(Radio Iowa) – The calendar says it’s mid-September but it’s feeling a lot more like mid-July. National Weather Service meteorologist Andrew Ansorge says we have several days of unseasonable heat ahead. “We’re looking at a warm-to-hot stretch of weather here from today through early next week at least,” Ansorge says, “probably going into the middle of next week, with highs any of these days well into the 80s, if not the 90s.” The forecast for many communities across southern and central Iowa calls for highs in the mid-90s, but he says it’s unlikely we’ll see many records set, if any.

“The only record that currently could be challenged or broken would be at Des Moines on Saturday and that’s where we have a record of 96 from 1939. Our current forecast is 95,” Ansorge says. “There aren’t a lot of record highs that we’re challenging with this round of heat, but it’s late in the season to have these kind of temperatures, so people will still want to take the typical precautions if they have outdoor events or plans.”

That includes wearing a hat, sunscreen, and light weight and light colored clothing, avoiding strenuous activities outside, staying in the shade as much as possible, and drinking plenty of non-alcoholic beverages. Your yard and garden may need a drink, too. “This heat’s going to last early to mid next week and then we do have a front that’s going to slowly move in,” Ansorge says, “and that’s when we could see some chances for showers and storms return to the forecast, as well as some seasonable temperatures by late next week.”

The average high temperature for today in Des Moines is 78 degrees, while the forecast calls for it to reach 93.

(Creston, Iowa) – A Union County man was arrested Thursday afternoon in his room at a motel, in Creston. The Creston Police Department reports 24-year-old Marcos Jesus Baylon, of Creston, faces charges that include Assault Causing Bodily Injury or Mental Illness, and Sexual Abuse in the 3rd Degree. Baylon was taken to Union County Jail, where his bond was set at $11,000.

Creston Police said also, 41-year-old Jessica Jo England, of West Des Moines, was arrested Thursday morning at the Creston/Union County Law Enforcement Center, where she was charged with an outside warrant. England was taken to Union County Jail and later released on bond.

(Radio Iowa) – A floating museum housed inside an 80-year-old warship is docked for the next several days on the Mississippi River in Muscatine, its only stop in Iowa this year. Cory Burdette is the museum operations coordinator for the L-S-T 3-2-5, which is packed with history and open for tours. “The LST, or landing ship tank, was designed in World War Two to be the largest naval vessel to transport troops, supplies, equipment and vehicles — such as tanks, trucks and a variety of different things — directly on the beach during amphibious landings,” Burdette says. This particular ship has a storied past and it’s the only one of its kind that remains seaworthy.

Photos courtesy of the USS LST Ship Memorial

“What’s special about the 325 is in World War Two, the United States made 1,051 LSTs, and out of all the ones that were made in World War Two, this is the last one that is still fully functional,” Burdette says, “and it goes to a variety of different places, including the beautiful city of Muscatine, Iowa.” The 3-2-5 saw action during World War Two, it was used in the Arctic Ocean in the 1950s, and was later in the service of the Greek Navy before it was acquired by the USS LST Ship Memorial in 2000 and refurbished. Its home port is now on the Ohio River in Evansville, Indiana. The ship is 328 feet long — longer than a football field — and all of its decks are open for exploring, including the tank deck, which could hold 20 Sherman tanks.

“There’s going to be a tour route designated for you,” Burdette says. “We have over 50 volunteers that are living on the ship and they’ll help you with taking pictures, describing displays and everything like that, and you just go around at your own leisure.” L-S-Ts were also used during the Korean and Vietnam wars, so visiting the ship is a way for some veterans to “come home,” Burdette says, or for younger people to connect with a relative who served. “People can watch documentaries and people can read books all day, and those are great, don’t get me wrong, but immersing yourself in it, literally feeling it, smelling it, touching it,” Burdette says. “We have a saying on the ships that whenever you get on board, you walk the decks of history, and it’s true because you’re walking where these guys walked.”

The ship will be in Muscatine through Monday and is open for tours 9-to-5 daily.

(Nodaway, Iowa) – Firefightrs from Corning and Villisca responded to a hay baler fire Thursday night, about three-miles north of Nodaway. The fire took place at around 9:20-p.m., near the intersection of Highway 34 and Cherry Avenue.

When fire fighting crews arrived, they found a John Deere hay baler on fire in a field, still attached to a tractor. They were able to disconnect the baler from the tractor, which was not damaged. The baler itself was considered a total loss. A dollar amount of the damage was not immediately available.

No injuries were reported.

In addition to the Corning and Villisca Fire Departments, Deputies with the Adams County Sheriff’s Office and Adams County Ambulance crews assisted at the scene. Their efforts were coordinated by the Adams and Montgomery County Communications Centers.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Natural Resource Commission discussed the possibility of increasing hunting, fishing and trapping fees by 5% at their monthly meeting.

