Iowa
How the Iowa Lakes baseball team is trying to move on from a deadly crash
Iowa Lakes baseball coach Chris Witzke on his team being back
Iowa Lakes Community College baseball coach Chris Witzke talks about his team returning to the field following a deadly bus crash.
ESTHERVILLE – Iowa Lakes Community College baseball player Preston Miller sits in a chair during the team’s practice on March 12 at the Christen Activity Complex and puts balls from a bucket into a machine plugged into the wall.
Miller, a pitcher and outfielder for the Lakers, is helping many of the team’s infielders get reps as the machine fires the balls at them, bouncing across the floor, simulating grounders that may be hit to them.
“I’m not cleared to play so this is about all I can do,” Miller says.
Miller was one of the members of the team injured in a bus accident on the way to Arkansas for a series of games on Feb. 11. Teammate Carter Johnson died that day. Many others, including Miller, were injured.
Despite not being able to play, Miller is one of the fortunate ones, suffering injuries to his shoulder and back, meaning he could return to the field at some point this season.
“It’s unsure right now,” Miller sadly says.
Miller’s absence is one of the many giant holes the Iowa Lakes baseball team is trying to fill. While the team is back on the field, the Lakers haven’t been the same since that tragic day.
Everything has changed for the team that began the season with high hopes. Now, simply playing is a victory for the Lakers, who are trying to move on yet still remember what they lost that day.
“It sucks that happened, but it’s made us stronger at the end of the day,” said Iowa Lakes infielder Blake Evans.
A season full of hopes for Iowa Lakes and Carter Johnson
Iowa Lakes baseball coach Chris Witzke thought this was going to be the breakout season for his team. Witzke, a former assistant coach for the Lakers, saw his team struggle during his first two seasons at the helm. But the 2026 campaign was going to be different.
Witzke had a lineup full of big bats that he thought could challenge the program’s single-season record for home runs. Despite the pitching staff being young, he viewed it as the best collection of arms they had during his tenure, good enough to make a run at a winning record.
“I think a 20-win team (was) very realistic,” Witzke said.
There were other reasons for excitement as well. One of them was Johnson, a 6-foot, 180-pound freshman outfielder from Rapid City, South Dakota. The right-handed hitting and throwing Johnson could run the bases well and had a ton of potential, Witzke said.
Johnson had been a standout football player in high school and had yet to truly focus on baseball. With Johnson now giving his full attention to baseball, Witzke figured he could be a standout on the diamond.
But opportunities were difficult to come by early on, with Witzke wanting to give some of the early chances for playing time to some of his returners. Still, Johnson made an impact on his coaches and teammates with his heart and hustle.
Johnson, who had dreams of playing baseball at the Division I level, was eager to get that opportunity at the junior college and impressed the Lakers with his defense. He’d been so good that Witzke used him as one of his first outfielders off the bench early in the season.
Witzke wasn’t the only one who liked what he saw. Iowa Lakes pitcher Luke Holcomb was amazed at how Johnson played in the outfield. He saw balls get driven into the gap and appeared to be headed for double. Johnson typically tracked them down, sometimes making a diving catch to rob a player of a hit.
“He was an absolute athlete and he could also hit the crap out of the ball,” Holcomb said.
Because of all of those intangibles, Johnson was someone Witzke wanted to land for a long time. But the skillset wasn’t the only part of his game that stood out. Witzke loved how happy Johnson was and remembers seeing him smile from ear to ear when he made his visit to the school’s campus in Estherville.
Baseball brought out that kind of joy for Johnson, who was affectionately known as “Tater.” The nickname came the day he was born as his dad Jeff watched a spring training game with the Chicago Cubs.
“Whoever the announcer was that game said, ‘It’s going, it’s going, it’s gone — he hits a tater,’” Jeff Johnson said. “And I looked down at him and I go, ‘Tater, that’s going to be your nickname — you’re going to grow up and hit home runs.’”
While Carter Johnson played sparingly during the first four games of the season, going 0-for-2 in the one game he appeared in, there were still high hopes for him. With the hard work he had been putting in and the potential he had, Johnson was on the verge of getting more playing time.
