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Iowa Lottery releases preliminary numbers for fiscal year 2024

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Iowa Lottery releases preliminary numbers for fiscal year 2024


CLIVE, Iowa (KCAU) — The Iowa lottery had record sales and prizes in fiscal year 2024, along with donating almost $107 million to state causes.

According to the lottery’s preliminary numbers, FY 2024 is their second highest proceeds total behind FY 2023. The lottery sales for FY 2024 were almost $490 million, with prizes to players worth a total of more than $312 million.

Downtown block of Pierce Street to close due to watermain replacement project

The Iowa Lottery reports sales increased by 1.7 percent.

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Officials say the results for FY 2024 were due to two big factors: continued growth in sales in scratch games, and a strong year for the Powerball game.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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'Very Scary': Severe Storm Violently Whips Debris Across Iowa Road

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'Very Scary': Severe Storm Violently Whips Debris Across Iowa Road


A family in central Iowa was caught off guard while driving home on Wednesday, July 31, as a powerful storm ripped through the area. Kerri Johannsen captured this footage on her Tesla dashcam as she drove towards her home in Des Moines on Wednesday evening. The video shows strong winds blowing debris and tree branches across the intersection, causing a power flash and the traffic lights to blow. “We saw the wind pick up,” Johannsen told Storyful. “Then as we stopped, the road signs started moving and suddenly winds were blasting the trees and wires all around us, ” she added. “Our kids were in the car with us – it was very scary,” she said. Around the same time, the National Weather Service said they received reports of tree damage in the Des Moines area and warned residents to take shelter. Credit: Kerri Johannsen via Storyful



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Kinze Manufacturing announces layoffs as Iowa ag industry downturn continues

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Kinze Manufacturing announces layoffs as Iowa ag industry downturn continues


Another round of layoffs is hitting Iowa’s faltering agricultural industry sector as Kinze Manufacturing of Williamsburg announced it would idle 193 employees, effective Thursday.

“We deeply regret the necessity of this action. This decision was not made lightly and it is a direct response to current ag market realities,” Kinze President Susanne Veatch said in a prepared statement.

“No other reductions are planned at this time,” Veatch added.

The Williamsburg-based manufacturer, founded 59 years ago, produces planters and grain carts worldwide and is notable for its “yard art” along Interstate 80 west of Iowa City, including a progressively smaller stack of nine of its grain wagons topped by a 1/16th-scale cart replica.

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Posted on Iowa’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN, site, the Kinze layoffs are the latest manifestation of a sluggish farm economy that has seen John Deere pare more than 2,000 jobs since the first of the year in Iowa and Illinois.

More: With thousands of Iowa jobs already cut, how deep will the farm downturn go?

In statements, Deere has projected large farm equipment sales this year would fall 20% to 25% below a year ago, a result of lower commodity prices, higher interest rates and market volatility.

Des Moines’ Bridgestone-Firestone tractor tire plant and other ag equipment makers also have had layoffs.

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Kinze employs 815 workers at its Williamsburg headquarters and manufacturing facilities, which span more than 30 acres under one roof, according to the company’s website.

Kevin Baskins covers jobs and the economy for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at kbaskins@registermedia.com.



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Now that Iowa’s 6-week abortion ban is in effect, what options do women have for care?

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Now that Iowa’s 6-week abortion ban is in effect, what options do women have for care?


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With Iowa’s six-week abortion ban in effect, what options do women have for their reproductive care?

The state’s new law prohibits abortion when fetal cardiac activity can be detected on an ultrasound, typically at about six weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions for rape, incest, fatal fetal anomalies and to save the life of the pregnant woman.

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The state ban drastically limits abortion clinics’ operations and further shifts the legal landscape in the Midwest. Iowa now joins 22 states that have enacted some type of abortion ban since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed reproductive rights nationwide for half a century.

Here’s what women should know:

More: What you should know about Iowa’s 6-week abortion ban that is now in effect

What do abortion laws look like in states surrounding Iowa?

