Midwest

More severe weather hits the Midwest as Iowans recover from devastating twister

Published

2 years ago

May 28, 2024

More severe weather hits the Midwest as Iowans recover from devastating twister

Several tornadoes were reported in Iowa and Illinois as storms downed power lines and trees on Friday, just after a deadly twister devastated one small town.

The large storm system began overnight in Nebraska before traveling across central Iowa and into Illinois. Strong, straight-line wind gusts of up to 80 mph — equivalent to a weak tornado — were recorded across Iowa, said Chad Hahn, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Des Moines. The storm also brought rain that was heavy in some areas of Iowa, where totals have reached as much as 8 inches over the last week.

At least five tornadoes were reported south of Iowa City and near Moline, Illinois, early Friday, according to meteorologist John Haase with the National Weather Service’s Quad Cities office in Davenport, Iowa. No injuries had been reported.

MORE BAD WEATHER COULD HIT IOWA, WHERE 3 POWERFUL TORNADOES CAUSED MILLIONS IN DAMAGE

“Emergency managers say they have some structures damaged, homes damaged, but we’re going out out take a look,” Hasse said.

In Oklahoma, a tornado was on the ground for about an hour Thursday evening in Jackson County and neighboring counties as a slow-moving storm moved through, according to Ryan Bunker, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Norman, Oklahoma, office. News outlets reported downed power lines and outages and damage to some structures in the area.

Severe weather was expected throughout the long Memorial Day weekend. The National Weather Service expects storm systems in parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Iowa starting on Saturday evening and into Sunday.

Tom Wiggins sorts through debris at his grandparents’ tornado-damaged home, Thursday, May 23, 2024, in Greenfield, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

The latest severe weather comes as residents of Greenfield, Iowa, a community of about 2,000 people, have been cleaning up after a strong tornado on Tuesday. Friday’s storm system inflicted heavy rains, dime-sized hail and wind gusts of 75 mph on a community still reeling after four people were killed and 35 others injured when a tornado destroyed more than 100 homes and hit a nearby wind farm.

Among those killed were Dean and Pam Wiggins, said their grandson Tom Wiggins.

On Thursday, he tried to find any of his grandparents’ mementos that remained after the tornado demolished their home, leaving little more than its foundation. He described them as “incredibly loved by not only our family but the entire town.”

Not far away, Bill Yount was cleaning up.

“It’s like somebody took a bomb,” said Yount, gesturing to the land — covered with wood, debris, trees stripped of their leaves, heavy machinery and equipment to clean up the mess.

He waited out the storm in a closet.

“The roof raised up and slammed back down and then the windows all blew out,” he said Thursday. The tornado ripped the garage off his house and damaged interior walls. “Forty seconds changed my life immensely,” he said.

After surveying Tuesday’s destruction, the National Weather Service determined that three separate powerful tornadoes carved paths totaling 130 miles (209 kilometers) across Iowa, according to Donna Dubberke, the meteorologist in charge in Des Moines.

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South Dakota

Feeding South Dakota

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8 minutes ago

February 27, 2026

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin DNR opens 2026 elk season applications March 1, with more Central Zone tags

Published

50 minutes ago

February 27, 2026

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Wisconsin DNR opens 2026 elk season applications March 1, with more Central Zone tags

(WLUK) — Applications for Wisconsin’s 2026 elk season open next week.

The DNR says the application period begins Sunday, Mar 1 and will close on Sunday, May 31.

Selected applicants will be notified in early June.

For the third year in a row, there will be increased opportunity to pursue elk within the Central Elk Management Zone (formerly Black River Elk Range), as additional bull elk and antlerless harvest authorizations will be available through the state licensing system. The 2026 elk quota for the Central Elk Management Zone is six bull elk and six antlerless elk, up from a quota of four bull and five antlerless in 2025.

The Northern Elk Management Zone (formerly Clam Lake Elk Range) quota will be eight bull elk, subject to a 50% declaration by Ojibwe tribes.

During the open application period, applicants will have the choice to submit one bull elk license application and/or one antlerless elk license application, separately. Applicants can apply to any unit grouping with an associated quota for that authorization type (bull or antlerless). The order of drawing will be bull licenses first, followed by antlerless licenses. As a reminder, only one resident elk hunting license can be issued or transferred to a person in their lifetime, regardless of authorization type.