He was especially eager for the team’s upcoming trip to Harrison, Ark., for a three-game series with North Arkansas College. Jeff Johnson said his son was expected to get the first start of his college career during the trip.
It was an exciting opportunity for the Lakers to show just how good they could be this season. For Johnson, it was a huge opportunity to show what he could do.
But it never came.
“It was something I never want to see again”
On Feb. 11, the Lakers began their trip to North Arkansas College. A total of 33 people were on a bus, with the remainder of the team in a van driving behind it for the nearly nine-hour trip.
About 70 miles south of the school’s campus, the journey came to an unexpected end. According to an Iowa State Patrol report, the 74-year-old driver of the team bus failed to negotiate a curve they came upon.
An overreaction led the bus to roll over into a ditch while on Iowa Highway 4, west of Twin Lakes and south of Pomeroy.
Evans watched it all unfold from the van in horror.
“It looked like he (the driver) tried to come back up and just went down,” Evans said.
The scary scene sent everyone on the bus flinging and flying in different directions. Iowa Lakes sophomore Adam Timm, who was on the bus, grabbed a poll and hung on for dear life.
According to the report, two passengers were ejected from the bus and trapped under the vehicle. Evans and others in the van rushed to their aid, trying to pull teammates out of the bus.
Some used a hole that was ripped in the top of the bus to climb out. Others used the emergency door, which was kicked out, to escape.
One of the many injured was Witzke, who suffered a concussion along with some bumps, bruises and two black eyes. He was hurt so much that he isn’t even entirely sure if he was thrown from the vehicle or not.
But one thing he clearly recalls is getting away from the bus and seeing the damage.
“I remember being terrified to go see what the inside looked like,” Witzke said.
The scene was haunting and horrific. Holcomb, who was knocked out from the crash, remembers regaining consciousness and seeing blood everywhere.
Timm spotted his roommate Jaxon Hermann, a right-handed pitcher for the Lakers. Hermann was conscious but looked lost in the moment. It took several minutes for him to get his surroundings straight.
It was later revealed that Hermann suffered four fractured vertebrae, a spinal bruise, a lacerated spleen, partially collapsed lungs, a large laceration on his elbow and two areas of bleeding on his brain.
Then there was Johnson. When his teammates spotted him, they began performing CPR. Holcomb, the first to discover him, knew it was helpless as soon as he checked his pulse.
“There was nothing,” Holcomb said.
Medical personnel who rushed to the scene tried in vain to save him. Johnson was just 19.
All 33 passengers on the bus were transported to hospitals throughout the state. Two were taken to Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines and 10 were taken to UnityPoint Health Trinity Regional Medical Center in Fort Dodge.
The other remaining passengers went to area hospitals for evaluation. For many of them, it’s still a blur. But what they do remember, teammates and coaches hurt and one dead, haunts them.
“It’s something I never want to see again,” Holcomb said.
What’s next? The Lakers decide to play and honor their late teammate
About two weeks after the crash, the Iowa Lakes baseball team gathered for a meeting. The topic was the remainder of the season. The Lakers had lost Johnson and several other key members who were expected to miss the rest of the season with their injuries.
Could they go on? Should they?
Witzke had given the team some time off to be with family and not think about baseball. When they gathered again in the school’s auditorium, coaches handed out pens and paper and put it to a vote.
Witzke had players write down their names on the ballots, but only for him and administrators to see, so he could know if certain players needed more time. Outside of those players, the vote was overwhelmingly in favor of taking the field again this season.
Not everyone agreed. But Johnson was a huge factor in the decision of the players who did want to return.
“I think in the end we all kind of agreed that we wanted to out and honor him and play for him,” Evans said.
The decision to come back this season wasn’t easy. But some of the pressure was relieved when the team made the trip to South Dakota for Johnson’s funeral. Johnson’s parents picked out a blue casket with a bronze baseball and glove on it. They bought plots for the entire family at a cemetery that Johnson drove by every day for baseball practice.
