Iowa
Tracking your kid’s social media can be overwhelming. An Iowa expert has these suggestions
CEOs of social media giants face congressional scrutiny
On Capitol Hill, CEOs of major social media platforms faced intense questioning from lawmakers regarding accusations that their apps pose dangers, sometimes deadly, for children.
Fox – 26 Houston
In this day in age, the majority of people are on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook or YouTube — even if they might not be adults yet. Attempting to manage a child’s use of whatever other app is trending can be overwhelming for parents, so much so that the majority of Iowans support state legislation that would limit children’s access to social media.
A proposed bill intended to create more oversight on children’s internet use for parents and guardians passed the Iowa House on March 6. House File 2523 bans anyone under 18 years old from making an account on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook and TikTok without permission from a guardian or parent.
It also allows the Iowa attorney general and users to sue social media companies for violating parent authorization rules.
🔎 What are kids seeing on social media?
A recent Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll found that more than half of Iowans favor the bill, with 42% of Iowans opposed to it.
Here are some tips for parents on how to manage kids’ time on the internet.
Is government oversight for children’s use of social media effective?
It can be. State involvement to limit minors’ access to social media is an effective tool to improve internet oversight for children, said Rachel Young associate professor at the University of Iowa School. The implementation of laws that protect children online in other countries has proven effective, Young said.
“Parents have been given this really pretty impossible task of managing digital media,” Young said, who studies how adolescents and parents manage digital media use. “So it makes a lot of sense to me why we’re seeing a call from parents for help from legislation that would more effectively keep younger kids off social media.”
What are the dangers of social media for children?
Social media companies use algorithms to determine what people want to see based on searches and likes. This can become dangerous for people and children if something like self-harm is searched.
“If a kid shows some interest in a video talking about self-harm, the TikTok algorithm, or whatever social media platform, will very quickly notice that,” Young said. “Then you might get a lot of content about self-harm. So you are very quickly in a media environment where you are surrounded by those types of messages.”
What makes monitoring child social media use so difficult?
The sheer volume of content children now have access to on social media makes it hard for parents to monitor. Not everything on the internet is bad either, which makes it hard for parents to decipher limits, Young said.
“It is hard to distinguish between the uses that we want to allow and the uses that we don’t,” Young said.
What is the best way to monitor social media use for children?
Talking to children about social media at an early age can help establish boundaries, Young said. The most effective strategy to limiting social media is when kids have a model for having conversations with parents about what they see online. Research shows parents have an easier time setting effective limits if there has been conversations about social media in advance, Young said.
“If you already have the type of relationship where kids feel open to discussing what they have encountered online, then that will help in setting rules and limits that a kid is more likely to understand,” Young said. “Hopefully those limits will be more effective.”
How effective are limits created by social media companies?
Most social media apps have age restrictions when making an account. To access Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter, users must be at least 13 years old. But as we all know, it only takes some simple math for kids to adjust their age to meet the age requirement.
“Kids have a lot of motivation to use social media because it’s where everyone they know is already using it for important conversations,” Young said. “So it is not difficult at all for kids to get around age limits set by any social media platform.”
What tools are there to set limits on social media?
Some smartphones allow parents to set time limits on a child’s phone or how long they are on a certain app. This can be an effective step for improving internet oversight for children.
“If your phone is connected to your child’s phone in a family group, then you can have oversight over a lot of how that phone is being used,” Young said.
Limits can help, but Young believes they should be accompanied by a conversation.
“Kids are really good at finding out ways to get around any limits that parents might set, and they are often very knowledgeable about technology,” Young said. “If those limits are set in a way that involves the kids and an understanding of why they are important, they might not like it but that would lead to a better outcome than a limit that is set like a my way or the highway limit.”
Kate Kealey is a general assignment reporter for the Register. Reach her at kkealey@registermedia.com or follow her on Twitter at @Kkealey17.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – Iowa City police are asking the public’s help identifying persons of interest connected to a vandalism investigation.
