Here First

Iowa’s population has grown in pockets around its largest cities over the past decade while 68 counties in rural areas lost population. Thousands of baseball fans flocked to Dyersville on Thursday for the first Major League Baseball game played in Iowa at the “Field of Dreams” site. Plus, a look into broadband internet expansion in the state with IPR’s Katarina Sostaric.

Demonstrators gathered at the Iowa Capitol on Wednesday to urge Gov. Kim Reynolds to rescind the state’s ban on mask mandates. Advocates took to the streets of Iowa City urging officials in Johnson County to give pandemic relief funds to undocumented immigrants and low-wage workers. Plus, IPR’s Grant Gerlock talks about the return of the state fair and concerns surrounding COVID-19.

A year to the day after last August’s powerful derecho, city officials in Cedar Rapids say the hard-hit community is “coming back strong”. All eight hospitals in the Des Moines area are now requiring employees to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. Plus, climate change has been shown to more seriously impact communities of color. IPR’s Kassidy Arena reports that some of Iowa’s Latino leaders are making sure the state’s communities are doing what they can to protect their environment.

It’s been exactly one year since a powerful derecho raked across Iowa. IPR’s Kate Payne looks back one year after. The Waukee school board Monday night approved a revised set of standards for teaching racial and gender equity over the objection of two board members.

The Iowa State Fair returns this week after it was cancelled last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. But local health officials say they’re concerned crowded exhibit halls could help spread the highly-contagious Delta variant. Plus, a federal report on the "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico finds it's much larger than initially forecast earlier this year.

Some parents who are upset about a state law barring schools from requiring masks took their concerns to the State Board of Education on Thursday. Iowa-based UnityPoint Health announced that all employees will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by November 1. Plus, Iowa Finance Authority Director Debi Durham says there’s not a need for all of the $195 million in rental assistance that came from the federal government.

Iowa reported an uptick in Iowans hospitalized for COVID-19 since last week. Iowa housing advocates say a new eviction moratorium from the CDC provides a temporary reprieve for many people with unpaid rent. Plus, it’s been one year since Governor Kim Reynolds signed an executive order restoring voting rights to an estimated 40-thousand Iowans with felony convictions.

Des Moines Public Schools is creating an online option for young students most at risk of a COVID-19 infection. An annual central Iowa music festival that attracts thousands of concertgoers begins on Friday. Plus, Tyson Foods announced Tuesday that it will require all employees to be vaccinated for COVID-19 by November 1.

A total of 75 of the state’s 99 counties now have a substantial or high level of spread of COVID-19. The man convicted of killing Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts will not get a new trial. Plus, advocates are raising concerns about restrictions put in place in Iowa prisons, after two staffers were killed on the job, allegedly by two inmates. IPR’s Kate Payne explains that some loved ones are worried the conditions may lead to more violence.

Air quality alerts were posted on Sunday for numerous areas of the U.S. including in Iowa because of wildfires. IPR’s Katie Peikes explains that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is helping beef up research at 19 Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Plus, an Iowa casino has re-imposed a mask mandate for its guests to slow the spread of COVID-19.