Iowa
Over 200 people showed up to this Iowa City public input meeting
More than 200 people show up for public input meeting
IOWA CITY — More than 200 people showed up for a public input meeting this week on affordable housing and how Iowa City should use its federal housing funds.
The Wednesday evening meeting at St. Patrick Church in east Iowa City was arranged by Escucha Mi Voz, a service organization that assists immigrant workers with housing, health services, legal aid and community organizing.
City staff, county officials and Iowa City Mayor Bruce Teague were on hand for the session where members of Escucha Mi Voz provided personal testimonies about their renting experiences in Iowa City.
The stories included details of poor treatment from landlords, lack of access to affordable units, crowded apartments and inability to qualify for existing city rental support programs.
Escucha Mi Voz also offered formal recommendations on how to improve affordable housing access in the city. Among the ideas:
- Prioritize rezoning with a focus on high density multifamily developments and allocate funds for affordable housing outside of the voucher system.
- Work with organizations with a demonstrated need (like Escucha Mi Voz) on housing projects outside of the voucher system.
- Negotiate a 20 percent donation from developers to support affordable housing projects in the area.
- Update the city’s definition of homelessness to include those living in households with double occupancy or more, which educational institutions are using.
- Assume immigrant workers and families are low to moderate income and to accept self certification for city housing assistance programs.
The money, the plan
Iowa City receives more than $1 million a year from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as part of its Community Development Block Grant and HOME Investment Partnership Program.
The funds are expected to be used to improve the living conditions of those with low to moderate incomes, people with special needs and people experiencing homelessness.
The city is updating its City Steps 2030 planning process to cover fiscal years 2026 through 2030.
The plan is expected to be ready sometime in March or April 2025. The city will send the plan to HUD in May 2025 and, if approved, it will be put into action at the start of the fiscal year on July 1, 2025.
This week, the city held two other public input at the Ridge Neighborhood Center and at the Broadway Neighborhood Center. City residents also can fill out an online survey on how the housing funds should be used.
Comments: megan.woolard@thegazette.com
DES MOINES, Iowa — After a week of voting, a list of more than 50 is down to the Top 16 in the Coolest Thing Made in Iowa Competition.
Hosted by the Iowa Association of Business and Industry and MidwestOne Bank, the Coolest Thing Made in Iowa Contest is a newer competition that highlights items that are designed or produced in the state that carry national, even international, impact.
58 products were initially nominated in the contest’s third year, on Thursday, officials announced the Top 16 had been chosen after a week of public voting. Products that made the cut include agricultural equipment, construction materials, food, and beverages.
- Mi-T-M ePowerStation (Mi-T-M Corporation – Peosta)
- Pella Steady Set (Pella Corporation – Pella)
- Beer Caves (Walk-In Coolers & Freezers) (Leer, Inc. – Carroll)
- Weiler D1075 Blasthole Drill (Weiler – Knoxville)
- Butter Braid Pastries (Country Maid, Inc. – West Bend)
- Ironclad Tornado Shelter & Gun Safe (Ironclad Shelter Solutions, LLC – Earlham)
- Spalding Arena Renegade Basketball Hoop (Spalding – Jefferson)
- Winnebago EKKO 23B (Winnebago – Forest City)
- Gushers (General Mills – Cedar Rapids)
- Cedar Ridge Straight Bourbon Whiskey (Cedar Ridge Distillery – Swisher)
- Load Cell (Scale-Tec – Anamosa)
- Flexzilla Garden Hose (Legacy Manufacturing – Marion)
- Marie Callender’s Pot Pie (Conagra – Council Bluffs)
- 23-28XL Scraper (Mobile Track Solutions – Elkader)
- Sterzing’s Potato Chips (Sterzing Food Company – Burlington)
- dScribe Studio, 55″ – Digital Lightboard (Revolution Lightboards – Dubuque)
“This is where the competition really comes to life,” said Nicole Crain, ABI President. “These Top 16 products represent the very best of Iowa manufacturing — innovative, high-quality, and made right here in our state. Now it’s up to Iowans to help decide which product rises to the top.”
Voting to decide the Top 8 moves to a bracket-style tournament, which opens on April 17 and runs through April 22. Participants can vote in each matchup, once per day (every 24 hours) per device. The Top 8 will be announced on April 23.
The 2026 Coolest Thing Made in Iowa will be revealed live in June during ABI’s annual Taking Care of Business Conference in Coralville and Iowa City.
Previously, the Vermeer Automated Hay Baler won the first contest in 2024, and the John Deere CP770 Cotton Picker won the second contest in 2025.
How to use less water during a drought, like not watering your lawn
When there are water restrictions – like not watering your lawn or washing your car – there are more ways for you to use less water.
Christine Sanchez, Wochit
The last few weeks of rain have alleviated some drought conditions in Iowa, though some areas of the state are still experiencing a moderate drought.
The U.S. Drought Monitor offers a state-by-state tracking of drought conditions nationwide. New maps and forecasts are released each Thursday. What are the current drought conditions in Iowa?
US Drought Monitor map: How much of Iowa is in a drought?
The latest Drought Monitor report, released on April 16, indicated that roughly 22% of the state is experiencing some form of drought. It includes observations as of 8 a.m. April 14, so even more rain has fallen since then.
This is an improvement from the last report, released on April 9, which showed that 73% of Iowa was experiencing some form of drought.
Here is the breakdown of drought conditions in Iowa as of April 16:
- 83% of the state of Iowa is experiencing no drought conditions
- 17% of the state is experiencing abnormally dry conditions
- 5% of the state is experiencing moderate drought conditions
- 0.02% of the state is experiencing severe drought conditions
The April 16 map shows abnormally dry and moderate drought conditions mainly in western and southern Iowa. Parts of northwest Iowa are in moderate drought, while a separate stretch of dry conditions runs across south-central into southeast Iowa.
Polk County is not experiencing any dry conditions. Des Moines has recorded 5.06 inches of rain so far in April, well above the normal monthly total of 1.70 inches, according to the National Weather Service.
Current conditions are an improvement from a year ago, when 86% of Iowa was abnormally dry, and 30% was in moderate drought, according to the Drought Monitor.
All 99 counties in Iowa were categorized as drought-free last August thanks to record-setting rainfall totals during the summer. It held this designation for several weeks before the first reports of abnormally dry conditions returned at the beginning of September 2025.
Iowa Drought Monitor tracks conditions weekly
The U.S. Drought Monitor offers a state-by-state tracking of drought conditions nationwide. New maps and forecasts are released each Thursday.
The intensity levels range from abnormally dry, or D0, to exceptional drought, or D4.
Typically under D0 conditions, corn can show drought stress. Pond levels start to decline under moderate drought conditions and soybeans abort pods, according to the Drought Monitor. The Drought Monitor also has a look-back chart that compares drought conditions from 3 months ago up to 1 year ago.
Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at cworth@gannett.com or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (IOWA’S NEWS NOW) — The Iowa City Police Department is asking for the public’s help finding a man who hasn’t been seen since Wednesday morning.
Kalenga Byondo, 60, has dementia and was last seen leaving his home along Broadway Street around 7:00 a.m. ICPD lists him as 5’10”, and 160 pounds – and he was wearing all-black clothing when he went missing.
Anyone who knows where Byondo could be is asked to call 319-356-6800.
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