Iowa
Iowa house passes bill requiring parental consent for minors to receive HPV vaccine
DES MOINES, Iowa (IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH) – The Iowa House passed legislation Tuesday requiring parental consent for minors to receive certain vaccines associated with sexually transmitted diseases — a measure that Democrats said could lead to higher cancer rates in Iowa.
Iowa requires parental consent for minors to receive a vast majority of vaccinations. But there’s currently a carveout in Iowa law for human papillomavirus (HPV) and hepatitis B vaccines. Iowans under age 18 can consent, without parental approval, for these vaccines, as they specifically deal with sexually transmitted diseases and infections.
Senate File 304, which passed on a 63-29 vote — would remove this exemption, requiring parental consent for minors to receive HPV and hepatitis B vaccines. Rep. Austin Baeth, D-Des Moines, an internal medicine physician, said the measure was a “pro-cancer bill, period.”
At subcommittee meetings on the measure, advocates representing health care providers and organizations have said HPV is linked with multiple forms of genital cancer, including cervical, penile, anal cancer and vaginal cancers — and that studies have found the HPV vaccine in particular has been linked with much lower instances of cervical cancer especially when a person is vaccinated before age 17.
“We have, with these vaccines, a way to save people’s lives,” Baeth said. “And in a state with the fastest-rising cancer rates, the second highest cancer rate overall, we should be doing more to prevent cancer, not less.”
Rep. Jeff Shipley, R-Fairfield, who supported the bill, said the measure was not limiting access to the HPV vaccine, but ensuring that parents approve of these vaccines being administered to young children.
Rep. Megan Srinivas, D-Des Moines, said the reason why this carveout was introduced in Iowa law in the first place was because there were instances where a parent may not be a trusted adult in a child’s life — including in situations of child abuse or child sexual assault.
“This conversation about needing to always trust our adults does not take the bad actors into account,” Srinivas said. “And what we should be keeping in mind, as we are passing legislation, are the most vulnerable in our society, which are the children that we have been entrusted to protect. By removing one of the most important things we can do in protecting children who might be the victims, we are making a bad decision, and that is why I urge you to vote no on this.”
Rep. Austin Harris, R-Moulton, disagreed with the assertion that the measure was “pro-cancer” — saying it only subjects the HPV and Hepatitis B vaccines to the same requirements as other vaccines.
“Are we pro-polio because we require parental consent?” Harris said. “Pro-measles, pro-mumps, everything else? And I take it personally as someone who has a mother, who is a breast cancer survivor, to be accused of saying, ‘I’m pro-cancer.’”
The measure heads to Gov. Kim Reynolds’ desk for final approval.
Copyright 2026 IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH. All rights reserved.
POLK CITY, Iowa (KCCI) – The summer swimming season may just be getting underway, but the Iowa DNR says there are already some beaches people should not swim at.
As KCCI reports, four Iowa beaches have high levels of E. coli in the first tests of the year: Backbone Beach, Beeds Lake Beach, Pine Lake South Beach, and Bobwhite State Park all had high levels of the bacterial colony.
The DNR tests state beaches every year from Memorial Day to Labor Day for various bacteria.
Big Creek Beach passed its first test of the season. With the beach testing high for bacteria in previous years, families said they were glad the beach tested all clear so far.
“The kids are happy to be playing in the water this year, so I’m glad that they’re able to swim and we’re not as worried,” said Sarah Sarton of West Des Moines.
Health officials urge caution even when water looks clean. Polk County Public Health director Juliann Van Liew said people should avoid consuming the water and use swim goggles when going underwater.
You can look up the water quality monitoring map on the DNR’s website.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.
We at High School On SI previously offered up a list of candidates for the Iowa high school boys soccer player of the year award.
Now, we take a look at some of the best girls high school soccer players in the state of Iowa.
Like with with the High School On SI Iowa High School Boys Soccer Player of the Year Award, the High School On SI Iowa High School Girls Soccer Player of the Year Award will be named in each class following the conclusion of the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union State Soccer Tournament in June.
Here are the nominees for the High School On SI Iowa High School Girls Soccer Player of The Year Award. Stats are official as of Sunday, May 24, 2026 from the Bound website.
High School On SI Iowa High School Girls Soccer Player Of The Year Candidates
Class 3A
- Ilana Vasconez, Ottumwa: The senior leads all players with 48 goals, averaging almost three per match.
