Iowa
This Iowa native is being inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame
New Juno spacecraft images show Jupiter’s moon
NASA’s Juno spacecraft is at it again, delivering some of the most high resolution and amazing photos of Jupiter’s biggest moon.
An Iowa native will be inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame this year.
David Hilmers, born in Clinton, and Marsha Ivins will join the 107 astronauts who are part of the hall of fame with a ceremony scheduled for June 1, according to a news release.
“These two veterans of the space program have demonstrated outstanding accomplishments in furthering NASA’s mission of exploration and discovery,” said Curt Brown, board chairman of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, which stewards the selection process. “Both Hilmers and Ivins represent the committed spirit of exploration, bravery and teamwork that make our space program a continued success. We are proud and honored to have them join the ranks of the space pioneers recognized in the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.”
Who is David Hilmers?
Born in Clinton in 1950, Hilmers considers DeWitt his hometown, according to the news release.
The Iowa native worked for NASA for 12 years, logging 493 hours in space over the course of four missions, the Des Moines Register reported in 2021.
He was selected as an astronaut in 1980, previously enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps and attending Naval Postgraduate School in California.
His roles at NASA included shuttle software testing, extravehicular activity suit development — or the kind of suit used for spacewalks, according to NASA — capsule communicator for six shuttle flights and as operating as the head of the mission development branch of the astronaut office.
Hilmers flew on several missions, including as a mission specialist on STS-51J. The Department of Defense mission marked the first flight of space shuttle Atlantis, occurring from Oct. 3-7, 1985, according to NASA.
He was also part of the 1988 mission that “returned American astronauts to space,” NASA reported, following the Challenger disaster that killed seven crew members in an explosion quickly after launch in 1986. Hilmers flew as a mission specialist.
In February 1992, Hilmers retired from NASA and as a colonel in the Marine Corps. Currently, he is a professor of internal medicine and pediatrics at the Houston-based Baylor College of Medicine, according to the news release. His involvement with space continue. He works with NASA as the exploration medicine technical lead for the Clinical Science Team.
What is the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame?
Inductees are selected by a committee of hall of fame astronauts, former NASA officials, flight directors, historians and journalists, according to the news release. The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida has displays for the hall of famers that visitors can see.
See photos of other Iowans who have made it to space
Iowans have long contributed their talents and intelligence to make space exploration possible.
More: A look at the Iowans who have made it to space
These individuals include:
- Clayton Anderson, who graduated from Iowa State University and completed six spacewalks by his retirement in 2013;
- Laurel Clark, who was born in Ames and spent 15 days, 22 hours and 20 minutes in space aboard space shuttle Columbia, which disintegrated upon re-entering Earth’s atmosphere;
- Walter Cunningham, the Creston-born man who piloted the 11-day Apollo 7 flight in 1968;
- Dale Gardner, who spent a total of 337 hours in space and considers Clinton his hometown;
- James Kelly, the Burlington-born astronaut who piloted the space shuttle Discovery on flights STS-102 and STS-114;
- George “Pinky” Nelson, who flew in several missions during the 1980s and was born in Charles City;
- Loren Shriver, the Jefferson-born man who was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2008;
- Peggy Whitson, who grew up in Beaconsfield and became the first woman to command the International Space Station; and
- Raja Chari, the Cedar Falls astronaut who served as commander of the NASA SpaceX Crew-3 mission in 2021.
Paris Barraza is a trending and general assignment reporter at the Des Moines Register. Reach her at pbarraza@registermedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza.
SERGEANT BLUFF, Iowa (KTIV) – Gelita USA held an open house Friday, July 10, to celebrate the completion of a new wastewater treatment facility at its plant near Sergeant Bluff, marking the end of years of regulatory violations tied to its discharge into the Missouri River.
Gelita manufactures gelatin and collagen, ingredients used in food, medicine, and supplements. That manufacturing process produces large amounts of contaminated wastewater containing proteins, fats, and ammonia, a substance categorized as a toxic pollutant.