Missouri bans abortion in almost all circumstances. The state law has limited exceptions to save the pregnant woman’s life and to prevent serious risk to the pregnant woman’s physical health.

South Dakota also has a total ban on abortion, except in cases when it’s required to save the pregnant woman’s life. Anyone who provides an illegal abortion could face a felony charge punishable by up to two years in prison.

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Nebraska law bans abortion at 12-weeks pregnancy, with limited exceptions, and requires patients seeking abortions to undergo counseling and a 24-hour waiting period.

Kansas and Wisconsin have less restrictive abortion bans, but those states do not have laws or legal precedence that offer the same protections as other states.

In Kansas, abortion is illegal at 22 weeks of pregnancy. Wisconsin law prohibits the procedure at 22 weeks and requires patients to undergo a 24-hour waiting period before obtaining an abortion.

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Which states surrounding Iowa protect abortion access?

Abortion is protected in Illinois and Minnesota.

There are no gestational limits on abortion in Minnesota, nor any other restrictions surrounding the procedure.

In Illinois, abortion is legal until the pregnancy reaches “viability,” or the stage when a fetus is developed enough to survive outside the uterus without medical help.

What does access to abortion care look like in other states?

Because of Illinois’ and Minnesota’s protections, health care providers and other abortion rights advocates say they will have channel resources or otherwise help Iowa patients travel to these states now that Iowa’s ban is in effect.

Iowa law does not prohibit residents from traveling out-of-state to seek abortion care.

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Just under a dozen clinics throughout Minnesota provide in-person abortion care, meaning some patients may have to travel as far as the Twin Cities to find an appointment. However, that does not include telemedicine and other options meant to help patients access abortion pills through the mail.

Illinois has a much greater availability of in-person abortion clinics, according to abortionfinder.org. That’s on top of virtual providers and abortion pill mail delivery.

Planned Parenthood North Central States President and CEO Ruth Richardson said the organization has been expanding capacity in clinics near Iowa’s border, including the organization’s Mankato clinic in Minnesota. The organization has also expanded clinic space at its location in Omaha.

However, Iowa’s ban comes as Illinois and Minnesota already saw a huge surge in out-of-state patients seeking care last year, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a policy and research organization that supports reproductive health access.

Data shows Illinois experienced the largest increase in the number of patients traveling from other states, with more than 37,000 people traveling into the state for abortion care last year.

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Guttmacher found about 3,000 patients traveled to Minnesota from other states — including some from as far as Texas — last year.

More: Iowa’s new 6-week abortion ban expected to become a pivotal election issue this November

How are abortion rights advocates helping patients travel for care out-of-state?

In light of abortion bans nationwide, websites have been established to help patients find appointments near them, such as abortionfinder.org or ineedana.com.

Planned Parenthood also has a similar website for its clinics. Advocates in Iowa have also established a website, freedomiowa.com, that includes options for resources for those affected by the state ban.

But for some patients, finding an available appointment is just one step in a challenging process to access abortion care, some advocates say.

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Many patients, especially those who are low-income or are part of marginalized communities, may lack transportation, or be unable to find reliable childcare or take time off work for out-of-state care.

Advocacy organizations in Iowa say they are prepared to help patients overcome these barriers. Planned Parenthood North Central States, which includes Iowa, employs patient navigators to help patients find an appointment and to access financial aid to afford expenses related to that care.

The Iowa Abortion Access Fund recently partnered with the Chicago Abortion Fund to help manage the anticipated influx from Iowa. The organization offers grants to Iowans to help pay for the procedure as well as other related expenses, such as travel, lodging and childcare.

Iowa Abortion Access Fund is directing clients to contact Chicago Abortion Fund directly by calling (312) 663-0338 or by filling out an online form.

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Michaela Ramm covers health care for the Des Moines Register. She can be reached at mramm@registermedia.com, at (319) 339-7354 or on Twitter at @Michaela_Ramm.





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