Police said a business was vandalized in the alley behind the 200 block of East Washington Street on Sunday at 2:35 a.m.
Investigators would like to speak with the persons of interest pictured. Police ask anyone who recognizes these individuals to contact them.
Anyone with information or security camera footage of the incident should contact the Iowa City Police Department at 319-356-5275. Iowa City Area Crime Stoppers is also offering a reward up to $1,000 for information that leads to an arrest.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.
Iowa State football coach Jimmy Rogers assesses the Cyclones’ spring
Iowa State football coach Jimmy Rogers assesses the Cyclones’ spring
Spring commencement arrives at Iowa State this weekend, with a whole new generation of Cyclones set to get their diplomas and move on to the next things in their lives.
The options and choices will set their path for, potentially, the years and decades ahead.
Which got me thinking about the choices and circumstances of this school year that came for Iowa State athletics. There were no shortages of inflection points at which, it seems, programs and an entire athletics department pivoted to new directions.
Let’s explore.
What if Iowa State had hired Taylor Mouser as head football coach?
This seems to be the most discussed “Sliding Doors” moment for Iowa State football fans regarding head coach Matt Campbell’s departure to Penn State. And with good reason. It’s the most obvious, could have had the most immediate impact on the program and would have been largely seen as a continuation of the most successful run in school history.
Would promoting the Iowa State offensive coordinator, though, have been the right move?
If you assume a best-case scenario in which some of the star Cyclone players on offense – think Rocco Becht, Ben Brahmer, Carson Hansen, etc. – stay at Iowa State and a bulk of the coaching staff does as well, there are still likely defections that weaken the roster. Nothing like we saw back in December, but, still, there would be holes – and Campbell’s shoes – to fill by a first-time head coach taking over for a legend.
The calculation, as I see it, has to be – does the Year 1 continuity and relative stability gained by hiring Mouser provide for better long-term results than hiring Jimmy Rogers, who has the benefit of head-coaching experience?
It certainly would have made the fan base feel better back in December, but would it have positioned Iowa State to have better results in 2027 and beyond?
The roster almost certainly would have been “better” in 2026 if Iowa State retained Mouser, but would that have created a more solid foundation for the future or just delayed decay?
This “What If” becomes a lot less intricate and interesting if Rogers just wins a ton this fall and going forward.
What if Penn State had been able to hire Kalani Sitake as its football coach?
I think this is the most interesting question on the list.
By reports, Penn State was on the verge of hiring Sitake from BYU when the Cougars’ boosters – led by the Crumbl Cookie fortune – banded together to put together a financial package to keep Sitake in Provo.
What if they hadn’t, though?
Sitake goes to Penn State, and Dec. 5, 2025, is an uneventful day in Iowa State history rather than one of its most feverish.
But … what happens a few weeks later when Sherrone Moore is fired at Michigan?
Rather than plucking 66-year-old Kyle Whittingham from Utah/forced retirement, do the Wolverines try to make a Michigan Man out of an Ohioan? Does Campbell inherit the seat of Bo Schembechler?
And, for the sake of this thought exercise, if Campbell did move to Ann Arbor, does the timing of that decision change athletics director Jamie Pollard’s options and calculus about Iowa State’s opening? Is Jimmy Rogers still available? Or would he have taken a different opening or opted not to leave Pullman at that later date? Is Mouser the answer in this scenario?
Or is the Buckeye State distaste for the state Up North too much and Campbell returns for Year 11 at Iowa State?
Addy Brown on what went wrong in Iowa State’s loss to Syracuse
Iowa State’s Addy Brown talks about her team’s struggles in a loss to Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament.
What if Addy Brown doesn’t get hurt?
Iowa State women’s basketball was 14-0 on Jan. 4 when it played Baylor in Waco, and the season felt sure to realize the potential that was clear before it started with one of coach Bill Fennelly’s best rosters.
