Iowa
What the coolest thing made in Iowa? Contest will allow Iowans to decide
The coolest product made in South Carolina last year was the F-16 fighter jet, residents say. In Arkansas, they chose fluff pulp, the absorbent material made from softwood chips that goes into baby diapers and other products.
In 2024, it’s Iowans’ turn to vote on the coolest product made in their state ― and they’re likely to learn about items they never knew were made here.
The Coolest Thing Made in Iowa contest, which kicks off with the nominating process starting March 25, is being sponsored by the Iowa Association of Business and Industry and MidwestOne Bank. It culminates with a winner being announced June 5 at the ABI’s annual conference in the Quad Cities.
More: Attention holiday gift buyers: Here are 9 Local Legends, Des Moines makers of unique items
“We work with Iowa manufacturers every day and even we don’t know all of the products that are made out there. It’s a chance for us to learn what all is being made in Iowa as well,” said Kelsey O’Connor of ABI.
Anyone can nominate an Iowa product they think is cool by going to coolestthingia.com starting March 25. Nominees for a Sweet 16 round will be announced on April 19, with bracket votingfrom April 22 to May 29. The makers of the top four products will be invited to the conference for the announcement of the winner.
In neighboring Nebraska, the excitement of the competition was “amazing and fun,” said Andy Havlovic, owner of Rocket Mobility, the 2023 winner.
The Columbus company’s winning product ― which is indeed, cool ― is a motorized, all-terrain wheel chair built on tracks, allowing disabled people to access hard to reach places in the great outdoors.
“It was just fun to be a part of it. We wanted to win, but just being in the final 16 was so worth it. Columbus and all the employees were all excited as we advanced from round to round,” Havlovic said.
He said the competition also gave his company some valuable exposure.
“It was important to us because we’re not a large company like some of the others that were in the contest,” he said.
O’Connor said that’s exactly what ABI is hoping for with the Iowa competition.
“We don’t know exactly what to expect but hopefully it will be as popular here as it has been in other states. We are hopeful that it is,” she said.
In addition to the “wow factor” of being able to highlight unique products made in Iowa, she said, the competition helps spotlight the state’s manufacturing industry, which employs 225,000 people and contributes over $38 billion annually to the economy.
More: Iowa enjoys distillery boom: From grain to glass, these 8 makers produce top-shelf spirits
O’Connor said the contest also is an opportunity to highlight the manufacturing careers that are available in Iowa.
“In other states, it has been fun to see smaller communities rally around the cool products that are made in their town,” she said.
She said the winner of Coolest Thing Made In Iowa will get a trophy to go with the bragging rights.
And that’s pretty cool in itself.
Iowa
Iowa Supreme Court overturns doctor’s child sex abuse conviction
The Iowa Supreme Court’s 2025-2026 docket is filled with key cases
Iowa’s top court has a busy schedule as it launches into a new term this fall, delving into cases involving subjects including bullying and TikTok.
The Iowa Supreme Court has overturned the conviction of a West Des Moines doctor found guilty of sexually abusing a child, ruling that allowing the victim to testify via one-way video violated the Iowa Constitution.
The court on Tuesday, Dec. 23, reversed the conviction of Lynn Melvin Lindaman, a longtime central Iowa surgeon who practiced at the Lindaman Orthopaedics clinic in West Des Moines before he was charged in 2023 with second-degree sexual abuse. The case was remanded for a new trial.
The decision is the latest in a string of rulings that have set Iowa apart as the only state in the country whose highest court has barred one-way video testimony in criminal trials, even in cases involving child victims.
Those decisions already have begun reshaping prosecutions across the state and have prompted lawmakers to launch the process of amending the Iowa Constitution. The change would ultimately require voter approval.
Lindaman, now 75, was convicted after a jury trial in Polk County. Prosecutors alleged that on June 26, 2023, he committed a sex act in Ankeny against a child under the age of 10. A second count of sexual abuse was dismissed prior to trial. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison, with a mandatory minimum of 42½ years because of a prior sexual predatory offense in 1976. He also faced a separate and now-dismissed civil lawsuit from an Iowa woman who claimed he sexually assaulted her in 1975.
The Iowa Offender Search still lists Lindaman as in custody of the Iowa Medical & Classification Center.
On appeal, Lindaman argued that his constitutional rights were violated when the district court allowed the child to testify from another room via one-way closed-circuit television, rather than from the witness stand in the courtroom.
“Today’s decision from the Iowa Supreme Court is an important win for Lynn Lindaman and a major step toward a fair result,” said Lucas Taylor, the attorney representing Lindaman. “Although the court did not rule in our favor on every issue, this ruling recognizes serious errors in the prior proceedings and gives Mr. Lindaman the chance to present his defense to a new jury.”
In a 4-3 ruling issued earlier this year in State v. White, the Iowa Supreme Court agreed with that argument, holding that one-way video testimony violates the confrontation clause of the Iowa Constitution. Writing for the majority in that case, Justice David May said that “when the accused and the witness are prevented from seeing each other, there is no face-to-face confrontation, and the Iowa Constitution is not satisfied.”