At the funeral, his dad spoke to the team and urged them to play. Jeff Johnson figured that’s what his son would want. Besides, he didn’t want the players’ lives to be defined by the wreck and the death of “Tater.” He thought playing would help them think about his son.
“I want them to remember ‘Tater’ for the good times that they had,” Jeff Johnson said.
When the team eventually returned to practice, there were reminders of the accident everywhere. Carter Johnson was gone. So were many other players still recovering from the crash. Only some of the team’s pitchers and a handful of position players were there.
Witzke kept things simple that night, going through the basics with some light drills as the team tried to get back on its feet. The hope was that it could be helpful for the mind, body and spirit after all they’d been through. But baseball could only help so much.
“The first practice was a little awkward,” Witzke said.
Every day has gotten a little bit better. More and more players have joined. Still, the team isn’t at full strength and won’t ever be this season, with Witzke expecting several players to miss the rest of the campaign. One they’ll never get back is Johnson.
While Johnson isn’t around anymore, he’s still with them in spirit. The team and the school plan to honor him throughout the season. Players said they will write his name on their hats or tape for games. Iowa Lakes has already announced a scholarship in Johnson’s name.
Witzke said the school is retiring his No. 8 and will have a plaque put in honoring him at the field. The coach added that Bud’s Cafe, a favorite stomping ground for Johnson, will name an item on the menu after him.
Johnson’s parents are making sure he’s never forgotten either. The morning of the team’s first game back on March 13 in Minnesota, Jeff Johnson got on his son’s phone and pull up the app the Lakers use to communicate. He wrote out a message telling them he loved them and urged them to play for his son.
“Hopefully that gave them some inspiration,” Jeff Johnson said.
The wounds are still fresh. Jeff Johnson planned to fly to Minnesota to surprise the team before their first game. At the last minute, he decided not to due to severe weather. His wife was driving another one of their sons to a hockey game in North Dakota.
The thought of another accident and possibly losing them terrified Jeff. So he stayed back and made the drive with them. Instead of attending the game, he watched from home on his phone. Midway through, he ventured to the cemetery and sat next to his son’s grave, holding up the phone for him to see.
The Iowa Lakes team is still grieving. There are constant reminders of the crash and Johnson. His absence and the absences of others at practices are impossible to miss.
Getting back on a bus for the first time following the accident wasn’t easy. For many of them, the trip to Carter Johnson’s funeral was the first. But there will be more. Witzke addressed it all with them early on.
“Coach made a good point here a few weeks ago that ‘If you want to continue your collegiate career or really doing anything in life, you’re going to have to ride a bus,’” Holcomb said.
Some of the emotional scars from that tragic day will never heal. The memories are impossible to forget. Baseball has been a welcome distraction, but it can only do so much.
Now that the Lakers are playing games, that may help as well. Despite some missing pieces to the player puzzle, Witzke still believes his team can accomplish big things. They certainly have some extra motivation for the remainder of the season.
They are playing for Johnson and the other teammates who can’t take the field. Some players have yet to return to campus, but they have stayed in touch and vowed to continue the season and find ways to get through it.
Together.
“Everybody says family,” Witzke said. “Everybody says brother in this world, in the athletic world. This year and especially after the crash, we felt it more than ever.”
Tommy Birch, the Register’s sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He’s the 2018, 2020, 2023 and 2025 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468.
Football season continues to grow closer, and a clear sign of that is the preseason recognition for top talents coming to life.
The Iowa Hawkeyes once again have a roster featuring future NFL talent that can compete at the highest level in the collegiate ranks.
Entering 2026, the Hawkeyes feature five stars making an appearance on the preseason All-American and All-Big Ten teams from Phil Steele, one of the nation’s top college football analysts.
