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DES MOINES, Iowa (Gray Iowa Capitol Bureau) – Senate File 496 brought sweeping changes to education in Iowa. For months, we’ve heard from educators and the state’s teachers that there wasn’t enough guidance on how to comply with the law. Now, they may finally get it.
At the beginning of the school year, some districts were unsure how to deal with students who wished to go by nicknames. Some districts interpreted that as a possible violation of the law because the student was using a name other than the one assigned at birth. The law requires parental permission for that to happen.
Under the proposed new rules, parental permission is no longer required for nicknames unless a student is requesting to go by another name to affirm their gender identity. The Department of Education says districts still must get parental permission if students wish to use pronouns different than the gender they were assigned at birth.
The new law also says districts cannot provide instruction relating to gender identity or sexual orientation to students in kindergarten through sixth grade.
Also, Senate File 496 requires districts to take out books from school libraries that depict sex scenes. Several schools started making lists of books they believed needed to be removed from school shelves. Now, the Department of Education says books that do not “describe or visually depict a sex act” can remain.
The new guidance states school districts are exempt from that requirement if they share resources with a public library. It only applies to libraries under the direction of school districts.
If these rules are adopted, educators may face penalties starting the first of the year. Under the law, the first time a violation happens, the district will get a written warning. After that, educators may face disciplinary action by the state.
These proposed rules may not be the last word on Senate File 496. Two public hearings are set for January in Des Moines for people who wish to weigh in.
In a statement, the state’s teacher’s union says these proposed rules still don’t do enough to clarify the law.
“The proposed rules do nothing to address the chilling effect the law created. So far, hundreds of book titles have been pulled from shelves across the state and we’ve created ridiculous amounts of paperwork over topics like student nicknames.
“Public education professionals will still continue to spend valuable instructional time trying to meet vague state mandates.”
The Iowa Department of Education declined our request for an interview. The department says it’d be improper to comment during the rulemaking process.
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The Iowa High School State Track and Field Championships took place this weekend at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa, with plenty of Iowa signees, commits, and recruiting targets in action across all four classes of competition.
We discussed which athletes with Iowa ties would be in action a week ago, so let’s dig into the results.
4A
100
Louden Grimsley, Sioux City East – 11th, 10.85
200
Julian Manson, Iowa City West – 23rd, 22.96
4×100
IC West (Mason Woods, Manson) – 10th, 42.33
Southeast Polk (Sam Zelenovich) – 11th, 42.40
Sioux City East (Grimsley) – 19th, 43.18
4×200
Ankeny Centennial (Braeden Jackson) – 1st, 1:26.20
IC West (Woods, Manson) – 3rd, 1:27.17
Sioux City East (Grimsley) – 17th, 1:30.25
Sprint Medley
IC West (Woods, Manson) – 9th, 1:32.88
Urbandale (Elijah Hoyt) – DQ
Distance Medley
SEP (Zelenovich) – 3rd, 3:27.00
IC West (Woods) – 5th, 3:28.54
Urbandale (Hoyt) – 7th, 3:28.73
Shot Put
Colin Whitters, IC West – 7th, 51-07.75
Joey Vanwetzinga, Pleasant Valley – 6th, 52-01.25
Discus
Whitters, IC West – 8th, 156-01
Notes
The only Iowa signee in action among the 4A prospects was Pleasant Valley’s Joey Vanwetzinga, a Class of 2025 recruit who verbally committed to Iowa last summer; he finished 6th in the shot put this weekend.
The most notable other Iowa-associated athletes in action were Mason Woods and Julian Manson, a pair of prospects from Iowa City West who each have fathers on the Iowa staff (LeVar Woods and Jason Manson, respectively). Woods is a three-star athlete in the Class of 2025, while Manson is currently an unrated athlete in the Class of 2026; Woods has an Iowa offer, while Manson has Iowa interest at this time. They competed in several different individual and relay sprint events, highlighted by a third-place finish in the 4×200.
Braeden Jackson, an unrated RB recruit and possible PWO target for Iowa in the Class of 2025, helped Ankeny Centennial claim a state championship in the 4×200 relay.
