Iowa
Kim Reynolds announces new child care initiatives after lawmakers fail to pass her bill
Gov. Kim Reynolds pitches integrating preschool and childcare services
The Iowa governor is asking lawmakers for $16 million in funding to increase collaboration among preschool providers and child care providers.
Gov. Kim Reynolds is launching a new grant program for preschools and child care centers to partner and provide all-day care for 4-year-olds and boost Iowa’s child care workforce.
The move comes after state lawmakers ended the 2025 Iowa legislative session without passing Reynolds’ proposal to add similar programs to state law.
Reynolds announced a range of child care-focused steps in a May 20 news release. They include:
- Creating a new continuum of care grant program to provide grants of $300,000 over three years to preschools and licensed child care providers to offer all-day care for 4-year-olds.
- Establishing a Statewide Child Care Solutions Fund that matches donations from businesses to boost child care workers’ wages.
- And extending a pilot program that makes child care workers eligible for state child care assistance funding, even if they exceed the program’s income limits.
“When individuals, businesses and government all work together to solve a problem, Iowans benefit. Nowhere is this more evident than in child care,” Reynolds said in a statement. “Programs like the Child Care Assistance pilot and the Statewide Solutions Fund will continue to increase our child care workforce and capacity. And the Early Childhood Continuum of Care grant will help give working parents what they need — a full day continuum of care for their children.”
Several of the initiatives Reynolds announced Tuesday were in her bill to incentivize partnerships between preschools and child care providers. The legislation passed the Iowa Senate April 23, but it never received a vote in the House.
Democrats had criticized the bill for redirecting existing funding that went to Early Childhood Iowa programs instead of providing new money for child care and preschool programs.
Grants would incentivize preschool and child care partnerships for all-day care
The continuum of care grants will be available to licensed child care centers and participants in Iowa’s statewide voluntary preschool program.
The grants are worth up to $100,000 per year for three years.
An online request for proposal page said “the source of funding is a combination of state and federal funding sources.”
“This first-of-its-kind grant opportunity supports partnerships between high-quality preschool and child care programs, providing a full day of care that meets the needs of children and working families,” Iowa Department of Education Director McKenzie Snow said in a statement. “We know that about 90 percent of a child’s brain develops by age 5, and Iowa’s new Continuum of Care grant will expand family access to high-quality early childhood options that lay the foundation for learner success in school and beyond.”
Statewide fund seeks donations to boost child care workers’ wages
Reynolds is seeking donations from businesses and individuals for a new Statewide Child Care Solutions Fund, which would provide money to hire new child care workers.
The program would build on a 2024 pilot program that created regional child care solutions funds in several counties around the state.
Reynolds cited a study by the Common Sense Institute of Iowa that examined the pilot program and determined a statewide fund could add 11,000 new child care slots around the state, create 8,000 jobs around Iowa and allow 5,000 more women to enter the workforce.
Restricted donations would go towards the local fund in the area specified by the donor while the state will provide a 2-to-1 match for unrestricted donations.
A spokesperson for Reynolds could not immediately answer questions about the cost of the state match or how it would be funded.
Reynolds extends pilot program letting child care workers access child care assistance
Reynolds will also extend a pilot program begun in 2023 that makes all child care workers eligible for child care assistance, regardless of their income level, to try to keep more child care workers in the workforce.
Iowa’s child care assistance program subsidizes the cost of child care for low-income families.
The pilot program currently serves 900 families and 1,500 children, according to the state’s news release.
A spokesperson for Reynolds did not immediately answer questions about how Reynolds would fund the extension of the pilot program.
Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on X at @sgrubermiller.
Iowa
Penn State earns commitment from Iowa State leading wide receiver via transfer
Penn State landed Iowa State’s pair of quarterbacks earlier Sunday, including starter Rocco Becht, in a splash move. Now, the Cyclones’ leading receiver is coming with them.
Wide receiver Brett Eskildsen committed to Penn State via the transfer portal, becoming the seventh Cyclone to join the Nittany Lions this weekend. He announced the move on social media.
Eskildsen recorded 30 receptions, 526 yards and five touchdowns as a sophomore in 2025. He also appeared in all 13 games as a freshman but made just two catches for 17 yards.
The 6-1, 200-pound wideout is from Frisco, Texas, and is a three-star in the 247Sports transfer rankings (No. 118 overall, No. 30 WR). He was a three-star out of high school as well, where he had more than 1,5000 career receiving yards.