Commissioners and those who spoke on the issue Thursday say the increase could help the DNR do more to conserve and restore wildlife habitat. Commissioner K.R. Buck says the issue has generated a lot of support. “We have lit a fire underneath the sportsmen. I will guarantee you that besides the CO2 pipeline, I’ve been contacted more in the last two weeks about this, and they’re all in favor,” he says.

Buck says supporters don’t think it will be enough. “They’re all afraid that 5% isn’t going to get us where we need to be,” Buck says.
State law caps annual license fee increases at 5%.

State lawmakers and the governor would need to sign off before a license fee increase went into effect.

DES MOINES, Iowa (IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it had improved and expanded its Farm to School Grant program and would invest up to $18 million to connect locally grown food to child nutrition programs. The Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grants program was initiated in 2013, but according to a news release, the fiscal year 2026 investment represents the “largest total amount” the department has offered in a given year.

The Farm to School Grant announcement was made alongside U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s latest Make America Healthy Again report, which called for more whole, unprocessed foods in children’s diets. USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said the grants are “one of the best ways we can deliver nutritious, high-quality meals to children, while also strengthening local agriculture.”

Eligible projects are those that: incorporate more unprocessed and locally produced foods in school meals, encourage the consumption of fresh foods, train producers on food safety and procurement requirements or educate students on agriculture and nutrition. The release from USDA said updates to the program will also streamline the application process, remove barriers to innovation and emphasize partnerships.

According to USDA’s latest Farm to School Census, more than 440 Iowa school food authorities, the entities that manage school food service, have participated in the program. The grants can also be used to support agriculture education at schools through things like ag and nutrition classes, or school gardening programs. According to the census, nearly 50% of Iowa school food authorities had classroom programs and slightly more than 15% of Iowa school food authorities had edible gardens.

According to USDA, Farm to School Grant awards totaled $100 million since 2013. The millions in Farm to School Grant dollars are significantly less than the billions of dollars that schools and food banks used under a pandemic-era program to support local food purchases. These programs, Local Food for Schools and Local Food Purchase Assistance, were canceled in March after USDA announced in October 2024 over a $1 billion in funds to continue the programs across the country.

Tommy Hexter, the policy director for Iowa Farmers Union, said the new investment from USDA is positive, but said it doesn’t make up for the loss of programs that provided “vital government support” to food farmers and players in the local food system. Hexter said the canceled programs created relationships between farmers, food hubs, the state department of agriculture, schools and community, that are “fundamental to our food system in Iowa.”

“The first and foremost thing with this announcement is like, yes, let’s see how we can take advantage of this new announcement and make these programs come to Iowa,” Hexter said. “But we also are acknowledging that this investment does not replace the major loss of funding that happened earlier this year.”

DES MOINES, Iowa — After very soggy weather across the state earlier this summer, including the wettest July on record in Des Moines, abnormally dry conditions have returned to Iowa for September. With the lack of rain, especially over central and southern Iowa, the national drought monitor now shows portions of southern Iowa in the abnormally dry category. With limited rainfall expected over the next week, those dry regions are likely to expand.

15% of western Iowa was in extreme drought

72% of the entire state had at least some level of drought

(Radio Iowa) – A former spokesman for public safety agencies in the City of Cedar Rapids has been charged with insurance fraud. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports 53-year-old Greg Buelow is accused of forging a receipt for medication for his dog and submitting a claim to a pet insurance company for reimbursement.

Buelow was hired by the City of Cedar Rapids 25 years ago and worked for over two decades for the police and fire departments, often as a public spokesman.

Four years ago, Buelow took a job as the city’s code enforcement manager. If convicted on the felony charges of presenting false information and forgery, he could be sentenced to up to a decade in prison.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley says a few Iowa educators have allegedly made online comments “praising the assassination” of prominent conservative Charlie Kirk and he expects each district to investigate the teachers involved.

Grassley says the posts he’s seen are depraved and he said “the individuals responsible for them cannot continue to hold a position with any level of influence over Iowa children.” Grassley, in a post on Facebook, said if school officials fail to take appropriate steps, the Iowa House Government Oversight Committee will take action “to root out this kind of hate from Iowa schools.”

A high school teacher in Oskaloosa has been placed on administrative leave as school officials investigate a social media post allegedly shared by Oskaloosa art teacher Matt Kargol. Oskaloosa school officias say they were notified of the post at 5:15 p.m. Wednesday and “recognized the community’s concerns.” Iowa Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who called for an investigation of the Oskaloosa teacher in a post on X late Wednesday night, said “cheering political violence is wrong and should never be done by those educating our children.”