The Cyclones, though, returned home with their first loss and with Addy Brown sidelined with a back injury.
Four more losses in a row followed, and when Brown returned to the floor after six weeks, the Cyclones’ season was floundering.
They salvaged an NCAA Tournament bid, but a first-round exit gave way to a roster collapse with nine players – including Brown and superstar Audi Crooks – leaving via the transfer portal, putting Fennelly’s tenure and future under fire.
If Brown doesn’t get hurt – or just isn’t out as long – does that change the trajectory of the season? The offseason? And what the eventual end of Fennelly’s Iowa State career looks like?
What if Joshua Jefferson doesn’t roll his ankle?
The most recent “What If” I think is also the most straightforward.
If Jefferson’s ankle doesn’t roll in the early minutes of Iowa State’s first-round NCAA Tournament blowout win over Tennessee State, I think the Cyclones get a long second weekend in Chicago, but the Final Four drought probably remains intact.
Jefferson’s rebounding and offensive impact are, I think, enough to give the Cyclones the edge against Tennessee, but Michigan, the Cyclones’ would-be Elite Eight opponent, was just a juggernaut.
I’m not sure even a full-strength Iowa State team would have had more than a puncher’s chance. The Wolverines were just one of the best college basketball teams we’ve seen over the last few decades.
Iowa State columnist Travis Hines has covered the Cyclones for the Des Moines Register and Ames Tribune since 2012. Contact him at thines@amestrib.com or (515) 284-8000. Follow him on X at @TravisHines21.
One of the top Iowa high school football prospects in the state has made his college decision official.
Iowa City Regina High School senior-to-be Tate Wallace has announced he has verbally committed to the University of Minnesota in the Big Ten Conference. Wallace picked the Golden Gophers and head coach PJ Fleck over a finalists Notre Dame, Nebraska, Arizona, Arizona State and Wisconsin.
Wallace narrowed down his list of schools to six at the end of April before making his final decision.
Iowa City Regina Football Standout Tate Wallace Ranked As No. 2 Overall Prospect In Iowa High School Football
The 6-foot-2, 226-pound linebacker is considered the No. 2 overall prospect in the state of Iowa for high school football, and is the No. 21 linebacker in the Class of 2027, according to 247Sports.
In the 247Sports Composite rankings, Wallace is No. 2 in Iowa high school football, No. 29 at linebacker and No. 359 for the Class of 2027.
Along With Minnesota, Tate Wallace Currently Holds Offers From Schools Such As Arizona, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Iowa State
Wallace currently holds 16 total offers including from the previously mentioned Minnesota, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Arizona, Arizona State, Wisconsin, Iowa State, Kansas State, Purdue, Tennessee, West Virginia, Eastern Michigan, Miami (Ohio), Toledo, UNLV, North Dakota and North Dakota State.
As a junior, Wallace registered almost 50 tackles on defense, with 29 of them being counted as solo stops. He had 18 tackles for loss, 8.5 quarterback sacks and forced two fumbles, as Iowa City Regina advanced to the state championship game of the Iowa High School Athletic Association State Football Championships.
Future Minnesota Golden Gopher Has Been Key Two-Way Starter For Regals
Wallace also hauled in 40 passes for 611 yards with 10 receiving touchdowns on offense for the Regals. As a two-way player for Iowa City Regina during his sophomore season, Wallace had 27.5 tackles, including 16 solo stops, four tackles for loss and a quarterback sack, adding 51 receptions for 752 yards and eight touchdowns.
Back in March, Wallace announced seven spring visits to Notre Dame, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Arizona, Kansas State and Arizona State. He also visited Tennessee this past fall, taking in an SEC contest with the Volunteers.
Along with his success on the football field, Wallace helped lead the Regals to the Iowa High School Athletic Association Boys State Basketball Tournament this past winter. He earned High School on SI all-state honors in the process.
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