3A
100
Brevin Doll, ADM – 1st, 10.82
Will Hawthorne, Gilbert – 8th, 11.45
200
Doll, ADM – 1st, 21.50
400
Rayce Heitman, Williamsburg – 5th, 49.62
Jaxson McIntire, Clear Lake – 22nd, 54.00
4×100
ADM (Doll) – 2nd, 41.90
Western Dubuque (Grant Glausser) – 5th, 42.69
Williamsburg (Heitman) – 9th, 42.93
Gilbert (Hawthorne) – 17th, 44.08
4×200
ADM (Doll) – 1st, 1:25:55
Western Dubuque (Glausser) – 9th, 1:29.66
4×400
Williamsburg (Heitman) – 16th, 3:29.73
Sprint Medley
Williamsburg (Heitman) – 2nd, 1:31.97
Gilbert (Hawthorne) – 21st, 1:37.87
High Jump
Derek Weisskopf, Williamsburg – 4th, 6’7″
Shot Put
Weisskopf, Williamsburg – 8th, 53-01.00
Discus
Weisskopf, Williamsburg – 2nd, 179-08
Notes
The star of the 2A ranks — and arguably of the entire weekend — was ADM’s Brevin Doll, who scorched the track with state championships in the 100m and 200m individual events as well as the 4×200 relay — and also helped ADM to a second-place finish in the 4×100 relay for good measure. ADM finished behind Harlan in the 4×100 finals at 41.90, though their 41.33 in prelims would have taken the crown with ease.
Doll had the fastest finals run in the 100m (10.82) across all classes — and that was nothing compared to the state record he set of 10.40 in the prelims. Doll also had the fastest finals run in the 200m (21.50) across all classes, but like the 100m, his prelim time of 21.10 was even faster. Doll made up for missing last year’s state tournament due to injury and then some with his performances this weekend; he was absolutely flying all weekend long.
Doll signed with Iowa last fall and is set to be a running back when he joins the team this summer.
The other notable 3A athlete in action was Williamsburg’s Derek Weisskopf, a 2024 signee who will join the program as a linebacker this summer. Weisskopf wasn’t able three-peat as a state champion in the high jump, finishing in fourth place this year. He also finished second in the discus.
The athlete who topped Weisskopf for the state championship in the discus also has some Iowa ties as it happens — Solon senior Ben Kampman claimed the state title in the discus this year. Kampman is the son of former Iowa star defensive lineman Aaron Kampman. While Ben had some interest from Iowa, he did not receive an offer and committed to Duke last fall on a track scholarship.
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2A
100
Graham Eben, Central Lyon – 23rd, 11.45
Jaxon Paulsrud, Cherokee – 16th, 11.33
DJ Vonnahme, Kuemper – DQ
200
Paulsrud, Cherokee – 10th, 22.67
Eben, Central Lyon – 20th, 22.92
4×100
Central Lyon (Eben) – 21st, 44.39
Roland Story (Fiston Carlson) – 14th, 44.01
Shot Put
Preston Ries, Monticello – 4th, 55-05
Mason Knipp, Columbus Catholic – 6th, 52-06.75
Discus
Ries, Monticello – 5th, 160-09
Notes
It was a quiet year for Iowa-affiliated athletes in the 2A ranks. The standout was Monticello’s Preston Ries, who posted a 4th place finish in the shot put and a 5th place finish in the discus. Ries, who signed with Iowa last fall, will come in to Iowa City as a linebacker this fall.
Preferred walk-on Mason Knipp had a 6th place finish in the shot put. Two other preferred walk-ons, Central Lyon’s Graham Even and Kuemper’s DJ Vonnahme, were also in action this weekend.
1A
4×400
Woodbine (Landon Blum) – 10th, 3:30.74
4×800
Woodbine (Blum) – 8th, 8:20.56
Distance Medley
Woodbine (Blum) – 2nd, 3:33.43
High Jump
Woodbine (Blum) – 5th, 6’3″
Notes
Woodbine’s Landon Blum, a 6’5″ wide receiver and Class of 2027 prospect, was the only 1A athlete with Iowa ties in action at the state tournament. Winfield-Mt. Union’s Cam Buffington, the third of Iowa’s 2024 in-state linebackers, did not compete this weekend.
