Connect with us

Iowa

Look: SpongeBob, Patrick learn about Iowa football, punting in Super Bowl 2024 – yes, really

Published

on

Look: SpongeBob, Patrick learn about Iowa football, punting in Super Bowl 2024 – yes, really


play

The NFL on Sunday employed its most ambitious Super Bowl broadcast in recent memory.

How else can you describe SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star — characters from the eponymously named Nickelodeon program — learning about Iowa football’s punting prominence?

Advertisement

The NFL, of course, featured a kid-friendly broadcast of the big game on the Nickelodeon network apart from its main broadcast on CBS. As part of the broadcast, SpongeBob and Patrick, arguably two parts of the biggest intellectual property in network history, were featured in a small corner window providing live game commentary.

REQUIRED READING: How former Cyclone Brock Purdy and former Hawkeye George Kittle fared in the Super Bowl

The abundance of punts in the first half of the Super Bowl allowed broadcaster Noah Eagle to make a tongue-in-cheek comment about the Hawkeyes. Eagle made his quip on the third straight punt of the game, the only outcome for either offense (apart from a fumble by 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey) to open the Super Bowl):

“Hey SpongeBob and Patrick, have you ever heard of a place called Iowa?” Eagle asked.

“Iowa?” SpongeBob responded. “It sounds exotic!”

Advertisement

“Well in Iowa,” Eagle responded, “they say, ‘Punting is winning.’”

REQUIRED READING: What is ‘Tight End U’? George Kittle headlines Iowa tight ends, ‘Tight End University’ camp

Of course, Iowa football created headlines throughout the 2023 college football season for the team’s inability to muster a consistent offense. Subsequently, that allowed punter Tory Taylor to enjoy a historic punting season. He set an NCAA single-season record for most punt yards in a season, at 4,479 en route to becoming a Unanimous Consensus First Team All-American.

That said, Iowa’s offensive averaged a dismal 15.4 points per game in 2023. That ranks second-to-last out of 130 qualified FBS teamss, just barely ahead of Kent State’s 14.7 points per game. It also was roughly 10 points lower than the 25 points per game clause that was built into offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz’s contract. Iowa ultimately did not meet that threshold, and Ferentz will not return to Iowa in 2024.

Advertisement

Regardless, it was a funny moment that brought Iowa football, however briefly, into the national spotlight on Super Bowl Sunday.



Source link

Iowa

Two Iowans sentenced to prison for creating child pornography

Published

on

Two Iowans sentenced to prison for creating child pornography


play

Two Iowans will spend decades in federal prison after pleading guilty to separate child exploitation offenses.

Advertisement

Martin Menjivar, 59, of Iowa City, was sentenced Thursday, March 26, to 42 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexual exploitation of a child and child pornography possession. It comes days after Pry’Shayn Mosley, 21, of Fort Dodge was sentenced to 25 years for exploitation and receipt of child pornography.

Iowa City man picked up children from school, abused them

Menjivar, a citizen of Honduras, was charged in May 2025. In court filings, prosecutors say Menjivar was entrusted to pick up children, some as young as 5, from their elementary school and bring them to his wife’s home for after-school babysitting. In at least two cases, Mejivar used that access to get children alone and touch them inappropriately, recording the interaction on video.

Investigators reportedly found dozens of illicit images and videos on Menjivar’s electronic devices. Menjivar also previously worked as a school photographer in Honduras, and investigators found he had hundreds of photos from his former employment that focused on children’s clothed genitals.

“Defendant’s horrific actions of creating and collecting child pornography show violence against young, vulnerable children and a severe danger to the community,” prosecutors wrote in presentence filings.

Advertisement

Menjivar also has been charged in Johnson County with second-degree sexual abuse against two different children, apparently in relation to the same conduct. That case remains pending, with a plea hearing scheduled in May.

Fort Dodge man gets 25 years for enticing children

Mosley, who was sentenced March 23, was charged in January 2025. Prosecutors alleged that in 2022, he enticed two minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct, photographed or recorded it, and distributed the resulting pornography to others, including additional children.

In addition, during a warrant search that located drugs, guns and electronic devices containing child pornography, Mosley tried to get a juvenile at the scene to conceal drugs from the investigators.

Mosley pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation and receiving child pornography. Additional drug, pornography and exploitation charges were dismissed as part of a plea deal.

Advertisement

Menjivar was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa, while Mosley’s case was handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa. Attorneys for Menjivar and Mosley did not immediately return messages Thursday seeking comment.

William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com or 715-573-8166.



Source link

Continue Reading

Iowa

Jada Williams among eight Iowa State players headed to transfer portal

Published

on

Jada Williams among eight Iowa State players headed to transfer portal


play

Iowa State’s first-round exit from the 2026 Women’s NCAA Tournament has triggered a mass exodus, with a reported eight players leaving the team to enter the transfer portal.

Junior forward Addy Brown announced her decision to “move on” from Iowa State and enter the transfer portal in a social media post on Tuesday, March 24.

Advertisement

“This decision comes after a lot of thought about my future and goals,” Brown wrote in a post shared to social media. “While it’s never easy to move on, I believe this is the right step for me and I’m excited for what’s ahead as I continue to grow and chase my dreams.”

By Thursday, March. 26, several other players followed suit. Junior guard Jada Williams confirmed she’ll be “pursuing my dreams elsewhere” for her senior season. She added in a social media post, “Iowa State will always have a place in my heart and I’ll never forget the Iowa State way.”

Williams transferred to Iowa State for the 2025-26 season after playing for Arizona for the first two years of her career. William averaged career-highs in points (15.3), assists (7.7) and field goal percentage (41.7) in her lone season at Iowa State.

Iowa State freshman guard Reese Beaty, freshman guard Freya Jensen, sophomore guard Reagan Wilson, sophomore guard Aili Tanke, junior forward Alisa Williams and junior center Lilly Taulelei all intend to enter the transfer portal, according to On3’s Talia Goodman.

Advertisement

The transfer portal opens on Monday, April 6, following the NCAA Tournament championship game on Sunday, April 5.

Could Iowa State junior center Audi Crooks be next? Crooks declined to answer whether she would return next season following Iowa State’s 72-63 loss to Syracuse on Saturday, March 21. She instead said, “We’re all still processing everything and just being there for each other right now is the priority. That’s the main thing, making sure everybody is mentally OK through this tough time.”

Crooks had 37 points (17-of-25 FG) and five rebounds in the losing effort against Syracuse.

Reach USA TODAY National Women’s Sports Reporter Cydney Henderson at chenderson@usatoday.com and follow her on X at@CydHenderson.

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

Advertisement





Source link

Continue Reading

Iowa

GoDaddy Security – Access Denied

Published

on


If you are the site owner (or you manage this site), please whitelist your IP or if you think this block is an error please open a support ticket and make sure to include the block details (displayed in the box below), so we can assist you in troubleshooting the issue.

Block details:

Your IP: 65.108.124.35
URL: oskynews.org/iowa-senate-sends-health-insurer-tax-increase-to-governors-desk/
Your Browser: Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/143.0.0.0 Safari/537.36
Block ID: GEO02
Block reason: Access from your Country was disabled by the administrator.
Time: 2026-03-26 09:14:06
Server ID: 21007



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending