Iowa
Housing Programs Will Help Iowa Recovery
(TNS) – With more than 5,000 homes impacted by recent natural disasters – primarily flooding in Northwest Iowa and tornadoes in Southwest Iowa – state leaders Thursday announced new programs designed to assist Iowans coping with the aftermath.
The programs, from both the state and federal governments, will supply grants, loans and other financial assistance to Iowans whose homes have been damaged or destroyed by the tornadoes and floods.
More than 5,000 homes in Iowa have been impacted by the natural disasters, including roughly 2,000 that have been destroyed, Gov. Kim Reynolds said during a news conference at the Iowa Capitol.
Reynolds said the figures are expected to increase, and that housing has become a top concern in the communities that were hit hardest by the disasters. Iowa, like much of the country, faced a housing shortage even before the recent storms displaced thousands of Iowans.
Many of those Iowans want to stay in their communities, Reynolds said. For that to happen, more housing will be needed.
“We have been developing plans for the state’s immediate and long-term recovery for one of the most urgent needs that we’ve heard at every single stop, almost, that we’ve been at, and that is housing,” Reynolds said.
She described new state programs she said were designed “to address this need for not only temporary housing, but for plans to get permanent housing in place as soon as possible.”
Reynolds highlighted three state and federal programs in particular.
Major General Stephen Osborn , Adjutant General of the Iowa National Guard , provides an update on the state’s natural disaster recovery efforts during a news conference at the Capitol in Des Moines on Thursday.
Housing assistance
The State Disaster Recovery New Housing Grant will provide $50,000 grants to developers who build single-family homes, duplexes and town homes in Iowa counties that fall under the federal disaster declaration.
As of Thursday afternoon, 23 counties were included in that declaration, with Woodbury County being the most recent addition. Reynolds and other state leaders said they expected more counties to be added.
That program is being funded with $10 million of federal pandemic relief assistance funding, the governor’s office said.
The Disaster Recovery Housing Assistance program provides forgivable, five-year loans up to $50,000 for housing recovery needs not covered by insurance or federal assistance. The program is not new – it was established by the Iowa Legislature in 2021, but never funded. The governor’s office said a $6.5 million transfer of state funds will now fund it.
This program is available to impacted Iowans in any of the counties under state disaster proclamations. A list of counties with an active state disaster declaration can be found on the state homeland security department’s website at homelandsecurity.iowa.gov.
Reynolds said the state also will designate for sale to disaster-impacted Iowans five homes newly constructed by the state’s Homes for Iowa program – under which homes are constructed by prison inmates – that are scheduled to be available within the next roughly four months. Each home is 1,200 square feet, features three bedrooms and two bathrooms, and costs $95,000.
Applications for those new programs can be submitted starting Monday at iowagrants.gov.
State working with feds
The state also has applied for federal approval to use a Federal Emergency Management Agency program that traditionally has been used by Southern states in hurricane recovery efforts, Reynolds said.
The program provides temporary housing in impacted communities while displaced residents work toward a more permanent housing solution. Under the program, Iowans in need would be eligible for six-month placements trailers, recreational vehicles or mobile homes.
Iowa has submitted an application to use the program here; a state official said the early signals from the federal government appear to indicate the state will be approved for the program.
A similar FEMA program would provide housing for up to 18 months. The state also has submitted an application for that program.
“The idea is that we work with those survivors, put them into a safe, sound situation, where, as the governor noted, they can work on their long-term housing,” Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Director John Benson said during the news conference. “Some of that will occur relatively quickly if they’re refurnishing their home, have to refurbish it, (that will take) a couple of months. Others will take longer. That’s why we want to work on the long-term housing one with FEMA to get out to that 18 months.”
Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Director John Benson provides an update on the state’s natural disaster recovery efforts during a news conference at the Capitol in Des Moines on Thursday.