Blum showed off his speed in a number of events, highlighted by helping Woodbine to a 2nd place finish in the distance medley race. Iowa State is the only school to offer Blum thus far, but his recruitment should heat up as his high school career progresses.
Valley’s Addison Dorenkamp wins third 3000-meter state title
Valley’s Addison Dorenkamp braves the heat, wins third 3000-meter state title
As West Des Moines Valley’s star distance runner Addison Dorenkamp made her way to Drake Stadium for the start of her final state track and field meet Thursday, she began to worry about the heat projected in the forecast.
Her mom, Jan Dorenkamp, saw the irony in her daughter’s concern.
“You better get used to it,” Jan Dorenkamp told Addison. “That’s what it is going to be like down south.”
The meet served as a teaser for what’s to come for Addison Doreknamp when she heads to the University of Alabama to continue her distance-running career. Hot temperatures and humidity will be the norm, most days a lot worse than what she faced on the Blue Oval.
The early results, as usual, were pretty good for the senior as she shook off the concern and secured a 3000-meter title Thursday morning.
As she came off the track, she reached for a water cup and dumped it over her head for instant relief from the heat.
“I was kind of dying,” Dorenkamp joked. “It was the one thing I thought I could do to cool myself down.”
She returned to the meet on Saturday for her final high school event, the 1500. Temperatures hovered in the upper-80s in Des Moines with a much hotter surface on the track.
She refused to be denied on this special day, securing the all-time Iowa record with a 4:25.32. That was over an entire second faster than Sioux City East’s Shelby Houlihan in 2010 (4:26.39).
As public address announcer Mike Jay serenaded Dorenkamp for a special career, he revealed to the crowd that it was Dorenkamp’s 18th birthday. How Jay knew that information was a surprise to her, after not telling many people. She planned to attend and celebrate her fellow seniors at their graduation parties following her state title rather than celebrate her birthday.
As humble as she was, she couldn’t help but express her excitement after that type of performance.
“It’s probably the greatest birthday present I’ve ever gotten,” Dorenkamp said.
Anyone in attendance at the state track meet saw how impressive Dorenkamp’s race was. As Dorenkamp was approaching the record, she said she felt her eyesight go just about black as she ran the final 100 meters in the sweltering heat.
That moment, she proved to herself that heat wouldn’t be too much of a problem when she heads off to college.
“It’s nice to know that I’m not a complete wimp,” Dorenkamp joked.
Dorenkamp ends her career with eight state championships, two in cross country and six in track. In cross country, she holds the third-fastest time in Iowa history at 17:40.1. For track, she swept the distance events three consecutive years and holds the 3000-meter record with her time of 9:23.6 at this year’s Drake Relays. She also holds Drake Relays records in the 1500 and 3000, which she set in April.
Every state title was precious for the Valley senior. However, as she reflects upon one of the most dominant legacies that the Iowa high school community has seen in distance running, she just hopes the next generation is better than her.
“Hopefully I was able to inspire younger athletes along the way who one day will break my records,” Dorenkamp said.
Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23
IOWA CITY — The Iowa football program landed the commitment of 2025 preferred walk-on quarterback, Ryan Fitzgerald on Friday afternoon. Fitzgerald is the son of former Northwestern head coach, Pat Fitzgerald and is a product of Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Illinois.
A heavily recruited quarterback at the Group of 5 and FCS levels, Fitzgerald chose the walk-on opportunity over a variety of scholarship offers from programs like Toledo, Temple, Northern Illinois, Akron, Ball State, Illinois State and others.
During his junior campaign for the Ramblers, Fitzgerald finished with 2,690 yards and 34 touchdowns. He led Loyola Academy to its second-straight state title, finishing the season with a 14-0 record, and was named the Conference Player of the Year for his efforts.
Fitzgerald’s commitment comes exactly a week following his teammate, scholarship 2025 ATH Drew MacPherson. He is the first PWO commit of the 2025 recruiting cycle for Iowa and joins scholarship quarterback and three-star gun-slinger, Jimmy Sullivan in the class.
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