Iowa

Four Iowans were inducted into the Iowa African American Hall of Fame. They are:

Published

1 year ago

September 23, 2024

Four Iowans were inducted into the Iowa African American Hall of Fame. They are:

Four remarkable Iowans were inducted into the Iowa African American Hall of Fame.

Since 1995, Iowans have been inducted into the African American Hall of Fame for their contributions to their communities and the state of Iowa. The 2024 class was inducted on Saturday.

They are:

Celeste M. Lawson

Celeste Lawson, the daughter of Gary Lawson, the founder of the Iowa African American Hall of Fame, is recognized for her 30-plus years of uplifting Black voices and awareness in Des Moines and throughout the state.

In April of this year, Lawson was recognized for her service and was inducted into the Iowa Volunteer Hall of Fame for her advocacy and push for recognition of Juneteenth and metastatic breast cancer.

From 1990 to 2015, Lawson volunteered with Iowa Juneteenth Observance, which her father founded in 1990, helping establish Juneteenth celebrations throughout Iowa. She also helped start the Iowa Juneteenth Observance exhibit at the State Historical Museum of Iowa and placed “Juneteenth: A Celebration of Freedom” in public libraries, middle and junior high schools in all 99 counties.

As a result of her work, Gov. Tom Vilsack in 2002 signed and declared the third Saturday in June as Juneteenth National Freedom Day in Iowa. Iowa was the seventh state to make Juneteenth an official state holiday.

In 2019, Lawson’s mother, Lois Lawson, died from metastatic breast cancer. Lawson worked to raise awareness for the disease, and, in 2020, Gov. Kim Reynolds declared Oct. 13 to be recognized as Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day in Iowa.

Edith Renfrow Smith

Edith Renfrow Smith is Grinnell College’s first African American alumna.

The Renfrow family was one of few African American families in Grinnell while Renfrow Smith was growing up. According to a Grinnell College report, she is the granddaughter of an escaped slave who established himself in Grinnell as a barber and was the only one of six children to stay there for college. She graduated in 1937 with a major in psychology and minors in economics and history.

After graduation, Renfrow Smith worked at the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), the University of Chicago, the state of Illinois, and the city of Chicago and was a public school teacher for over 20 years.

The Smith Gallery at Grinnell College is named after her, and the Edith Renfrow Smith Black Women’s Library was dedicated in 2019 in her honor in the Black Cultural Center on campus. She is the namesake of the soon-to-be-completed Renfrow Hall.

She currently resides in Chicago and recently celebrated her 110th birthday on July 14.

Barbara Woods

For over 30 years Barbara Woods worked with Iowa State Extension and Outreach as the special projects manager and was an adjunct professor of human development and family studies at Iowa State University.

Woods received her doctorate in home economics from Iowa State in 1981 and is credited with bringing county extension offices “into the computer age,” according to the American Association of University Women branch in Ames.

She received the Career Achievement in Outreach Award from the College of Human Sciences in 2017, the Distinguished Service Award from the Iowa affiliate of the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences in 2016, as well as one from ISU Extension and Outreach in 2011.

Woods retired from the university in 2023.

Bridget Saffold

Bridget Saffold, a registered nurse in Waterloo, formed the Focus on Diabetes, a Waterloo nonprofit that aims to promote awareness of diabetes.

Each year, she helps host Cedar Valley Focus on Diabetes, where doctors share research and treatment options for diabetes and also offers free screenings for diabetic patients, their families and the Cedar Valley community.

During the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Saffold helped assemble Focus on Diabetes COVID-19 Assist, donating around 200 care packages to diabetes patients to help them stay safe at home. She was recognized by ABC for her efforts.

In 2021, she was inducted into the Iowa Volunteer Hall of Fame for her work in Waterloo for diabetes patients and raising awareness of the disease.

What is the Iowa African American Hall of Fame?

The Iowa African American Hall of Fame was founded in 1995 by the Connect Foundation, a nonprofit founded by Gary Lawson.

In 2023, the Connect Foundation transferred custodianship of the Hall of Fame to the Des Moines Urban Experience, run by Dwana Bradley. Bradley also is a chairperson for Iowa Juneteenth.

There have been over 70 inductees into the Hall of Fame, including Evelyn K. Davis, Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad and Rep. Ruth Anne Gaines.

Kyle Werner is a reporter for the Register. Reach him at kwerner@dmreg.com.

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Iowa

Iowa State basketball Players Era Festival tourney schedule, bracket

Published

4 hours ago

November 23, 2025

Press Room

Iowa State basketball Players Era Festival tourney schedule, bracket

Iowa State basketball will compete in the loaded Players Era Festival this week in Las Vegas.

The Nov. 24-27 tournament calls itself “The biggest college basketball event outside of March.”

