Iowa

Here’s how you can help Iowa communities recover after last week’s tornadoes

Published

2 years ago

April 29, 2024

Here’s how you can help Iowa communities recover after last week’s tornadoes

At least 17 tornadoes occurred in Iowa on April 26, causing damage in several counties and significant destruction, including one death, in the small Pottawattamie County town of Minden.

That is the latest count from the National Weather Service in Des Moines based on preliminary reports and completed storm surveys as teams continue to evaluate damage and determine ratings for additional tornadoes in the coming days.

If you want to help support the communities and people impacted by the severe weather, here’s how.

How can I help, Minden, Iowa recover from the tornado?

Minden remained closed off to the general public as of Monday afternoon due to debris and the use of heavy equipment in the town. As a result, officials are asking that volunteers and organizations don’t self-deploy to the area, according to a Pottawattamie County news release.

Cleanup efforts and securing infrastructure began during the weekend, and as needs arise and safety conditions improve, officials will announce volunteer opportunities.

Monetary donations are encouraged for those who wish to donate to help people affected by the Minden tornado, who can then purchase what they need, according to the news release.

How to make Minden-specific donations will be announced in the coming days. Currently, people can make donations to the Southwest Iowa Emergency Relief Fund at givewesterniowa.org to support areas impacted in the region, according to the news release.

Readers’ Watchdog: Home damaged by weekend storms? Here’s what you need to know

How can I help Pleasant Hill, Iowa recover from the tornado?

Take an aerial look at the tornado damage Pleasant Hill suffered

A tornado swept through Pleasant Hill Friday, April 26, damaging a number of homes and power lines.

Provided by Polk County Iowa

The Pleasant Hill tornado, classified as an EF2, lasted roughly 12 minutes and caused one injury and damage to nearly 20 homes.

The city is not asking for physical donations, according to a news release on April 27. Financial donations can be made through the Disaster Recovery Fund, which the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines has activated following the severe storms and tornado that affected Pleasant Hill.

Grants are awarded to community-based organizations and service providers responding to a disaster and grants are made to meet the needs not already being addressed by existing resources and programs, according to the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines.

Pleasant Hill’s Facebook page encourages people needing assistance or wanting to offer assistance to call 211.

More: Parking is not allowed on some Pleasant Hill streets as crews clean up tornado debris

Looking for another way to help? Round up your purchase at Casey’s

Shoppers can round up their purchases at Casey’s stores in Iowa, Nebraska and Oklahoma as part of a campaign supporting the American Red Cross through May 10, said Katie Petru, a spokesperson for the convenience store chain.

Here are tips to avoid scams after disasters

People impacted by natural disasters such as a tornado should be aware of fraudulent contractors that take advantage of people in need of repairs.

The Iowa Attorney General’s Office has some tips if you hire a contractor. Here are several:

Work with an established, reputable local contractor.
Legitimate contractors rarely solicit through door-to-door, so be skeptical about who shows up at your home.
Avoid paying large sums of money to a contractor in advance. If you have to make a partial advance payment for materials, make your payment out to the supplier and the contractor and insist on a mechanic’s lien waiver in case the contractor fails to pay others.

People should also watch for scammers posing as officials with government disaster assistance agencies, according to the Federal Trade Commission. You can spot an imposter because they’ll demand money.

But scams aren’t limited to those impacted by a natural disaster.

People wanting to help those impacted by a natural disaster should be aware of scammers seeking donations for disaster relief. Donate to trusted, well-known charities and verify its legitimacy through its official website as scammers may create fake charities during natural disasters, according to the FTC.

Paris Barraza is a trending and general assignment reporter at the Des Moines Register. Reach her at pbarraza@registermedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza.

Source link

Click to comment

Iowa

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

Published

2 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.

Source link

Iowa

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

Published

12 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.

Iowa High School Baseball Leaders

Home Runs

Tru McBride, Fort Dodge, 9
Colton Roemmich, West Des Moines Valley, 9
Brandon Bea, Davenport North, 8
Kamden Jorgensen, Saydel, 8
Gabe Blanshan, Urbandale, 7

Running Batted In

Callan Koch, Sioux City East, 38
West Cole, Mason City Newman Catholic, 37
Tru McBride, Fort Dodge, 36
Chance Georgius, Roland-Story, 34
Ty Heydon, Coon Rapids-Bayard, 34

Stolen Bases

Aiden Ferry, Roland-Story, 38
Tate Garman, Algona, 33
Titan Foster, Nodaway Valley, 32
Tate Moulton, Grand View Christian, 30
Cael Wishman, Baxter, 29

Runs Scored

Cal Jepsen, Sioux City East, 45
Aiden Frey, Roland-Story, 43
Cal Heydon, Coon Rapids-Bayard, 41
Kolton Schiltz, Fort Dodge, 40
Colton Wight, Martensdale-St. Marys, 39

Hits

Colton Wight, Martensdale-St. Marys, 39
Cal Jepsen, Sioux City East, 38
Callan Koch, Sioux City East, 36
Ty Heydon, Coon Rapids-Bayard, 35
Lucas Kelley, Des Moines Roosevelt, 34

