Iowa
When to see the Aquarids meteor shower, debris from Halley’s comet from Iowa
Top astronomy events for May 2025
This May brings us a meteor shower visible around the world and a planetary alignment with our moon.
Skywatchers in Iowa have one last opportunity in the coming days to catch a meteor shower, as the next one won’t peak until late July.
The ETA Aquarids, a meteor shower that originated from the debris left by Halley’s comet, becomes most active each May during the first couple of weeks of the month. The Aquarids – sometimes spelled as “Aquariids” – are famous for being fast and leaving spectacular glowing trails in their wake.
The ETA Aquarids, a meteor shower formed from debris left behind by Halley’s comet, reach their peak activity each year during the first few weeks of May. The Aquarids — sometimes spelled “Aquariids” — are known for their incredible speed and glowing trails.
When does the ETA Aquarids meteor shower peak?
The Aquarids, which first became active on April 19, are due to peak between May 5 and May 6 and last until May 28, according to the American Meteor Society.
The Aquarids follow the Lyrid meteor shower in April and the Quadrantids in January.
What time can I see the Aquarids meteors?
The Aquarids are best viewed during the dark hours between midnight and dawn, according to the American Meteor Society.
The website Time and Date also provides detailed information about where and when to see the phenomenon. For Des Moines, peak viewing is usually between 3 and 6 a.m.
Where can you see Aquarids meteor shower?
The Aquarids should pretty much be visible around the globe, anywhere in the sky – assuming clouds and a bright moon don’t obscure the view.
However, the meteors are best seen from the Southern Hemisphere. That’s because the meteors seem to emerge – or radiate – from the constellation Aquarius, which is higher up in the sky in the Southern Hemisphere than it is in the Northern Hemisphere.
In the Northern Hemisphere, ETA Aquarid meteors appear as what NASA refers to as “Earthgrazers” – or long meteors that appear to skim the surface of the Earth at the horizon.
Heading to a rural area or anywhere that is as dark as possible to decrease the chances of light pollution will also help to unveil the best sights.
What is the weather forecast for Aquarids meteor shower in Iowa?
May 5 will be Iowans’ best chance of seeing the Aquarids meteor shower.
The night of Monday, May 5, will be mostly clear with a low around 48 degrees in Des Moines. Most of Iowa is forecast to have between 10% and 25% cloud cover overnight. Parts of northeast Iowa could have as much as 41% cloud cover.
Tuesday night will see increased cloud coverage with a low near 52 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
Cloud cover is expected to be between 37% and 75% across Iowa between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Des Moines is forecast at 60% cloud cover. Clouds will be thickest in southwest Iowa and the least cloud cover will be in northeast Iowa.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com
Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at cworth@gannett.com or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.
Iowa
Where to watch Iowa State vs Northwestern basketball today, time, TV for exhibition game
Iowa State basketball’s TJ Otzelberger on Creighton’s offense
Iowa State basketball’s T.J. Otzelberger on what makes Creighton offense dangerous.
Iowa State basketball returns home on Sunday, Oct. 26 to play Northwestern in an exhibition game.
The game is scheduled to tip off at 12 p.m. from Hilton Coliseum in Ames.
Iowa State was 25-10 overall and 13-7 in the Big 12 last season but lost its first exhibition to Creighton, 71-58. Northwestern, meanwhile, went 17-16 in 2024-25 and was 2-9 on the road.
Watch Iowa State vs. Northwestern on ESPN+
What channel is Iowa State vs. Northwestern on today?
Iowa State vs. Northwestern time today
- Date: Sunday, Oct. 26
- Start time: 12 p.m. CT
- Location: Hilton Coliseum in Ames
Iowa
2025-26 Iowa State Wrestle-Offs: Brackets & Info – Iowa State Athletics
AMES, Iowa – Iowa State head wrestling coach Kevin Dresser released the brackets for ISU’s 2025-26 wrestle-offs, which will take place this weekend. Semifinals will be wrestled Saturday, Oct. 25 at 11 a.m. on the Lied Rec Center main floor. Finals will take place the following day at Ames High School at 2 p.m.
Seven matches will be wrestled Saturday with nine on Sunday. A full bout order can be viewed at the end of this story.
Stevo Poulin, Evan Frost and Rocky Elam will be held out of competition this weekend and will wrestle off in the coming weeks. Daniel Herrera will also miss this weekend’s wrestle-offs due to his participation in the U23 World Championships in Novi Sad, Serbia Saturday and Sunday.
Additionally, Dresser also announced that Nando Villaescusa, Sawyer Bartelt, Carson Floyd and Carter Fousek will miss the 2025-26 season due to injury and will pursue a medical redshirt.
Results from the inaugural Cyclone Invitational Presented by Daily’s Premium Meats, in which two wrestlers per team can enter, will also factor in to setting the ISU lineup.
To see the full wrestle-off brackets, CLICK HERE.
Wrestle-off results will be posted to Cyclones.com following each round.
Fans attending Saturday’s wrestle-offs are encouraged to park in Lot 68 and walk to the Lied Rec Center. Plan for increased traffic in the area due to the football gameday.
IOWA STATE WRESTLE-OFF SCHEDULE
Semifinals
Date: Saturday, Oct. 25
Time: 11 a.m.
