 14-1 with just one lost set last year at the second spot.
Aadil Patel, Johnston, Sophomore
The Dragons are always tough, and Patel looks to keep that true this year after putting together a 13-3 mark at No. 2 that saw himq qualify for state singles.
Joshua Dcruz, Pleasant Valley, Junior
Unbeaten is unbeaten, and that’s what Dcruz was at No. 3 last year, going 16-0 without losing a set.
Caleb Rasmussen, Marshalltown, Senior
Another unbeaten player at No. 3 last spring was Rasmussen, as he went 12-0 and lost just one set all year.
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — A Council Bluffs man is convicted of killing his girlfriend, nearly four decades after she disppeared.
Barbara Lenz was last seen in Woodbine on Saturday, May 6, 1989.
On Tuesday, it only took a jury less than four hours to convict Robert Davis, now 62, of second-degree murder.
Davis was arrested and charged with murder last year. Online court documents say Davis assaulted and choked Lenz several times during their two-year relationship.
A criminal complaint says Lenz told other people she was in fear of Davis and trying to leave him.
This was the first arrest and now first conviction for a case that the newly formed Iowa Cold Case Unit has helped investigate. It was an initiative pushed by Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird.
“No one should get away with murder. Barbara Lenz’s family has been waiting nearly 37 years for justice,” said Attorney General Bird. “Today, after long last, they have it. Robert Davis will spend the rest of his life in prison. I am deeply grateful to Cold Case Prosecutor Scott Brown and Harrison County Attorney Sarah Delanty and her office for their hard work in securing this conviction. And thank you again to the investigators in our Iowa Cold Case Unit, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Iowa State Patrol, the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office, and the Woodbine Police Department who worked hard and never gave up on Barbara’s case.”
Davis is scheduled to be sentenced on May 22, 2026.
ALLAMAKEE COUNTY, Iowa (KCRG) – A Waterville man was sentenced to 120 years in prison Tuesday after authorities say he potentially committed more than 100 acts of sexual abuse.
54-year-old Jonathon Hilleshiem was convicted of four counts of second-degree sexual abuse, lascivious acts with a child, and sexual exploitation of a minor – possess depiction of a minor in sex act.
Hilleshiem was initially charged with four counts of sexual abuse in the second degree and one count of lascivious acts with a child in July 2025.
In August 2025, police executed search warrants and additionally charged Hilleshiem with one count of sexual exploitation of a minor – possess depiction of a minor in sex act.
As part of the investigation, the child spoke to authorities about the abuse.
A criminal complaint shows authorities believe there may be more than 100 acts of sexual abuse that occurred between 2014 and 2020.
Hilleshiem was also sentenced to lifetime supervision by the Iowa Department of Corrections and must register as a sex offender.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.
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