New farmer assistance
Reynolds also announced a new program that will reimburse one year of interest paid on federal loans to farmers who are recovering from property damage and losses caused by the severe weather.
Briefings on what the state is doing to help Iowans, businesses and communities recover from the natural disasters were given at Thursday’s news conference by leaders of the state departments on transportation, education, inspections, insurance, health and human services, and natural resources and the Iowa National Guard .
Some examples:
* The Iowa National Guard has deployed 10 high-water clearing vehicles to assist with transportation of people, equipment and supplies in flooded communities.
* The Iowa Department of Transportation has deployed nearly 100 trucks and other pieces of equipment to assist with the removal of debris and other damaged materials.
* The Iowa Department of Education is working with schools that were damaged to help them be ready for the start of the new school year in late August.
* The Iowa Health and Human Services Department is helping recruit volunteers through Volunteer Iowa for cleanup efforts and is preparing to provide behavioral health services in impacted communities.
Reynolds described the response and recovery assistance efforts as a “whole of government effort” that includes federal, state and local action. She in particular praised local government and emergency response officials, some of whom are facing serious disaster recovery issues of their own.
“Iowans are special people. They continue to look out for the needs of others before they take care of themselves,” Reynolds said. “We’re making progress. We know we still have a long way to go. But we’re determined to get there.”
Iowans interested in the various state and federal assistance programs designed to help them recover from recent natural disasters can start at two websites: disasterrecovery.iowa.gov for state assistance and disasterassistance.gov for federal assistance. State grant applications can be submitted at iowagrants.gov.
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©2024 Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier (Waterloo, Iowa)
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
With June rapidly finishing up, that means the Iowa high school softball season is preparing to enter the stretch run of the year.
The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union State Softball Tournament will begin Monday, July 20, in Fort Dodge at Rogers Park, bringing together many of the top teams and players in the state. High School On SI Iowa currently provides a Top 25 state softball power rankings, so now, we need to see who the top players are.
Below are the nominees for the High School On SI Iowa Class 1A Softball Midseason Player of the Year in each classification. Stats listed with the player are from Bound and based on those numbers imputed as of June 26, 2026 at noon CT.
Feel free to vote as many times as you like, with voting set to close on Friday, July 3, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. CT.
High School On SI Iowa Class 1A Softball Midseason Player Of The Year Nominees
Rachel Eglseder, Edgewood-Colesburg, Senior
Eglseder owns a 16-5 record, striking out 225 batters with a 1.66 earned run average while adding 11 extra-base hits and 40 RBI at the plate.
Rylee Mudderman, Kee, Junior
Mudderman continues to be a difficult out, batting .488 this season with two homers, 11 doubles and four triples. She has driven in 38 and scored 35 times, stealing 10 bases.
Faith Shirbroun, St. Edmond, Senior
Speaking of tough outs, Shirbroun owns a batting average of .606 this season, recording seven homers, 17 doubles and five triples. She has driven in 36 and scored 37 times, stealing 22 bases while setting several school records for hitting.
Sydney Lovrien, Clarksville, Senior
The ace for the defending state champions, Lovrien is 13-5 with 100 strikeouts in 86 innings pitched. She also has 23 hits and 21 RBI at the plate.
Sam Kruckenberg, Mason City Newman Catholic, Senior
A veteran now, Kruckenberg owns an 18-4 record with 227 strikeouts and a 1.23 earned run average. She is batting .440 with five homers, 11 doubles and 23 RBI at the plate.
About Our Midseason Player of the Year Voting
High School on SI voting polls are meant to be a fun, lighthearted way for fans to show support for their favorite athletes and teams. Our goal is to celebrate all of the players featured, regardless of the vote totals. Sometimes one athlete will receive a very large number of votes — even thousands — and that’s okay! The polls are open to everyone and are simply a way to build excitement and community around high school sports. Unless we specifically announce otherwise, there are no prizes or official awards for winning. The real purpose is to highlight the great performances of every athlete included in the poll.
