Iowa
Gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand hears water shortage concerns in western Iowa roundtable
EXIRA, Iowa (Gray Media Iowa Capitol Bureau) – Some western Iowa towns are under boil water advisories. Residents haven’t been able to drink straight from the tap for about two weeks now. Democratic candidate for Governor Rob Sand stopped in to talk to residents of one town.
Tuesday morning, residents in Exira got notice that it’s okay to drink water from the tap again, ending weeks of having to boil water. The Regional Water Rural Water Association says the root of the issue is loss of pressure from high demand.
City Clerk Meg Anderson says they’re exploring alternative water supplies, but they’re beholden to a contract with the utility.
“We hope that we can constructively work together and negotiate something moving forward, but if we can’t, we will pursue those legal options if we need to,” she said.
She says people in town have been resilient, but the outages have had an impact.
“We had restaurants who had to amend their hours or change their menus because they couldn’t use their ice or soda fountains or accrue additional costs. Or businesses who may have had loss of revenue because, you know, they can’t shampoo every customer who comes in the door to get a haircut,” she said.
Rob Sand, Democratic candidate for Governor, stopped in to talk to residents Tuesday.
“State government needs to do more to pay attention to issues like this that maybe don’t affect people that state government this necessarily are important but they should be listening to them because they affect Iowans,” he said.
Sand says there’s likely no silver bullet to solve the town’s water issues and he didn’t offer any solutions of his own, but says lawmakers should’ve worked together this session to address it.
“Hey, we have people over here in this region that don’t have water right now. Here are the statutes that are standing in their way and here are the exceptions we’re going to build into them for situations like this, right. Did that happen? No,” he said.
Mayor Mike Huegerich says demand for water goes up in the summer months, and he’s concerned boil water advisories could come back.
“We’re not out of the woods by no means for this, I mean. They keep saying we need the rain, well it’s raining today, but we need a lot of rain to make up the difference,” he said.
A new connection with a water source in Council Bluffs should relieve their issues but town leaders are skeptical it’s a permanent fix.
Residents in Exira, Earling, and Brayton no longer have to boil their water but people who live in Panama, and Portsmouth still do.
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Conner Hendricks covers state government and politics for Gray Media-owned stations in Iowa. Email him at conner.hendricks@gray.tv; and follow him on Facebook at Conner Hendricks TV on X/Twitter @ConnerReports, and on TikTok @ConnerReports.
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A 14-year-old Dyersville girl has died from injuries caused by a watercraft collision on Clear Lake on the 4th of July.
The crash involved five people in two personal watercrafts and occurred around 5:30 p.m. near the McIntosh Woods State Park boat ramp on a part of the lake called Little Lake, according to a release from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
Passengers on a nearby pontoon immediately helped the victims before the Iowa DNR water patrol and conservation officers, Ventura and Clear Lake fire departments, Iowa State Patrol, Clear Lake Police Department and the Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Office came on scene.
The release does not give the names of the four children involved.
A 35-year-old woman, an 11-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy, all from Greenwood, South Carolina, were treated at the Mercy-One Medical Center in Mason City and released on July 4. A 15-year-old Mason City girl was transferred to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and is in serious condition.
While the investigation is ongoing, Iowa DNR officers have ruled out alcohol or other impairments as contributing factors to the crash, the release states.
Isabelle Foland is a communities reporter for the Register. Reach her at ifoland@registermedia.com.
As the Iowa State Cyclones get set for the 2026 campaign, the program is also looking toward the future and rebuilding a program that was hit hard by departures.
Last season, Iowa State battled a lot of injuries, but was still able to have a pretty good year. However, following the campaign coming to an end and before bowl season kicked off, the team lost head coach Matt Campbell to the Penn State Nittany Lions.
As expected, a lot of players from the program ended up leaving, leaving the team with nearly an entire roster to rebuild. However, new head coach Jimmy Rogers has been able to come in and make a good impression early on.
While Iowa State might not be as talented as they were last year, they have a good coach and a lot of depth. The Cyclones will be hoping that he can develop and get the most out of some of these new players, but the team certainly won’t be competing for a Big 12 title next season.
For Iowa State, with at least this year being a rebuild for the program, they will be looking toward the future. With that comes a need to recruit well, and that is something Rogers and the staff have been impressive at so far.
Iowa State Recruiting Class Shaping Up Nicely
Following the four-star addition of Chuck Alexander, who flipped from the Louisville Cardinals, the 2027 recruiting class is looking really strong right now for Iowa State. According to Rivals, they rank 49th in the country right now, and that is a strong place to be for the team.
With Alexander being the new top recruit for the team, he will be joining a class that has been highlighted by some good offensive talent so far. Running back Isaiah Hansen is regarded as a very good player at his position, and the team also has offensive lineman Will Slagle.
With the three top recruits so far being offensive players, a future core might be starting to come together for Rogers and the program. While the team might be a bit more defensive-minded this year, there is clearly a focus on improving offensively for the future.
Overall, with time still to go, this class could continue to get better. However, it is really encouraging to see what Rogers and the staff have been able to accomplish so far. Recruiting will be key for Iowa State to get back to where they want to be, and they are off to a strong start.
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SOLON, IOWA — As holiday weekend crowds head to Iowa lakes and rivers, state and national law enforcement agencies are urging boaters to make safety a priority — especially when it comes to alcohol and drugs on the water.
The push is part of Operation Dry Water, a national awareness campaign aimed at deterring impaired boating, reducing alcohol and drug-related incidents, and enforcing Iowa’s boating while intoxicated laws.
Iowa Department of Natural Resources officials say the holiday weekend is a time when they often see a spike in enforcement activity. Last year, the Iowa DNR reported interacting with more than 1,200 vessels and issued 382 citations.
Rachel Allis, the Iowa DNR’s boating education coordinator, said conditions on the water can intensify impairment.
“We don’t realize the effect the sun, water, the waves have. Simply stated, you can get dehydrated much quicker when you’re out on your boats,” Allis said. “So, all of those compounds with medication and everything else, so impaired drivers are really what we’re on the lookout for and what we’re concerned for. Nationally, about a third of all incidents occur with an impaired driver.”
At Lake Macbride State Park, boaters and paddlers said they’re also taking steps to avoid trouble on busy waterways.
“All of us love to be out here in nature and Macbride is so pretty. So, it’s just a good togetherness function,” said Angela Ranaud, who was kayaking during the holiday weekend. “Fisherman, we try to stay away from them, so we don’t interfere their catching. We try to stay away from the wakes; they tend to capsize. Other than that kayaks a pretty low danger type of sport, so we just like to be out in the water.”
Corey Scott, a holiday boater at Lake Macbride, said the lake’s horsepower restriction helps keep speeds down between Memorial Day and Labor Day, but he still watches closely for smaller craft and stressed the importance of sober operation.
“Macbride is nice and easy, 9.9 horsepower between Memorial Day and Labor Day,” Scott said. “So, that’s the nice part you don’t have people speeding up and down and everywhere, so really the only thing to look out for is anybody on paddleboats, kayaks, things like that. Again, out here people say well you’re only going 9.9 so it’s not ‘hey you can have a few beers’ and stuff like that; but that’s the main thing to be aware of. Making sure you have a sober driver and just be aware of your surroundings.”
To learn more about boater safety visit Iowa’s DNR website.
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