The ruling came despite U.S. Supreme Court precedent allowing such testimony and laws in many other states permitting it. Under the Iowa statute the court overturned, judges had been allowed to authorize remote testimony by minors, or witnesses with mental illnesses or disabilities, if a judge found that “trauma caused by testifying in the physical presence of the defendant … would impair the minor’s ability to communicate.”
The White decision arose from an Osceola County case, but its effects have since spread and courts across Iowa have begun hearing challenges from defendants convicted in cases where one-way video testimony was used.
Following the ruling, Lynn Hicks, a spokesman for the Polk County Attorney’s Office, said at least five Polk County defendants convicted under similar circumstances could be entitled to new trials.
One of those defendants, Michael Dunbar, already has received a new trial. Dunbar was resentenced after the victim testified in person from the witness stand, and the court again imposed a life sentence.
Dissent fuels push to amend Iowa Constitution
The State v. White ruling has drawn sharp criticism from prosecutors and state leaders, including Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, who has argued the decision unnecessarily traumatizes child victims.
Bird has proposed a constitutional amendment to allow children to testify remotely in certain cases. The measure has passed both chambers of the Legislature once and must pass again before going to voters in a statewide referendum.
“Children shouldn’t be forced to testify at arm’s length from their abusers, and many kids can’t. This opinion shows how important it is to restore protections for a child victim to testify remotely,” Bird said in a Tuesday statement to the Des Moines Register. “Our office will continue to fight for a constitutional amendment to ensure kids are protected and abusers are brought to justice. We are grateful our effort has received overwhelming bipartisan support in the Iowa Legislature.”
Justice Thomas D. Waterman, writing in a dissent in the opinion issued Tuesday, rejected the majority’s historical interpretation of the confrontation clause.
“Thunder comes during rainstorms; it does not follow that thunder requires rain. That video testimony was not used in 1871 tells us more about technology than it does about constitutional interpretation,” Waterman wrote.
He also said there is “no historical evidence that the framers of the Iowa Constitution intended a different meaning for confrontation rights than the Sixth Amendment,” and warned that the majority was reading requirements into Iowa’s Constitution that do not exist in its text.
Nick El Hajj is a reporter at the Register. He can be reached at nelhajj@gannett.com. Follow him on X at @nick_el_hajj.
This story was updated to add new information and to correct an inaccuracy.
Iowa
States including Iowa, Nebraska reach $150M settlement with Mercedes-Benz
LINCOLN, Neb. (WOWT) – A coalition of states including both Iowa and Nebraska reached a nearly $150 million settlement with Mercedes-Benz.
The states allege over 200,000 diesel vehicles were illegally equipped with devices designed to cheat on emissions tests between 2008 and 2016.
Mercedes allegedly hid the existence of these devices from regulators and people purchasing the vehicles.
Copyright 2025 WOWT. All rights reserved.
Iowa
See where Iowa State basketball ranks in the AP and coaches polls
Iowa State basketball is now ranked in the top three.
The Cyclone men improved to 13-0 this week after obliterating Long Beach State on Dec. 21 at Hilton Coliseum.
With the holiday week, Iowa State is off before returning for a home game Monday, Dec. 29, against Houston Christian at 7 p.m.
Here is a look at where the Cyclones stand in the latest college basketball rankings:
Iowa State rankings update
Iowa State moved up one spot to No. 3 in both the AP and Coaches Polls. The Cyclones were previously at No. 4.
USA TODAY Sports men’s college basketball coaches poll
Here is a look at the new USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball coaches poll.
- Michigan
- Arizona
- Iowa State
- UConn
- Purdue
- Duke
- Gonzaga
- Houston
- Michigan State
- BYU
- Vanderbilt
- North Carolina
- Nebraska
- Louisville
- Alabama
- Texas Tech
- Kansas
- Arkansas
- Illinois
- Tennessee
- Virginia
- Florida
- Iowa
- Georgia
- USC
Others receiving votes
St. John’s 32; Kentucky 32; Seton Hall 20; Utah State 15; Auburn 10; California 9; UCLA 8; Saint Louis 8; LSU 6; Yale 4; Oklahoma State 3; Saint Mary’s 1; Indiana 1; Clemson 1;
AP Poll
Here is a look at the new Associated Press poll.
- Arizona
- Michigan
- Iowa State
- UConn
- Purdue
- Duke
- Gonzaga
- Houston
- Michigan State
- BYU
- Vanderbilt
- North Carolina
- Nebraska
- Alabama
- Texas Tech
- Louisville
- Kansas
- Arkansas
- Tennessee
- Illinois
- Virginia
- Florida
- Georgia
- USC
- Iowa
Others receiving votes
Kentucky 78, Seton Hall 49, Auburn 39, St. John’s 23, California 19, LSU 17, UCLA 13, Clemson 9, Miami (Ohio) 6, Utah St. 5, Arizona St 5, Indiana 4, Miami 4, Saint Louis 3, Belmont 2, Baylor 1, Oklahoma St. 1, UCF 1, NC State 1.
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