Here First

Three state agencies are developing guidelines and real-time resources for city and county officials who may have to restrict water usage during a drought emergency. A conservative nonprofit has filed a lawsuit challenging the Linn-Mar school district over a policy that provides confidentiality to transgender students. Plus, state health officials report a slight increase in the number of reported positive COVID-19 tests.

Friends and neighbors of the three people killed while camping last month gathered in a Cedar Falls park Tuesday night to honor three members of a family killed while camping last month. Small towns used last week’s RAGBRAI as an opportunity to fundraise for town projects. Plus, the synthetic opioid fentanyl is extremely deadly and dealers have been mixing it into other drugs, unknown to buyers.

The U.S. Senate could be on track to advance a bill as soon as Tuesday that would provide veterans exposed to toxic substances overseas with health care and benefits. Employees of a Cedar Rapids grain processer are on strike. Plus, state Fairs around the Midwest are hoping to see pre pandemic attendance levels this summer.

The Iowa Democratic Party will have to wait until AFTER the midterm election to learn the fate of the Iowa caucuses. Iowa State University will launch a new major this fall focusing on climate science. Plus, the winning ticket for this weekend's massive Mega Millions jackpot was sold in Illinois, but five tickets purchased in Iowa came within one number of the jackpot combination and are also prize-winners.

The Iowa Attorney General’s Office is accusing major tobacco companies of illegally withholding millions from the state. Iowa’s public health funding increased by 9 percent during the pandemic. That’s according to a new report by the non-profit Trust for America’s Health. Plus, Refugee organizations in western Iowa are helping Afghan refugees reach an important milestone: passing their driver’s license exams.

Gov. Kim Reynolds has appointed Judge David May to the Iowa Supreme Court. The Board of Regents voted to increase tuition for all three state universities in Iowa. State officials have confirmed the presence of a rare so-called brain-eating amoeba at a lake in southern Iowa. Plus, Maquoketa (Mah-COE-keh-tah) Caves State Park reopens for day use following closure last week after three family members were shot to death while camping there.

An opioid manufacturer is willing to pay up billions to settle thousands of legal claims, including one filed by the State of Iowa. A one year experiment in a Davenport junior high school will probably expand this fall to three more. Plus, an invasive bug that could threaten many of Iowa’s fruit crops and trees has been found in the state.

Many questions remain as to why a man killed three family members at a state park in eastern Iowa last week. The Iowa Environmental Council is calling for improvements to the state’s water quality monitoring initiatives. Plus, the University of Iowa Athletics has announced two new diversity-related hires.

A 9-year-old boy who was camping at an Iowa state park with his parents and 6-year-old sister survived a shooting that killed the rest of his family. As cases of monkeypox increase across the country, Iowa infectious disease specialists say the risk to the public remains low. Plus, physicians are sounding the alarm about the consequences of abortion restrictions on pregnant people in rural areas.

Employees who work at 28 Planned Parenthood clinics in five states, including Iowa, have voted to form a union. Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller and several law enforcement agencies are calling on lawmakers to take legislative action to reduce the number of fentanyl-related deaths. Plus, people from towns along this year’s RAGBRAI route are using it as an opportunity for some fundraising.