DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) – Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds ordered all flags in the state to be flown at half-staff on Monday, to honor the lives lost in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel by the terrorist organization Hamas.

In the attack, 1,200 lives were lost, including at least 40 Americans, and at least seven American hostages are still being held by the Iran-backed terrorist group.

“The hearts of Iowans go out to the innocent Israeli families and American citizens killed by Hamas. Iran and its terrorist proxies continue to attack as Israeli forces fight to protect their people against the forces of evil,” Gov. Reynolds said. “Iowa stands, as it always has, with Israel.”

On Monday, flags will be flown at half-staff at the State Capitol Building and on all public buildings and grounds across the state until sunset.

Residents, businesses, schools, municipalities and other government subdivisions are encouraged to do the same.

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Isolated thunderstorms brought some gusty winds and much-needed rain to parts of central and eastern Iowa late Thursday and early Friday morning.

After completely eliminating drought conditions this summer, dry weather has crept back into the state in recent weeks.

What were the rainfall totals in Des Moines?

Des Moines received 0.24 inches of rain since Thursday.

The last time the city saw more than a trace of rain was Sept. 22, when 0.31 inches were recorded. A total of 0.6 inches of rain fell in September, well short of the 3.18-inch normal for Des Moines, according to the National Weather Service.

Ankeny reported 0.05 inches of rain and Ames received no rain.

How much rain did Iowa get?

The isolated storms brought less than an inch of rain to cities across the state.

Here is where the most rain fell across Iowa, according to the Iowa Environmental Mesonet:

• Burlington: 0.8 inches
• Ottumwa: 0.71 inches
• Oskaloosa: 0.44 inches
• Mount Pleasant: 0.37 inches
• Muscatine: 0.28 inches

Iowa City reported 0.21 inches of rain.

What is the forecast for the weekend?

Sunny conditions will continue through the weekend for most of Iowa.

The overnight rain will keep temperatures a little cooler for Friday, with a high forecast around 75 degrees.

Summer-like weather returns on Saturday with sunny skies and a high near 90 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. Sunday cools back down with a high around 74 degrees.

Iowa State football fans will have a warm tailgate in Ames on Saturday with a high near 90 degrees. The temperature could still be in the mid-80s at kickoff Saturday evening.

In Iowa City, Saturday will have a high around 88 degrees with temperatures dropping back to the mid-70s for Sunday.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – The University of Iowa has seen big success in its new ‘Risk Management and Insurance” program.

Iowa has had classes for insurance for decades, but students would only be able to obtain a certificate for completing the courses. In the last year, the school said it was ranked 8th in the country.

“I have one more to take next semester, and I am taking three currently,” said Will Eastman, an Iowa senior.

Eastman is one of 200 students currently taking part in the University of Iowa Tippie College of Finance ‘Risk Management’ major. Before this year, Eastman studied finance, but when he learned adding a second major would include 5 classes, he jumped at the opportunity. He plans to get into the health insurance field when he graduates next Spring.

“Everyone was jumping on it because of how easy and how good of a sale it is,” said Eastman.

Tippie School of Finance Professor Martin Grace said being ranked 8th in the country was a novelty this year – that next year would be the real test, but the program was something he said brings a lot more to the state of Iowa than people might think.

“In most states, the insurance industry is around 2% of the state’s economy, here, it’s five times that or more,” Grace said.

The new program comes at a time when some Iowans were starting to see insurance companies pulling out of the state of Iowa. We reported that 5 companies left Iowa last year due to losses of billions of dollars from storm damage. That included the 2020 derecho, which caused $10 billion in damage in Iowa.

“The whole world is having larger and larger claims because we live in more dangerous areas, more risky areas,” said Grace.

It’s challenges like this that Eastman said he had learned about and was ready to take to his new career when he graduates.

“A lot of us students were drawn in because we weren’t just talking about definitions and how auto or home insurance, we were talking about unique real-world problems that are happening now in current events,” said Eastman.

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