In 2026, there will be one continuous hunting season, opening Saturday, Oct. 17, and continuing through Sunday, Dec. 13, eliminating the split-season structure that was in effect from 2018-2025. This offers elk hunters more opportunities and flexibility to pursue elk in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin residents can submit elk license applications online through the Go Wild license portal or in person at a license sales agent. The application fee is $10 for each of the bull elk and antlerless elk drawings and is limited to one application per person, per authorization type. The DNR recommends that all applicants check and update their contact information to ensure contact with successful applicants.

For each application fee, $7 goes directly to elk management, monitoring and research. These funds also enhance elk habitat, which benefits elk and many other wildlife. If selected in the drawing, an elk hunting license costs $49.

Before obtaining an elk hunting license, all selected hunters must participate in a Wisconsin elk hunter education course. The class covers Wisconsin elk history, hunting regulations, biology, behavior and scouting/hunting techniques.

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Midwest

Kansas law invalidates transgender driver’s licenses and birth certificates

Published

5 hours ago

February 27, 2026

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Kansas law invalidates transgender driver’s licenses and birth certificates

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Kansas has officially invalidated driver’s licenses and birth certificates for transgender residents who changed their sex designation on government documents under a law that took effect Thursday.

Roughly 1,700 individuals in Kansas will be required to obtain a new standard driver’s license at a cost of $26, according to the House Substitute for Senate Bill 244.

The state’s vehicle division informed residents that no grace period will be offered for those who need to update their IDs, according to The Kansas City Star.

“Please note that the Legislature did not include a grace period for updating credentials. That means that once the law is officially enacted, your current credentials will be invalid immediately, and you may be subject to additional penalties if you are operating a vehicle without a valid credential,” the Kansas Department of Revenue’s vehicle division said.

Trans rights activists take part in a protest April 20, 2024. (Carl Court/Getty Images)

The law also establishes clear rules for shared private spaces in government buildings, restricting their use to a single sex. This applies to facilities such as restrooms, locker rooms, changing rooms and shower rooms where individuals may be partially or fully undressed.

The bill further reinforced a strict definition of sex and gender as an “individual’s biological sex, either male or female, at birth.”

Consequently, individuals or entities who violate the space restrictions may face significant civil penalties or potential criminal charges.

KANSAS JUDGE SAYS TRANSGENDER RIGHTS NOT VIOLATED BY STATE’S REFUSAL TO CHANGE SEX ON DRIVER’S LICENSES

A drone aerial view of downtown Wichita (Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Individuals are also given the right to take legal action if someone of the opposite biological sex violates their privacy in these spaces.

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, whose veto of the bill was ultimately overridden by the Republican-led Kansas Legislature Feb. 18, had previously called it a “poorly drafted bill with significant, far-reaching consequences.”

“It is nothing short of ridiculous that the Legislature is forcing the entire state, every city and town, every school district, every public university to spend taxpayer money on a manufactured problem,” she said. “Kansans elected them to focus on education, job creation, housing and grocery costs.”

SUPREME COURT CONSERVATIVES SIGNAL SUPPORT FOR STATE TRANSGENDER SPORTS BANS DURING ORAL ARGUMENTS

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly previously tried to veto a bill that ultimately went into effect Feb. 26, 2026, restricting identification preferences for transgender state residents. (Rich Sugg/Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Under the bill, entering a multiple-occupancy space designated for the opposite sex constitutes a violation. After a first warning, a second offense could result in a $1,000 civil penalty and a third or subsequent violation is treated as a class B misdemeanor.

Anyone who believes their privacy has been violated in such a setting may bring a civil lawsuit against the violator and seek $1,000 in liquidated damages, according to the bill.

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Government entities, such as state agencies or local districts, that fail to align with the new regulations are subject to steep fines. Entities face a $25,000 civil penalty for a first violation and $125,000 for each subsequent violation.

The law provides specific exceptions for entering spaces designated for the opposite sex, including custodial or maintenance work, medical or emergency aid, law enforcement duties, assisting someone who needs help or children under 9 accompanied by a caregiver.

Bonny Chu is a Digital Production Assistant at Fox News Digital.

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