Doubles

Joe Nilles, Sioux City North, 13
Colton Wight, Martensdale-St. Marys, 13
Lucas Kelley, Des Moines Roosevelt, 12
Brett Harris, Western Dubuque, 12
Brooks Bond, Lewis Central, 11

Triples

Callan Koch, Sioux City East, 7
Will Nesler, Ankeny Centennial, 5
Jacob Pierro, Dubuque Wahlert Catholic, 5
Lucas Kelley, Des Moines Roosevelt, 5
Cal Jepsen, Sioux City East, 4

Total Bases

Colton Wight, Martensdale-St. Marys, 68
Tru McBride, Fort Dodge, 68
Bryce Pauly, Davenport North, 67
Cal Jepsen, Sioux City East, 65
Ty Heydon, Coon Rapids-Bayard, 62

Pitching Wins

Tyler Etten, Urbandale, 9
Chase White, Dyersville Beckman Catholic, 7
Colton Moffit, Baxter, 7
Connor Mullenbach, Saint Ansgar, 6
Aidan Nielsen, Don Bosco, 6

Earned Run Average (min. 18 innings pitched)

Connor Mullenbach, Saint Ansgar, 0.00
Luke Vestal, Pleasantville, 0.00
Ryan Stedman, West Des Moines Valley, 0.24
Will Litton, Iowa City Regina Catholic, 0.25
Judd Jirovsky, Grundy Center, 0.26

Strikeouts

Colton Moffit, Baxter, 85
Brody Wangsness, North Butler, 75
Lincoln Roethler, Denver, 71
Owen Klocksiem, Louisa-Muscatine, 67
Cooper Chizek, Emmetsburg, 65

Opponents Batting Average Against (min. 18 innings pitched)

Macklin Loftus, Logan-Magnolia, .017
Jack Wedemeier, Waverly-Shell Rock, .065
Teagan Brunk, Shenandoah, .069
Ryan Stedman, West Des Moines Valley, .072
Bronx Siebersma, MVAOCOU, .075

Saves

Beckham Simon, West Liberty, 4
Deacon Kucera, Cedar Rapids Kennedy, 4
Graham Rima, Pleasant Valley, 4
Gavin de Jesus, Waukee, 4
Easton Goodwin, Waterloo Columbus Catholic, 3

Innings Pitched

Colton Moffit, Baxter, 43
Tyler Etten, Urbandale, 38.2
Owen Galvin, Denison-Schleswig, 38
Tallon Crandall, Carroll, 37.1
Austin Remster, Melcher-Dallas, 37.1

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Source link

Iowa

Rain brings second week of relief in Iowa drought monitor map

Published

22 hours ago

June 18, 2026

Press Room

Rain brings second week of relief in Iowa drought monitor map

Drought conditions in Iowa improved for a second consecutive week, though areas of moderate drought expanded in parts of the state.

The U.S. Drought Monitor offers a state-by-state tracking of drought conditions nationwide. New maps and forecasts are released each Thursday. What are the current drought conditions in Iowa?

U.S. Drought Monitor map: How much of Iowa is in a drought?

The latest Drought Monitor report, released on Thursday, June 18, showed about 46% of Iowa experiencing some form of drought. This continues the streak of conditions improving week to week in Iowa. The previous report, released on June 11, showed that 63% of the state was experiencing some form of drought.

The most recent report reflects conditions as of 8 a.m. June 16, right as storms were sweeping through Iowa, with parts of eastern Iowa seeing more than 2 inches of rainfall. Light rainfall on June 17 led to areas like Iowa City and Burlington reporting around an inch of rain.

Here is the breakdown of current drought conditions in Iowa:

61% of the state of Iowa is experiencing no drought conditions
39% of Iowa is experiencing abnormally dry conditions
7% of Iowa is experiencing moderate drought conditions
0% of Iowa is experiencing severe drought conditions

Even though drought conditions have improved overall in Iowa, the area experiencing moderate drought increased from the week of June 11, particularly in northern Iowa. Much of Cerro Gordo, Hancock and Kossuth counties are under D1 conditions, with nearby Palo Alto, Winnebago, Floyd and Mitchell also in moderate drought.

Pockets of moderate drought also persist along the northwest edge of Iowa in Lyon, Sioux and Plymouth counties. In eastern Iowa, Jackson, Clinton and Scott counties saw their moderate drought status ease week to week.

Most of the U.S. is facing drought conditions

About 73% of the U.S. is experiencing some level of drought, a 2-percentage-point improvement from the prior week. Some of the most intense drought conditions are in the southeast and the mountain west.

Iowa Drought Monitor tracks conditions weekly

The U.S. Drought Monitor offers a state-by-state tracking of drought conditions nationwide. New maps and forecasts are released each Thursday.

The intensity levels range from abnormally dry, or D0, to exceptional drought, or D4.

Typically with D0 conditions, corn can show drought stress. Pond levels start to decline under moderate drought conditions and soybeans abort pods, according to the Drought Monitor. The Drought Monitor also has a look-back chart that compares drought conditions from 3 months ago up to 1 year ago.

Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at cworth@gannett.com or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.

Source link