Phil Steele Preseason All-America/All-Big Ten
First-Team All-America Third-Team All-America First-Team All-B1G Second-Team All-B1G Third-Team All-B1G Fourth-Team All-B1G — HawkeyeFBNotes (@HawkeyeFBNotes) June 15, 2026
▪️Kade Pieper
▪️Zach Lutmer
▪️Kade Pieper
▪️Trevor Lauck
▪️Zach Lutmer
▪️Eli Ozick
▪️DJ Vonnahme
Phil Steele Preseason All-American selections
Receiving the highest honors of the bunch is Iowa offensive lineman Kade Pieper, a Phil Steele Preseason First-Team All-American.
Pieper, who snubbed the NFL draft this past year, which would have seen him drafted, elected to come back to the Hawkeyes for another season. His talent is through the roof, and he is garnering first-round NFL buzz as well.
Getting a nod as a Preseason Third-Team All-American is the versatile Zach Lutmer, who will do a little bit of everything for Iowa, from playing cornerback to safety to even a linebacker-esque role at times.
Phil Steele Preseason All-Big Ten selections
Phil Steele’s Preseason All-Big Ten honors, of course, include Kade Pieper and Zach Lutmer, First-Team and Second-Team All-Big Ten selections, respectively.
Also appearing as a Preseason Second-Team All-American is another Iowa offensive lineman, Trevor Lauck. Returning, just like Pieper, Lauck enters 2026 with expectations higher than before to be a steadying presence up front.
Eli Ozick, Iowa’s kicker who transferred in from North Dakota State, earned Third-Team All-Big Ten recognition, while tight end DJ Vonnahme received a nod as a member of the Fourth-Team All-Big Ten team.
Did Phil Steele get it right?
Yes and no.
Kade Pieper belongs in the All-American conversation. He is that good and should be dominant for Iowa on the offensive line. This is the good.
Putting Zach Lutmer as a Third-Team All-American is understandable, but a Second-Team All-Big Ten selection feels like we are underselling just how good Lutmer can be for Iowa this year.
The one that stands out the most is where DJ Vonnahme is slotted in. Leading Iowa in receiving yards last year with limited action, he proved he can be the go-to target in the passing game.
With an offseason under his belt and more time in Tim Lester’s offense, Vonnahme looks to be a featured weapon for the Hawkeyes’ offensive attack.
I am not sold the Big Ten has four tight ends that will be better or featured more than DJ Vonnahme will be for the Iowa Hawkeyes.
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IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – The Iowa City Community School District Board of Education has hired Amy Kortemeyer as the district’s new interim superintendent, effective July 1, 2026.
Kortemeyer brings more than three decades of experience in education, including several leadership roles within ICCSD.
She previously served as the district’s deputy superintendent from 2021 to 2023, assistant superintendent from 2016 to 2021, and director of elementary schools in 2015.
As of recent, Kortemeyer served as superintendent of the Linn-Mar Community School District.
Background and qualifications
Kortemeyer has held leadership roles in both Iowa City and Linn-Mar, serving as a superintendent, district-level curriculum leader, elementary principal and a classroom teacher.
She holds a superintendent’s certification and a master’s degree in elementary reading and language arts from the University of Northern Iowa, and a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Iowa.
In 2020, Kortemeyer was named a School Administrators of Iowa Central Office Administrator.
In 2016, she was selected for the American Association of School Administrators Aspiring Women Leaders Program.
Board response
“Amy brings a wealth of experience, a deep understanding of our district, and a proven record of educational leadership,” said Ruthina Malone, president of the Iowa City Community School District Board of Directors.
“We are confident her leadership will bring stability to the district and gain confidence back from the community in our financial situation. Amy has the skillset to really serve our district well as our interim superintendent, and we are excited to work with her.”
Kortemeyer said she is honored to return to the district.
“I am honored by the opportunity to return to the Iowa City Community School District as interim superintendent,” Kortemeyer said. “Having previously served here, I know firsthand the dedication of our educators, staff, students, families, and community members. I am grateful to work in collaboration with the Board and our employees to provide leadership during this time of transition as we support student success, strengthen relationships, and prepare the district for its next leader.”
Role and responsibilities
As interim superintendent, Kortemeyer will work with the Board of Directors, district staff, students, families and community partners.