Iowa State begins play Monday, Nov. 24 against St. John’s in a 3:30 p.m. CT contest.

The Cyclones then will play Creighton on Tuesday, Nov. 25 at 1 p.m. CT.

Eugene Rapay’s Cyclone men’s basketball preview

T.J. Otzelberger’s team will play a third game either Wednesday, Nov. 26 or Thursday, Nov. 27. Opponent and time are contingent upon the results of Iowa State’s first two games.

Here’s a closer look at the tournament:

Players Era Festival men’s basketball schedule

All times CT

Monday, Nov. 24

Tennessee vs. Rutgers, Noon, TNT
Baylor vs. Creighton, 1 p.m., truTV
Kansas vs. Notre Dame, 2:30 p.m., TNT
St. John’s vs. Iowa State, 3:30 p.m., truTV
Houston vs. Syracuse, 5 p.m., TNT
Oregon vs. Auburn, 7 p.m., truTV
Alabama vs. Gonzaga, 8:30 p.m., TNT
Michigan vs. San Diego State, 9:30 p.m., truTV
Maryland vs. UNLV, 11 p.m., TNT

Tuesday, Nov. 25

Rutgers vs. Notre Dame, Noon, TNT
Iowa State vs. Creighton, 1:00 p.m., truTV
Kansas vs. Syracuse, 2:30 p.m., TNT
St. John’s vs. Baylor, 3:30 p.m., truTV
Houston vs. Tennessee, 5 p.m., TNT
Michigan vs. Auburn, 7:30 p.m., TNT
Gonzaga vs. Maryland, 8:30 p.m., truTV
Oregon vs. San Diego State, 10 p.m., TNT
Alabama vs. UNLV, 11 p.m., truTV

Wednesday, Nov. 26

Third-place game, 6 p.m., TNT
Championship game, 8:30 p.m., TNT

Wednesday Nov. 26 and Thursday Nov. 27

Other consolation games will be played Nov. 26-27. Matchups TBD by first two days of competition.

Watch Iowa State basketball on Sling

Players Era Festival tiebreakers

Tiebreakers will be determined by point differential, points scored and points allowed.

Where will Players Era Festival games be played?

Players Era Festival men’s basketball contests will be held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and the Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas.

Players Era Festival TV and streaming information

Players Era Festival games will be televised on TNT and truTV.
Players Era Festival games will be streamed on HBO Max.

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Iowa

Iowa DOT offers ‘Alive at 25′ program for young drivers facing suspensions

Published

22 hours ago

November 22, 2025

Press Room

Iowa DOT offers ‘Alive at 25′ program for young drivers facing suspensions

DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) – The Iowa Department of Transportation is working to help drivers facing suspension with a new behavioral education course called “Alive at 25” for drivers on intermediate-level licenses.

“Our goal is to focus on the negative behavior or poor behavior that we’re seeing behind the wheel,” said Vania Boyd, Iowa DOT driver education manager.

Young drivers who have received a second violation have the one-time opportunity to take the course instead of receiving a suspension.

“It’s not a retake of driver’s ed. It focuses on distracted driving, road rage, talks about peer pressure, talks about distractions behind the wheel, and helps guide students on ways to avoid those behaviors,” said Boyd.

The DOT partnered with the Iowa-Illinois Safety Council, which hosts the four-hour virtual course.

Boyd said from 2024 to 2025, more than 5,500 students on the intermediate level would have been eligible to take the program.

“We saw a lot of connection to speed, students not wearing the seatbelt, a lot of behavioral decisions behind the wheel that we want to correct,” Boyd said.

Lisa Elskamp lost her daughter, Kennedy, and Kennedy’s best friend, Chloe, to an accident involving speed in 2022.

“At one point, us being able to see on Chloe’s Life 360 that he was hit a max speed of 146 miles an hour,” she said.

After the crash, the families started Forever 17, a nonprofit aimed at speeding safety advocacy and working to change laws to make things more safe.

Elskamp said courses like these are a step in the right direction.

“Speed was never really talked about. Had I known now what I know then, I would have absolutely had my kids take this course just to learn the outcome of your actions,” she said. “This isn’t just about those teen drivers alone. It’s about the effect of what their driving can also do to everybody around them.”

The course is optional and costs $65 to take.

Boyd said they hope to educate new drivers so they can be as confident as possible when behind the wheel.

“It’s okay that they made a mistake, but it’s even more important to learn from it and to make smarter choices for the future because it’s not just that individual student on the road. There are hundreds of Iowans on the road every day and everybody wants to get home safe,” Boyd said.

The course can also be taken even if the driver doesn’t have a violation on their license. And while it’s geared towards younger drivers, anyone facing a suspension with an intermediate-level license can take the course.

For more information, click here.

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