Iowa
Iowa Pork Producers look to replace ISU player in viral ‘Purchase Moore Hamann Bacon’ ad
Former walk-on Caleb Bacon on playing for the Iowa State football team
Former walk-on Caleb Bacon talks about playing for the Iowa State football team
Iowans love pork and and they love football.
That is why the Iowa Pork Producers Association is bringing back the viral promotion involving Iowa State University athletes who throw around the old pig skin.
In hopes of encouraging people to buy more ham and bacon, the Iowa Pork Producers Association used a name, image and likeness deal with the last names of Iowa State football players.
Conveniently enough, the last names of ISU Cyclone football players Myles Purchase, Tyler Moore, Tommy Hamann and Caleb Bacon make for a convincing ad campaign: “Purchase Moore Hamann Bacon.” Since the first promotion, Cyclones Alec Cook and Zach Lovett joined the team.
When the promotion first dropped last year, it went viral with millions of views and a feature on ESPN SportsCenter’s social media account, according to the Iowa Pork Producers Association. The Sports Business Journal also named the partnership the Best NIL Deal of 2023.
The promotional campaign is coming back for 2024 and the association is looking for more Cyclones to join.
More: Hardly anyone recruited Caleb Bacon in high school. Now he’s a football star at Iowa State
What’s new for the ‘Purchase Moore Hamann Bacon’ campaign?
Hamann will no longer take part in the promotion. He recently decided to leave Iowa State’s football program to focus on his engineering degree, according to the IPPA. A video came out of Hamann saying goodbye to his fellow teammates.
But this isn’t the end of the campaign. The IPPA is looking for more students to join the promotional cast.
Where can I watch the 2024 ‘Purchase Moore Hamann Bacon’ promotional videos?
Videos can be found on the Iowa Pork Producers Association’s YouTube or social media. Every Monday at 10 a.m. for the next seven weeks, new tryout videos of Cyclone students will air to see if they fit into the “Purchase Moore Hamann Bacon” mantra. The series will end Oct. 7, just in time for National Pork Month known as Porktober.
Pork promotion donates to food banks
For every student who takes part in the ad campaign, IPPA will donate $1,000 worth of pork to a food pantry of the student’s choice. Last year, $13,000 worth of pork was given to food pantries. Donations from the most recent video will go toward the following food banks:
- Food Bank of the Rockies in Denver, Colorado, in the name of Myles Purchase
- DMARC in Des Moines, Iowa, in the name of Tyler Moore
- Interfaith Outreach & Community Partners in Plymouth, Minnesota, in the name of Tommy Hamann
- Lake Mills Food Shelf in Lake Mills, Iowa, in the name of Caleb Bacon
- Food Bank for the Heartland in Omaha, Nebraska, in the name of Alec Cook
- Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, in the name of Zach Lovett
Kate Kealey is a general assignment reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach her at kkealey@registermedia.com or follow her on Twitter at @Kkealey17.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – A new law in the state of Iowa is allowing people to fire fireworks on the 3rd and 4th of July, as well as New Year’s Eve.
The law would mean cities and counties can no longer block people from shooting off fireworks from their properties this holiday, or the day before. This law is meant to boost celebrations around the nation’s 250th birthday. Many municipalities regulate when fireworks can go off, but this makes it clear that on July 3rd, July 4th, and New Year’s Eve, Iowans can largely shoot off fireworks unrestricted.
For Jill Meyers and her family in Central City, buying fireworks is all a part of celebrating the 4th of July.
“We love the excitement and getting together as a family,” she said.
She’s been buying fireworks in Iowa since it was made legal in 2017. This state change will let her family set off fireworks on the third and fourth without restriction from local cities and counties. That news came as a surprise.
“I didn’t know about it,” she said.
Iowa Fireworks Company Tent Manager Jessica McIntosh said Meyers wasn’t alone. That could be why sales haven’t increased yet.
“I would say 70%, 80% of people that come in, we’ve had to tell them that it is legal,” said McIntosh.
Her family is in its second year of operating the tent along 1st Avenue NE in Cedar Rapids, but based on her sales on the 3rd and 4th of July, she’s expecting to sell even more this year.
“We have a bigger tent, a lot more inventory, and a lot more space for product,” she said. “Hopefully, sell more products this year.
While McIntosh and her family prepared for those hectic two days of sales, Meyers said they were ready to light her fireworks and put on a show.
“You can’t go above a 7-inch shell in Iowa,” she said. “That’s the largest you can purchase in Iowa. That’s why I got 7 inches this year because the kids have never gotten to shoot off a 7-inch shell.”
Copyright 2025 KCRG. All rights reserved.
REINBECK, Iowa (KCRG) – A methamphetamine dealer from Reinbeck has been sentenced to federal prison for the second time.
Information shared at a sentencing hearing and other hearings in this case revealed 39-year-old Austin Hansen worked with a source that he met while in federal prison to gain access to mass amounts of methamphetamine.
The source, located in California, shipped methamphetamine and marijuana to post offices located in Reinbeck, Dike, and Waterloo. Once Hansen received the shipments, he worked with other people to distribute the drugs across the Northern District of Iowa.
Hansen sent shipments of thousands of dollars to the California source in exchange for the drugs.
From December 2023 to May 2024, 37 shipments of drugs were sent to Iowa and $260,000 worth of payments were sent to the source in California.
Police intercepted one of the drug shipments during their investigation, finding over 5,000 grams of methamphetamine.
In May 2024, officers executed search warrants, completing one at Hansen’s home. Police found over 600 grams of methamphetamine, a gun, over $12,000, and receipts from the money shipments at the residence.
Hansen was sentenced to prison in 2011 on a previous conviction of a federal drug trafficking crime.
In December 2024, Hansen pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance after having previously been convicted of a serious drug felony. Hansen faces 20 years in federal prison.
Copyright 2025 KCRG. All rights reserved.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – A man admitted to robbing multiple convenience stores in the Cedar Rapids area and money laundering.
Andrew Philip Derr, 22, of Fredrick, Maryland, stole over $7,000 from two convenience stores after being released from the military due to misconduct.
He covered up the crimes by laundering the money and making many deposits into his Maryland bank account.
He was previously charged for stealing $16,000 from the Cedar Rapids Bank and Trust back in January 2024.
He faces a maximum of 60 years in prison, a $1,000,000 fine, and 3 years of post-prison supervision. He must pay back the stolen money from the robberies and reimburse the victims of his crimes.
He remains in custody of the United States Marshal awaiting sentencing.
Copyright 2025 KCRG. All rights reserved.
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