Her role will include supporting the district’s strategic priorities and preparing for the transition to a permanent superintendent.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.
Wells Fargo Arena signage removed in preparation for Casey’s Center
See Wells Fargo Arena signage be removed from the arena in preparation for the venue’s renaming to the Casey’s Center on July 1, 2025.
The Iowa Events Center could soon get a new operator as Polk County leaders consider putting the complex’s management contract up for bid for the first time since its opening.
Polk County officials are poised to bid out a management contract for the Iowa Events Center complex in downtown Des Moines as its current agreement with the Oak View Group expires this year.
Polk County supervisors in mid-June voted 3-2 to hire the event center’s representative, JLL Consulting, to help select and oversee its next operator during the first year. That agreement will cost $197,500, county documents show. Outgoing supervisors Angela Connolly and Tom Hockensmith voted against the move.
Connolly said the county could use a consultant to better understand the complex’s operations and budget. Still, she and Hockensmith agreed it would be difficult for a new firm to outdo Oak View Group’s success.
“And it just seems to me that we are trying to fix something here that is not broken,” Hockensmith said.
The county-owned Iowa Events Center complex is Des Moines’ primary convention center and arena. The complex includes the EMC Expo Center — previously Hy-Vee Hall — Community Choice Convention Center and the Casey’s Center. Formerly the Wells Fargo Arena, the nearly 17,000-seat arena was renamed the Casey’s Center in July 2025.
The events center has hosted acts such as Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift and The Eagles.
Oak View Group has managed the events center since acquiring in 2021 its original contractor, Global Spectrum/Spectra, which had held the contract since 2004. The firm describes itself as a full-service venue management company that helps clients host sports, live entertainment and conventions, according to the complex’s website.
The Iowa Events Center brought in about $1.8 million to the county in fiscal year 2025, which began July 1, 2024, general manager Chris Connolly told the Des Moines Register. As they close out the 2026 fiscal year, they’re projecting about $2 million in revenue. In the 2024 fiscal year, the events center had its best operating year, raking in more than $3 million, Connolly said.
He points to the firm’s role in selling the naming rights of the arena to Casey’s and the expo center to EMC Insurance. Before the arena opened in 2005, Wells Fargo paid $11.5 million for the naming rights for 20 years. Casey’s paid $18.3 million to have the rights for 10 years.
Beyond the numbers, “we’ve forged relationships with these people for years and think that that is huge,” he said of partnerships with corporations like Casey’s and EMC.
Connolly said the Oak View Group was told last fall that the county would likely hire a consultant and the management contract could be out for bid. That’s standard practice, he said.
“None of it was a surprise. We get it,” Connolly said. “Like I said, I think our performance speaks for itself, so I’m not worried about that. If a consultant wants to come in and take a look at it, maybe there’s some efficiencies that can be improved.”
He said Oak View Group would bid on the contract should the county issue a request for proposals.
“I almost see this as going through a process … and whatever direction that goes, we’ll be ready for it,” Connolly said.
Outgoing supervisor chair Matt McCoy told colleagues that bringing in JLL Consulting to help oversee a competitive bid process affirms the county’s responsibility to be transparent with taxpayers about its contracts.
“You do RFPs with long-term partners to keep each other honest and to make sure that you’re getting a rigorous review of investment of Polk County taxpayer dollars,” he said.
“And to just say we’re not going to do that, to me, it shorts the taxpayer. It tells the taxpayer that, you know, we have such a cozy relationship that we don’t even need to go out and check our numbers,” McCoy added.
Hockensmith pushed back, saying that Oak View Group’s revenue numbers are undisputed and calling McCoy’s comments vindictive.
Supervisor Mark Holm said he views the action as primarily bringing JLL on board to evaluate operations and budgeting for the future.
JLL Consulting will help Polk County build a framework for the new operator contract, which includes ways to measure the complex’s success and details on monitoring the facility’s condition, according to county documents.
Virginia Barreda is the Des Moines and Polk County government reporter for the Register. She can be reached at vbarreda@dmreg.com.
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