Iowa
Peterson: Will Iowa State’s defense continue bringing out the worst from Big 12 coaches?
Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger on opposing coaches receiving technical fouls vs. ISU
Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger is asked about opposing coaches continuing to get T’d up against the Cyclones
AMES – There’s nothing specifically in Iowa State’s playbook that’s called “Make the opposing coach so mad that he gets a technical foul.”
It just happens.
For the past four games, Cyclone opponents have had at least one technical foul. That includes Baylor coach Scott Drew, who was ejected Feb. 10 after drawing his second.
Will TCU’s Jamie Dixon feel so annoyed and pestered against a smothering Iowa State defense that he’ll be the fifth in a row sometime during Saturday’s 1 p.m. ESPN2 game at Hilton Coliseum? Stay tuned. It’s not like he stays within the coaches’ sideline area during an entire 40-minute game.
I know this – the Cyclones don’t intentionally set out to draw outrageous behavior from opposing coaches, but if their defensive pressure continues to be as successful as it’s been, then it’s bound to attract some type of outburst.
“It’s our ball pressure, our intensity and how much passion we show on the court,” said floor leader Tamin Lipsey, who didn’t play when the Cyclones won at TCU on Jan. 20. “I think we just frustrate the other team. That’s something that we try to do from the start of the game – put them on their heels and make them clash with each other. We always come together.”
Iowa State’s defense is so demanding to play against that coaches find themselves out of the sideline coaching box and arguing to an extent that refs have had enough.
It’s happened at home. It’s happened on the road. It’s happened to Kansas State’s Jerome Tang, Kansas’ Bill Self, Drew, and most recently to Texas coach Rodney Terry.
“I can’t speak to what’s going on on the other sideline,” Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said Friday. “If anything, we’re hoping our guys are playing hard and playing together. We’re focused on what we can control and what we can do. I think it’s just an odd set of circumstances, honestly.”
More: Peterson: Iowa State men’s basketball holds on vs. Texas, earns Big 12 split on the road
Odd set or not, the Big 12 issued a memorandum this week reminding coaches to stay inside their prescribed sideline area, and not on the floor. That’s something Otzelberger has tried to live by during his two-plus seasons as Iowa State’s coach. Sure, he disagrees with some calls. And yes, he brings his concern to the refs as needed – but not to the extent where he can become a physical impediment to the players on the court.
“We’ve got a lot of confidence in the process and the work we put in every single day,” Otzelberger said. “We talk to our guys a lot about maintaining composure, staying in the moment, keeping focus on what’s in front of them.
“It’s important that the things I outline as important factors in us being successful, that when (players) look at me, I’m living those the same way. You want your actions to speak so loudly that no one hears your words.
“I try to do the best I can at taking that advice, trying to live it as best I can − but we all have our moments.”
The Cyclones are knocking on Omaha’s NCAA Tournament door, if you get my drift. If Iowa State wins the rest of its home games, and doesn’t win any more on the road – that’s an 11-7 Big 12 record and 22-9 overall. That’s comfortably in its third NCAA Tournament in a row, and Cyclone fans no doubt would appreciate playing the first two rounds in Omaha.
“We can’t be content with where we are, or what we’ve done up to this point,” Lipsey said. “We think of every game as our last opportunity.”
Iowa State (6-3, 17-5) is a half-game behind Big 12 leader Houston at the season’s midway point, which is significant. Yet we all know there’s still time for a lot to happen. Baylor, tied with the Cyclones, plays host to Kansas on Saturday.
Translation: Predicting who goes into the Big 12 postseason tournament as a No. 1 seed is as much a crapshoot as technical fouls called against Iowa State opponents. The Cyclones are in a good place, which is all that matters right now.
“We can’t be satisfied with what we’ve done so far,” Rob Jones said Friday. “The regular-season games aren’t even the important ones. It’s how close can we be when stuff matters in the postseason.”
