Iowa
Possible East Coast port strike will increase costs in Iowa
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – An East Coast port strike could be just days away, and that could mean spending even more at the grocery store and for other goods here in Iowa.
Workers at the ports along the East Coast are set to strike October 1st.
Around 45,000 dock workers on the East Coast are likely to go on strike for the first time since 1977.
But according to supply chain experts here in Iowa, even if the strike doesn’t end up happening, the damage is already done.
“Apple watch, they’d usually use a port maybe in New England to serve that market, they’ve already diverted their shipments,” said Dr. Andy Anderson, UNI supply chain management professor.
In anticipation of a possible strike, ships on the sea right now are going to the West Coast instead of the East coast.
That means a lot of ships need to take a long detour, which could pose a big risk for any perishables being shipped.
“So what we saw in 2015 with the [West Coast] port strikes is that we saw a lot of things just rotting in their containers because there were so many delays,” Anderson said.
Another factor is that ports on the west coast will be handling ships that normally go to the east coast, which could lead to a big traffic jam for ships on the East Coast.
“West Coast cannot handle the entirety of all these five major East Coast ports, the volume,” said Jade Chu, UNI supply chain management professor.
Delays for perishable products mean trips to the grocery store will be more expensive.
Plus, with the holidays coming up, lots of goods that would be shipped in time for holiday shopping are now potentially being delayed.
“So something that’s small and high in value like an iPhone probably isn’t going to be impacted that much, but if you have something that is much larger and lower value, then you’re going to see a big impact,” Anderson said.
While he still expects shelves to be stocked here in Iowa, delays and some scarcity mean higher costs.
Copyright 2024 KCRG. All rights reserved.
TAMA COUNTY, Iowa — A pair of power outages left more than 700 people without power in Tama County Friday afternoon.
Alliant Energy says the larger outage, just north of Garwin, was caused by a semi-truck striking one of their power poles. That outages impacted 690 customers as of 5 p.m. Friday.
The smaller outage impacted roughly 36 people in Tama. The outage was caused by equipment needing repairs.
Alliant says crews are on site and working to fix both outages.
SPIRIT LAKE, Iowa (KTIV) – The Iowa Great Lakes community is remembering Leo “Butch” Parks, a longtime lakes-area businessman and founder of Parks Marina.
He died Tuesday, Jan. 6, at the age of 81.
Parks established the marina on East Lake Okoboji in 1983, growing it from a small fishing boat operation into a business with marinas, sales, service, rentals, storage, and popular destinations like the Barefoot Bar.
Parks and his wife, Debbie, also owned Okoboji Boat Works for 23 years.
Funeral services are set for Friday, Jan. 16, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Spirit Lake. It will be followed by a celebration of life at Snapper’s restaurant in Okoboji that evening.
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Copyright 2026 KTIV. All rights reserved.
Iowa
Iowa woman accused of pandering for prostitution and harassment after incidents at Casey’s and a daycare
AURELIA, Iowa (KTIV) – A Northwest Iowa woman is facing charges of harassment and pandering for prostitution after two incidents took place in December 2025.
Forty-seven-year-old Kristal Miller of Odebolt was taken into custody on an arrest warrant and faces three charges: one count of pandering for prostitution and two counts of first-degree harassment, according to court documents.
The charges stem from two separate incidents that took place on Thursday, Dec. 18. 2025.
According to court documents, at 6:15 a.m., Miller reportedly went to the Casey’s General Store, located at 100 Pearl St. in Aurelia. Documents state Miller approached an employee and customers, requesting money from them.
Authorities state Miller claimed she was wanted by the FBI and told people, if anyone called the police, “she would kill them.”
During this encounter, she also allegedly asked an employee to remove the string from her hooded sweatshirt. Documents state when the employee refused this request, she threatened to strangle them.
That same day at 7 a.m., Miller reportedly approached a female employee outside an Aurelia daycare and asked them for money.
Court documents stated Miller suggested the unnamed employee leave her boyfriend. Miller reportedly told the employee, if she did, then she and Miller would both be paid.
Authorities say when she was told no by the employee, Miller became upset and started yelling at them.
Miller also allegedly threatened to “steal her car” and ”take her away to her guys to start a new life.”
She was booked into the Cherokee County Jail on a cash-only bond of $5,000. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled in Cherokee for Friday, Jan. 9, at 10 a.m.
Want to get the latest news and weather from Siouxland’s News Source? Follow these links to download our KTIV News app and our First Alert Weather app.
Copyright 2026 KTIV. All rights reserved.
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