Becht’s top man from 2026 is now in place. He’ll also be able to throw to standout Penn State freshman Koby Howard and quick youngster Tyseer Denmark, who have confirmed their returns thus far.
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Iowa
Iowa State picks up commitment from Arkansas State QB Jaylen Raynor
Iowa State football has picked up a commitment from Arkansas State quarterback Jaylen Raynor, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported on Jan. 3.
Raynor has one season of eligibility remaining. The 6-foot, 202-pounder from Kernersville, North Carolina, passed for 3,361 yards and 19 touchdowns this season. He was intercepted 11 times.
Raynor also rushed for 423 yards and seven touchdowns.
He passed for 8,694 yards and 52 touchdowns in three seasons at Arkansas State.
“The (Iowa State) coaching staff is known for winning,” Raynor told Thamel. “The head coach is a known winner and done it on multiple levels.”
Raynor will join Arkansas State offensive coordinator Keith Heckendorf in Ames. Heckendorf was named Cyclones quarterbacks coach this week.
Raynor completed 19 of 33 passes for 222 yards in a 24-16 loss to Iowa State on Sept. 13, 2025.
Iowa
Seven Iowa High School Wrestlers Off To Dominant Starts This Season – FloWrestling
The first month of the Iowa high school wrestling season has been filled with scintillating individual performances. Here’s a look at seven standouts who have been racking up bonus points in December.
Drew Anderson (Riverside)
The Class 1A state runner-up last year at 132 is up to 144 this season and he’s 14-0 with 11 technical falls, a pair of pins and a forfeit win. Anderson, a junior in his second season at the school, already owns the Riverside school record for technical falls with 28. Anderson is on pace to more than double the previous Riverside tech record of 23.
Urijah Courter (West Marshall)
Courter won the 2A title last season at 113 after placing third as a freshman at 106. He’s up to 120 this season. Courter is 14-0 this season with 10 pins and two technical falls. His ledger also includes a 6-5 win against Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont’s Simon Bettis in a rematch of last season’s state title bout.
Cooper Hinz (Jesup)
Entering the holiday break, Michigan commit and two-time state medalist Cooper Hinz is 22-0 with 21 wins via pin, technical fall or forfeit. His other victory was a 4-1 overtime decision against returning state placewinner Cain Rodgers of North Fayette Valley. More impressively, all of Hinz’s pins and technical falls have all come in the first period.
Lincoln Jipp (Bettendorf)
Jipp placed fifth at 138, third at 165 and second at 175 in Class 3A during his first three seasons. Now he’s up to 215 — 77 pounds more than where he started his career as a freshman. The North Carolina recruit pinned his way through the prestigious Dan Gable Donnybrook. He’s 16-0 with 10 pins, four technical falls and a forfeit.
Mason Koehler (Glenwood)
The returning 2A champ at 215 is 20-0 with 18 pins and a major decision. His only two matches that went the distance came at the Council Bluffs Classic, where he defeated Nebraska standout Ryan Boehle of Grand Island 14-4 and Minnesota hammer Joe Kruse of Totino-Grace 9-2. The rest of Koehler’s matches this season ended in first-period pins. He has already registered a six-second pin and another in nine seconds this season.
Jaxon Miller (Carlisle)
Miller is a three-time state medalist, a two-time finalist and returning state champ in Class 3A. He placed fourth as a freshman at 145 before making trips to the finals at 157 and 165. He’s 16-0 this season with 13 first-period pins, two technical falls and a forfeit.
Keaton Moeller (Starmont)
Moeller placed third in 1A as a freshman at 145 before winning a state title at 150 as a sophomore. He missed all of last season after suffering a torn ACL in football. Now he’s back as a senior at 190 and Moeller hasn’t missed a beat. He’s 13-0 with five pins, six technical falls and a pair of forfeits. He has yet to wrestle a full period this season.
Iowa High School Premium Rankings
Check out the Iowa High School Wrestling Premium Rankings, which are generated by using an athlete’s complete match history to predict a wrestler’s performance against others in their weight class by considering factors such as win-loss records, the quality of their victories (pins, technical falls, major decisions), the strength of their opponents and overall historical performance patterns. The data is updated every Monday, sourced from the Trackwrestling season results. Since each team is responsible for maintaining their season results, any data discrepancies for a wrestler should be addressed by contacting their coach to manage the information within the season. This includes the weight class assigned. Wrestlers are eligible to be ranked after competing in five matches at a single weight.
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