- Sloane Moeller, Davenport Central: Moeller is just one goal behind the class lead, as the junior has tallied 47 with 10 assists.
- Callie Stanley, Iowa City Liberty: Both a scorer and distributor, Stanley has 24 goals and 13 assists in 16 matches.
- Izzy Simonini, Waukee Northwest: The top goalscorer on the No. 1 team is Simonini, as the senior has tallie dnine on the year.
- Andie Vanderschaaf, Pleasant Valley: A brick in net, the senior has allowed just five goals in 1,200 minutes, recording 94 saves.
Class 2A
- Nora Barnett, North Scott: Opponents have found it nearly impossible to score on Barnett, as she has allowed just nine goals in 1,145 minutes with 100 saves.
- Hadley Wolfe, Fort Madison: The senior has 38 goals and 13 assists in 15 matches played, as she is the leading goalscorer in the class.
- Addy Wood, Norwalk: Wood leads the No. 1 ranked team in Class 2A with 11 goals, adding six assists.
- Anaka Ott, Waverly-Shell Rock: The senior has registered 22 goals with eight assists this season for the Go-Hawks.
- Irelynn White, Lewis Central: White has put 28 shots into the net and assisted on 11 more for the Titans.
Class 1A
- Maelyn Kluever, Maquoketa: Among the leading players in goals scored this year is Kluever, as the senior has 47 and another 24 assists – which leads Class 1A.
- Morgan Crees, Panorama: Crees has been among the top scorers over the past few seasons, recording 46 this year with 14 assists.
- Meadow Lane, Colfax-Mingo: Just a sophomore, Lane has another 45 goals added to her resume.
- Addyson Shepard, Denver: The sophomore sits atop the Cyclones list with 26 goals in addition to her 17 assists.
- Addy Oetker, Des Moines Christian: One of the top athletes in the state, Oetker has 24 goals and 21 assists on the season.
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The Iowa State Cyclones had to undergo some major changes with their men’s basketball roster this offseason.
Four key rotation players from their incredible 2025-26 team, Tamin Lipsey, Joshua Jefferson, Milan Momcilovic and Nate Heise, won’t be back with the team. However, the Cyclones were able to successfully fill those voids on the roster with five players in the transfer portal and three players in their Class of 2026.
Other programs that have spent the offseason upgrading their rosters may not be as fortunate. The new NCAA eligibility requirements could significantly alter the outlook of many teams across the country, with a particular focus on international players.
After virtually everyone was granted eligibility to play in the 2025-26 season, rule changes came down in May that will impact several programs. Kevin Sweeney of Sports Illustrated named a few players who may no longer be eligible to participate in the 2026-27 season: Quinn Ellis (St. John’s Red Storm), Saliou Niang (LSU Tigers), Márcio Santos (LSU Tigers) and Mantas Rubštavičius (Auburn Tigers).
NCAA eligiblity rules will have major impact on men’s college basketball
Some Iowa State fans will see that and wonder how this could impact players on their team. Head coach T.J. Otzelberger has done a great job with international recruiting in recent years, unearthing gems such as Killyan Toure and Dominykas Pleta in the Class of 2026.
In the Class of 2026, one of Toure’s former teammates, big man Dorian Rinaldo-Komlan, committed to the Cyclones.
Luckily for Iowa State, none of those players are going to be impacted by the new eligibility rules and should maintain their ability to suit up for the Cyclones during the 2026-27 campaign.
Toure played high school basketball at Brewster Academy before coming to Ames. Rinaldo-Komlan is currently with SPIRE Academy. Pleta played in the Porsche Ludwigsburg, which has a professional-level team, but he was with the academy team, which is the equivalent of high school basketball.
Cyclones won’t be impacted by eligibility rule changes
While the rules about international players are constantly changing, all of the players who have come from overseas who are with Iowa State should remain eligible. The focus of the new rules is on players who have professional experience internationally and are older prospects.
That isn’t an area of recruiting that Otzelberger has had to turn to during his tenure with the Cyclones, and thankfully so. He has excelled in finding high school players and anyone in the transfer portal who fit into the game plan they are looking to execute with a focus on defensive intensity.
Iowa State can proceed as they have been, knowing they won’t be losing any players to eligibility concerns because of international professional experience.
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