Location: Lied Rec Center
Finals
Date: Sunday, Oct. 26
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: Ames High School
Watch: IAWrestle
SATURDAY MATCH ORDER
125: Adrian Meza vs. Ethan Perryman
141: Anthony Echemendia vs. Osmany Diversent*
149: Paniro Johnson vs. Logan Stotts
165: Connor Euton vs. Manny Rojas
165: Aiden Riggins vs. Owen Helgeson
174: Melton Powe vs. Jacob Helgeson
285: McCrae Hagarty vs. Xavier Bruening
SUNDAY MATCH ORDER
125: Christian Castillo vs. Meza/Perryman*
133: Garrett Grice vs. Carter Pearson
149: Jacob Frost vs. Johnson/Stotts
157: Vinny Zerban vs. Kane Naaktgeboren
165: Euton/Rojas vs. Riggins/O. Helgeson
174: MJ Gaitan vs. Powe/J. Helgeson
184: Isaac Dean vs. Tate Naaktgeboren
197: CJ Carter vs. Rowan Udell
285: Yonger Bastida vs. Hagarty/Bruening
*Denotes exhibition
Iowa
Iowa ‘illegal reentry’ law remains blocked, but 8th Circuit questions injunction’s breadth
A federal judge did not err when finding an Iowa immigration enforcement law likely unconstitutional, a federal appellate court ruled.
But it is sending the case back to determine whether the state should nonetheless be allowed to enforce the law in some cases.
The Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ Oct. 23 decision upholds an injunction blocking Iowa from enforcing Senate File 2340, which Gov. Kim Reynolds signed in April 2024 to make “illegal reentry” a crime under state law.
In a lawsuit bought by the Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice, Judge Stephen Locher ruled last year that immigration enforcement is explicitly a federal responsibility and Iowa’s law is invalid under the U.S. Constitution.
“As a matter of politics, the new legislation might be defensible,” Locher wrote in June 2024. “As a matter of constitutional law, it is not.”
Thursday’s decision is technically the second time the 8th Circuit has ruled against the law.
Originally, Iowa was sued twice: by Migrant Movement for Justice and the Biden Administration. Locher granted injunctions in both cases, and in January, the 8th Circuit affirmed his ruling in the DOJ lawsuit and dismissed the second injunction as duplicative.
Shortly after, though, the Trump administration dismissed the federal government’s challenge, and the court agreed to rehear and rule on the injunction in the Migrant Movement for Justice case.
What did Iowa’s immigration law do?
Under the 2024 law, entering or residing in Iowa after being deported from or denied entry to the U.S. or failing to depart when ordered became a state offense. It followed a similar law Texas adopted, both of which have since been blocked by courts.
The Iowa law also required judges to order anyone convicted under the law to return to their country of origin.
In his order blocking the law, Locher identified several problems: Most glaringly, a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court decision found that state-level immigration laws interfere with and are preempted by federal immigration enforcement.
In the case of Iowa, Locher noted, having state judges order people to leave the country bypasses the extensive and often case- and country-specific federal system to decide when, how, and to where a person can be deported.
“This creates an untenable dichotomy between federal and state law in an area where the Supreme Court has recognized that the United States must speak with a single, harmonious voice,” Locher wrote.
The law also does not make any exceptions for people with current legal resident status. That’s a problem for several of the plaintiffs in the Migrant Movement case, who at one time were deported or denied entry but later were able to obtain legal residency.
While Attorney General Brenna Bird said she did not intend to enforce the law against legal residents, Locher noted county prosecutors would not be bound by her statement.
8th Circuit finds law likely unconstitutional
In it’s ruling Thursday, the 8th Circuit once again upheld Locher’s reasoning.
Judge Duane Benton wrote for the court that Iowa’s law intrudes into federal immigration authority even further than the Arizona law struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2012.
Allowing state officials not only to detain people for suspected immigration violations, but to order them removed from the country, with a potential prison sentence of 10 years, greatly exceeds the state’s powers under the U.S. Constitution, the court found.
The court rejected Iowa’s arguments in defense of the law, finding that many ran contrary to the plain text of the statute.
For example, where Bird argued the law only required the state to deliver aliens to a “port of entry” — namely, the Des Moines airport — and would have no effect outside the state’s borders, the appeals court noted the law requires migrants to leave the entire country, not just the state, under penalty of prison.
“Any enforcement of the act would likely conflict with federal law by interfering with the enforcement discretion that federal law gives to federal officers,” Benton wrote. “(Plaintiffs) have clearly shown that their facial challenge is likely to succeed on the merits because every application of the Act stands as an obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of the full purposes and objectives of Congress.”
Yes, but: to whom does the injunction apply?
Locher’s injunction blocked any state agent, including county prosecutors, from enforcing the law against anyone. That may be too broad, the appellate court says.
In a June 2025 case against Donald Trump, the U.S. Supreme Court significantly limited the use of “universal injunctions” that apply beyond the parties in a particular case.
In light of that ruling, the 8th Circuit is directing Locher to consider whether he has authority to block enforcement by all state officers, as opposed to just those named in the lawsuit, and whether the law can be enforced against individuals who are not members of Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice.
Regardless of how the injunction may be modified, the lawsuit is likely to continue.
Locher’s June 2024 order put in place a preliminary injunction, blocking the state from enforcing the law while the case progressed. Barring further appeals, Thursday’s appellate decision means the case will continue before Locher for further proceedings before the court could potentially make its injunction permanent.
William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com or 715-573-8166.
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