More: Peterson: Iowa State basketball’s gutsy performance at Baylor falls just short
So will Saturday be the first time in a while that Iowa State plays in essentially a drama-free game? Maybe Saturday refs won’t be forced to enforce the Big 12’s sideline crackdown. Maybe no one will criticize refs during postgame comments, like Baylor athletics director Mack Rhoades did after his team’s victory against the Cyclones last week.
The Bears’ respected AD was critical after Drew received his second technical foul (which meant ejection) for venturing too far outside the prescribed sideline coaches’ area.
Rhoades spoke his mind to reporters, then on Tuesday he was fined $25,000 by the Big 12. Had he escaped scot-free, that could have started unwanted open mic-like, free-for-all postgame ref-ranting from anyone seated behind a microphone.
Thankfully, the Big 12 acted. We don’t need a few high-strung coaches ruining what’s going to be a frantic second-half rush to the conference finish.
Iowa State columnist Randy Peterson is in his 52nd year writing sports for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at rpeterson@dmreg.com, on X @RandyPete, and at DesMoinesRegister.com/CyclonesTexts
Iowa
Vote: Who Should be Iowa’s High School Athlete of the Week? (4/19/2026)
Here are the candidates for High School on SI’s Iowa high school athlete of the week for April 13-18. Read through the nominees and cast your vote.
Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. PT on Sunday, April 26. The winner will be announced in the following week’s poll. Here are this week’s nominees:
Taylor Roose, Pella boys track and field
Roose competed in three events at the Norwalk Invitational, winning all three in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash and long jump.
Daxon Kiesau, Urbandale boys track and field
Kiesau swept the throwing events at the Norwalk Invitational, taking first place in the shot put and the discus.
Alex Burger, Southeast Valley boys track and field
Competing at home, Burger dominated, earning four gold medals. He won the 400-meter hurdles and the long jump while running on the winning 4×200-meter relay and shuttle hurdle relay.
Kolby Hodnefield, Clear Lake boys track and field
Hodenfield, a defending state champion, broke the meet, venue and school record in the 200 and the 400 at the Clear Lake Invitational. He added victories as part of the 4×100 and 4×400 relays. Both relays also set meet records.
Easton Moon, North Polk boys tennis
Moon has started off his senior season on the courts unbeaten, winning all four matches while dropping just one game in 44 played.
Ava Lohrbach, Gilbert girls golf
One of the top golfers in the state, Lohrbach has had a hot start, firing a 35 in her nine-hole debut and a 72 for her 18-hole opener.
Nathan Manske, Algona boys golf
An elite quarterback and basketball player, Manske is showing his golfing skills this spring, coming out with a state-low 30 in a nine-hole event.
Ella Hein, Tipton girls track and field
Hein set school records in the 400-meter run and long jump at the Tiger/Tigerette Relays while also locking in the Blue Standard and qualifying for the Drake Relays. She won the long jump (18-6) and was second in the 400.
Maeve Bowen-Burt, Iowa City High girls track and field
The sophomore helped the Little Hawks land three Drake Relays events on the last night of qualifying, advancing in the 400 hurdles, along with the sprint medley and 4×400 relays.
About Our Athlete of the Week Voting
High School on SI voting polls are meant to be a fun, lighthearted way for fans to show support for their favorite athletes and teams. Our goal is to celebrate all of the players featured, regardless of the vote totals. Sometimes one athlete will receive a very large number of votes — even thousands — and that’s okay! The polls are open to everyone and are simply a way to build excitement and community around high school sports. Unless we specifically announce otherwise, there are no prizes or official awards for winning. The real purpose is to highlight the great performances of every athlete included in the poll.
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Iowa
Houston icon George Foreman laid to rest in Iowa, drawn by a peaceful 1988 visit
The late boxing great George Foreman lies buried in a cemetery in the northwestern corner of Iowa – a place he has no connection to outside of a lone visit to the region nearly 40 years ago.