According to an Iowa Department of Natural Resources sampling inspection from March 2025, the plant was processing nearly double its design capacity. Before the upgrade, the Iowa State lab documented black water in the Missouri River near the facility’s discharge site. The Iowa DNR found Gelita had exceeded ammonia limits multiple times.
The report said that at the outfall to the Missouri River, Iowa DNR Tom Ross observed that the effluent had a black coloration. Roos requested additional testing at this location.
“Following the inspection, the discharge location on the Missouri River was visited. During the visit, the effluent at the river appeared to be a dark color, much different then the effluent observed at the treatment facility. It was explained during the visit, the color of the discharge to the river was a violation of 567-61.3(2) ‘c’, lowa Administrative Code, which states that all surface waters shall be free from materials attributable to wastewater discharges or agricultural practices producing objectionable color, odor, or other aesthetically objectionable conditions.”
Jeff Tolsma, General Manager of Gelita USA, said the upgrade was the result of an extended dialogue with regulators and upgraded technology.
The new facility includes ultraviolet disinfection, a feature the old plant did not have. The UV light treatment damages the DNA of bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms before discharge, improving the company’s compliance with Iowa DNR standards.
Company, regulators call it a turning point
“We met with the EPA and the Iowa DNR probably 18 months, two years ago. It’s been a long dialogue with them, but they were great partners, great to work with,” Tolsma said. “And this wastewater treatment plant allows us to basically meet those new regulations that have been put in place. I think what is significant is that this actually brings us forward from a compliance standpoint for a long-term sustainable operation.”
The Iowa DNR said it will continue monitoring the facility to ensure ongoing compliance.
Gelita USA has operated in the Siouxland area for approximately 30 years and employs around 200 people.
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Copyright 2026 KTIV. All rights reserved.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – Andrew McKeever is hard to miss at an Iowa practice. The St. Mary’s transfer and center stands 7 feet, 3 inches tall and averaged 8.2 points and 9.2 rebounds per game last season.
‘Nothing like I’ve seen in practice’
Teammates have taken notice of McKeever’s size. Forward Trey Thompson said the center’s hands alone drew a reaction.
“Yeah, he’s big. That’s for sure. I saw him looking at his phone and it looked like a tiny, little iPod in his hand. I was like, ‘Geez, man,’” Thompson said.
Forward Joey Matteoni said McKeever’s presence in the paint stands apart from what he has seen in recent seasons.
“He controls the paint for sure and nothing like I’ve seen in practice the last couple of years. No offense to Cam (Manyawu), but I mean 7′3” is just different,” Matteoni said.
McKeever on why Iowa made sense
McKeever said the decision to transfer to Iowa was straightforward.
“It was a pretty obvious choice for me,” McKeever said. “Their team was so good last year, making an Elite 8 run. I was maybe a key piece that they needed with a little bit more size, even though their bigs were good, but they just didn’t have the height as some of the other teams did in the Big Ten. So I figured I could help in that way.”
From baseball to basketball
McKeever was not always a basketball player. He stood around 6 feet, 2 inches early in high school before a significant growth spurt changed his trajectory.
“I was like 6′2” during COVID and then I grew to 6′10″ when I was out of COVID. I was playing baseball at the time, and I was like, yeah, I got to go to basketball. I locked in during my sophomore season,” McKeever said.
His high school coach pushed him to make the switch permanent.
“My high school coach who I had been with growing up said, ‘You need to stop playing baseball and just focus on basketball.’ That’s kind of when it flipped the switch for me,” McKeever said.
Adjusting to his own size
Even after committing to basketball, McKeever said adapting to his own frame took time.
“Maybe a little uncoordinated and slow for my size. But I kind of worked on it a lot when I was at St. Mary’s and I got better at it,” McKeever said.
McKeever now joins Iowa’s program under head coach Ben McCollum.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.
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