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The Iowa chapter of the Land Improvement Contractors of America (LICA) officially opened a new facility on its 80-acre demonstration farm in Marshall County Thursday.
Iowa LICA President Scott Bohle said having classroom and meeting space will make it easier to educate the next generation of professional contractors, along with government employees, lawmakers and students, to help conserve soil and water in the state.
Bohle said the building “gives people a place to gather, collaborate and continue the important work that defines our association.”
Just outside the new space are wetlands, terraces, sediment control basins, bioreactors and other features, which members have built since LICA purchased the farm near Melbourne in 2000.
“We call it the one-stop shop, where you can see anything being put to practice by our landowners,” said Kelby Kiefer, executive director of Iowa LICA.
Together, these “edge-of-field” practices remove 50% of phosphates and almost 100% of the nitrates from the runoff of a 1,000-plus acre watershed, according to the association.
Adding more wetlands, saturated buffers and bioreactors across the state are a key part of Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy. It aims to cut nitrogen and phosphorus losses from farm fields by 41% and 29%, respectively.
The strategy is part of a broader effort to reduce nutrient pollution in the state’s waterways and the Gulf of Mexico by 45% compared to the 1980-96 baseline period. It does not include a target date.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said the state has accelerated edge-of-field practices in recent years, in part through the Batch and Build model. The approach bundles projects in a targeted watershed to reduce costs and save time for farmers and contractors.
Nearly 150 nitrate reducing wetlands and around 500 saturated buffers, bioreactors and multi-purpose oxbows had been built in the state as of 2024. Thousands more will be needed to meet the state’s nutrient reduction targets.
“[Clean water is] something we need to be focused on, and we can be proud of the work that’s happened, but we know that we need to do more,” Naig said. “Buildings like this help.”
Naig said scaling up conservation infrastructure across the state will require more skilled contractors. He described them as the “critical link” between concepts and “getting things on the ground.”
“It’s from that point where you say, ‘We have a design that’s ready to go, a willing landowner,’ but somebody needs to make it happen,” Naig said. “The land improvement contractor sits in that very important spot.”
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Mark Roering returned to Iowa City Regina 30 years after serving as an assistant coach, and in just two seasons, he has transformed the Regals into one of Class 2A’s most dangerous teams.
“I was a senior in college. I just had finished playing baseball myself and was doing high school in the summers. Had one of those magical seasons here losing in the state finals,” Roering said. “I was just ready for something new.”
Prior to being hired at Iowa City Regina in 2024, Roering coached nine seasons at Dowling Catholic, where he helped the Maroons reach the state tournament six times. Regina was below .500 in three of the four seasons before his arrival. His first season at the helm, Regina went 22-6.
“I think the biggest difference is practice. Everybody is so much more locked in. Really that just comes from him. He gets on us everyday, he has to make the drive and hour and a half every day so we want to give that back to him for all the time and effort he’s put into us,” junior Trey Streb said.
Streb also described Roering as a very emotional coach who cares deeply about the team and winning.
The Regals’ bats have become a significant threat. Regina ranks fifth in the state and second in Class 2A with a .379 batting average and has the fourth fewest strikeouts among state teams.
“It’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced and it’s been super competitive and it’s nice to be with people who want to win and will do whatever it takes to win,” senior Emmett Burke said.
The team already sits at 20 wins with eight regular season games remaining.
Roering said the transformation comes when players start believing they can win in any situation.
“Winning is contagious just like losing is contagious,” Roering said. “Kids they start believing and it gets really dangerous you know that they can win no matter what situation they’re in.”
The turnaround has positioned the Regals to make a postseason run. With only one senior on the roster, the team could remain a threat next season.
“No matter what, we’re going to fight and we’re not going to roll over. We’re going to do what we need to do to win,” Burke said.
“We’re big competitors. We don’t accept defeat and I think that’s one of my favorite parts about this team,” Streb added.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.
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