Foreman died March 21, 2025, at the age of 76 in Houston and was buried in Logan Park Cemetery at Sioux City, Iowa, a month later, city officials confirmed. Foreman’s family returned Thursday to his burial site, holding a news conference with Sioux City Mayor Bob Scott to reveal Foreman’s burial place, marked by a large monument that bears an image of him as a teen following his Olympic gold medal boxing win.
The family explained in a statement released by Sioux City officials that he had visited the Iowa city in 1988, and often recalled the sense of peace he experienced there.
After traveling to the city on April 17 last year to bury Foreman, his family said they immediately understood the region’s appeal.
“Our father lived a life of purpose, faith and gratitude,” the family said in a statement released by Sioux City officials. “To see him laid to rest in a place that brought him peace means everything to us.”
Scott joined the family at Foreman’s monument that lies just a few miles north of the Missouri River in an upper Midwest city of nearly 87,000 people. The cemetery overlooks the scenic Loess Hills, created by windblown silt deposits that reach up to 200 feet high (about 61 meters) and line the river along the Iowa border for 200 miles (322 kilometers).
“Their story is a reminder of how one place can stay with someone for a lifetime,” Scott said.
A native Texan, Foreman rose to fame when he made the 1968 U.S. Olympic boxing team, winning gold in Mexico City. He became the heavyweight champion of the world in 1973 by defeating the great Joe Frazier, only to lose the title a year later to Muhammad Ali in the famous “Rumble in the Jungle.”
A full 20 years later in 1994, Foreman became the oldest man to win the heavyweight championship at 45, defeating Michael Moorer in an epic upset.
Foreman retired in 1997 with a 76-5 career record.
He then moved on to the next chapter in his life as a businessman, pitchman and occasional actor, becoming known to a new generation as the face of the George Foreman Grill. The simple cooking machine sold more than 100 million units and brought him more wealth than boxing.
A biographical movie based on Foreman’s life was released in 2023.
Copyright © 2026 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Iowa
GOP governor candidate Zach Lahn pitches Iowa-first platform at Dubuque town hall
DUBUQUE, Iowa (KCRG) — About 50 Iowans braved the threat of severe storms to hear from Republican candidate for governor Zach Lahn at his town hall in Dubuque Friday night.
Lahn, a farmer and businessman, said his campaign is about solving the long-term systemic issues facing Iowans.
One priority is addressing what Lahn calls a cancer crisis in Iowa, as the state has the second-highest cancer rate in the country. Solving the crisis means ensuring Iowans have access to clean, nitrate-free drinking water, working with farmers to reduce agricultural runoff.
“Iowans are just ready for something that they should be able to count on, like clean drinking water,” Lahn said. “We have ways to clean up the drinking water in Iowa that isn’t on the backs of farmers, but is working alongside with them because they’re drinking the water too, and they want to do what’s right.”
Lahn also wants to stop Iowa’s “brain drain,” as more of Iowa’s college graduates left the state for opportunities elsewhere.
“Don’t leave! Give me some time! I’m going to fight to keep you here,” Lahn said. “I was one of these kids. I thought I had to leave the state to find something better. We have to prioritize Iowa’s incentive dollars to make sure they’re going to grow Iowa businesses that are going to be here for the long haul, so our kids have places to work.”
Running a distinct campaign feels challenging this election, as Lahn is one of five GOP candidates who want to be Iowa’s next governor, facing U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, former Department of Administrative Services Director Adam Steen, state Rep. Eddie Andrews and former state Rep. Brad Sherman.
Iowa Auditor Rob Sand is the only Democrat running for the state’s top office.
Lahn said he stands out by promising Iowa will be for Iowans, pledging to ban the use of eminent domain for private gain and tax out-of-state landowners and data centers at higher rates to lower property taxes.
“It always goes back to follow the money, so when it comes to not being a weak-kneed Republican today, I believe the paramount piece of that is answering only to the citizens of Iowa, not to special interests to pad their bottom line, but what’s best for the people of Iowa,” Lahn said.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.
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