Iowa

Mexican clubs from Iowa showcased a slice of a Mexican rodeo at the Iowa State Fair

Published

1 year ago

August 12, 2024

Mexican clubs from Iowa showcased a slice of a Mexican rodeo at the Iowa State Fair

The Iowa State Fair saw a slice of an authentic Mexican rodeo on Sunday afternoon. Charros and Ecaramuza from central Iowa performed on the Fairgrounds for the first time at Elwell Family Park.

The show demonstrated a sport known as Charreria, which is composed of 10 events called Charreada. However due to certain limitations, only five events were displayed including dancing, horsemanship and roping.

“Performing at the fair is amazing,” Alejandra Pina, captain of the Escaramuza Quetzallihas, said. “We’re mostly Iowans so it’s the culmination of a lot of dreams.”

Charreria as a sport orginates in Mexico and requires contestants to demonstrate skills with a lasso and control of their horse. It involves both showmanship and carefully refined technical skill. While Sunday’s show wasn’t competitive, Pina said it was good practice.

“The rings are a bit smaller,” she said. “And the ground is very different. We’re used to soft, sandy surfaces.” Pina’s assistant team coach, Anna Garcia, said she’d rolled her ankle once already after the first show.

President of the Charros clubs in Iowa and announcer at the event Juan Pina said they were “making history as we perform.” The Charros have been in the State Fair Parade for 16 years, but this is their first time performing on the grounds.

The show started with a dance routine by Wendy Espinoza, who shared the ring with a horse that trotted around in time to the music. A live band was present to score most of the show, adding yet more Mexican flair to the event.

After Espinoza, a lone Charros performed a series of technical maneuvers including multiple 360 degree spins in a row. Some of the maneuvers were even performed without a bit, a tool that makes it much easier to control the horse.

One of the highlights was an impressive display of skill with a lasso by Dariel Delgado, one of the younger Charros who performed. Not only did Delgado lasso a horse that was at all full speed, but he also performed 40 consecutive jumps through his lasso, a trick called the Texas Skip.

The crowd was treated to several more dances and shows before the event came to an end.

Pina said he hoped the show would be able to come back next year. Garcia agreed, calling the sport and show a labor of love.

“It’s a really fantastic way to connect with your roots,” she said.

The Escaramuza team that performed can be found on Facebook.

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Iowa

Iowa State basketball Players Era Festival tourney schedule, bracket

Published

4 hours ago

November 23, 2025

Press Room

Iowa State basketball Players Era Festival tourney schedule, bracket

Iowa State basketball will compete in the loaded Players Era Festival this week in Las Vegas.

The Nov. 24-27 tournament calls itself “The biggest college basketball event outside of March.”

Iowa State begins play Monday, Nov. 24 against St. John’s in a 3:30 p.m. CT contest.

The Cyclones then will play Creighton on Tuesday, Nov. 25 at 1 p.m. CT.

Eugene Rapay’s Cyclone men’s basketball preview

T.J. Otzelberger’s team will play a third game either Wednesday, Nov. 26 or Thursday, Nov. 27. Opponent and time are contingent upon the results of Iowa State’s first two games.

Here’s a closer look at the tournament:

Players Era Festival men’s basketball schedule

All times CT

Monday, Nov. 24

Tennessee vs. Rutgers, Noon, TNT
Baylor vs. Creighton, 1 p.m., truTV
Kansas vs. Notre Dame, 2:30 p.m., TNT
St. John’s vs. Iowa State, 3:30 p.m., truTV
Houston vs. Syracuse, 5 p.m., TNT
Oregon vs. Auburn, 7 p.m., truTV
Alabama vs. Gonzaga, 8:30 p.m., TNT
Michigan vs. San Diego State, 9:30 p.m., truTV
Maryland vs. UNLV, 11 p.m., TNT

Tuesday, Nov. 25

Rutgers vs. Notre Dame, Noon, TNT
Iowa State vs. Creighton, 1:00 p.m., truTV
Kansas vs. Syracuse, 2:30 p.m., TNT
St. John’s vs. Baylor, 3:30 p.m., truTV
Houston vs. Tennessee, 5 p.m., TNT
Michigan vs. Auburn, 7:30 p.m., TNT
Gonzaga vs. Maryland, 8:30 p.m., truTV
Oregon vs. San Diego State, 10 p.m., TNT
Alabama vs. UNLV, 11 p.m., truTV

Wednesday, Nov. 26

Third-place game, 6 p.m., TNT
Championship game, 8:30 p.m., TNT

Wednesday Nov. 26 and Thursday Nov. 27

Other consolation games will be played Nov. 26-27. Matchups TBD by first two days of competition.

Watch Iowa State basketball on Sling

Players Era Festival tiebreakers

Tiebreakers will be determined by point differential, points scored and points allowed.

Where will Players Era Festival games be played?

Players Era Festival men’s basketball contests will be held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and the Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas.

Players Era Festival TV and streaming information

Players Era Festival games will be televised on TNT and truTV.
Players Era Festival games will be streamed on HBO Max.

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Iowa

Iowa DOT offers ‘Alive at 25′ program for young drivers facing suspensions

Published

22 hours ago

November 22, 2025

Press Room

Iowa DOT offers ‘Alive at 25′ program for young drivers facing suspensions

DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) – The Iowa Department of Transportation is working to help drivers facing suspension with a new behavioral education course called “Alive at 25” for drivers on intermediate-level licenses.

“Our goal is to focus on the negative behavior or poor behavior that we’re seeing behind the wheel,” said Vania Boyd, Iowa DOT driver education manager.

Young drivers who have received a second violation have the one-time opportunity to take the course instead of receiving a suspension.

“It’s not a retake of driver’s ed. It focuses on distracted driving, road rage, talks about peer pressure, talks about distractions behind the wheel, and helps guide students on ways to avoid those behaviors,” said Boyd.

The DOT partnered with the Iowa-Illinois Safety Council, which hosts the four-hour virtual course.

Boyd said from 2024 to 2025, more than 5,500 students on the intermediate level would have been eligible to take the program.

“We saw a lot of connection to speed, students not wearing the seatbelt, a lot of behavioral decisions behind the wheel that we want to correct,” Boyd said.

Lisa Elskamp lost her daughter, Kennedy, and Kennedy’s best friend, Chloe, to an accident involving speed in 2022.

“At one point, us being able to see on Chloe’s Life 360 that he was hit a max speed of 146 miles an hour,” she said.

After the crash, the families started Forever 17, a nonprofit aimed at speeding safety advocacy and working to change laws to make things more safe.

Elskamp said courses like these are a step in the right direction.

“Speed was never really talked about. Had I known now what I know then, I would have absolutely had my kids take this course just to learn the outcome of your actions,” she said. “This isn’t just about those teen drivers alone. It’s about the effect of what their driving can also do to everybody around them.”

The course is optional and costs $65 to take.

Boyd said they hope to educate new drivers so they can be as confident as possible when behind the wheel.

“It’s okay that they made a mistake, but it’s even more important to learn from it and to make smarter choices for the future because it’s not just that individual student on the road. There are hundreds of Iowans on the road every day and everybody wants to get home safe,” Boyd said.

The course can also be taken even if the driver doesn’t have a violation on their license. And while it’s geared towards younger drivers, anyone facing a suspension with an intermediate-level license can take the course.

For more information, click here.

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