The week on The Exchange, we tell stories of people and groups who have searched from their place in the world and found it. But first, we preview RAGBRAI as it returns to the road after being sidelined last year by the coronavirus pandemic. This year, the Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa begins in Le Mars. We talk with one of the local organizers. Mitch Christoffel helps chair the local committee. Sioux City native Tim Lennon has spent several years fighting for the Roman Catholic

The first-degree murder trial of 36-year-old Roderick Banks started Wednesday in Woodbury County District Court. Banks is accused of the shooting death of Solomon Blackbird near 26 th and Douglas late last year. Authorities say the motive for the shooting might be related to a drug deal between two men. Banks was arrested in Alabama and sent back to Sioux City for trial. The average daily number of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases in Iowa is up 50% from two weeks ago, and up almost 67% from one

Local health officials are making a push for more people 12-years and older to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Siouxland District Health says cases are going up around the country, especially in areas with lower vaccination rates. A post on social media says the vaccine is free and easily available in Siouxland. People can call their local health departments, pharmacies, or doctors to set up an appointment. Meanwhile, UnityPoint Health in Des Moines reports 95% to 99% of their COVID-19 patients

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem announces the state finished the last fiscal year with an $86 million surplus. The Republican governor says tax revenue hit a 30-year high and finished $62 million over what was estimated. The state also spent about $24 million less than what was budgeted for the fiscal year that ended on June 30. Noem credits the state’s “respect for freedom and our continued emphasis on fiscal responsibility” for the financial windfall. Federal coronavirus relief funds sent both

304 News Republican US Senator Joni Ernst stopped in Northwest Iowa today to meet with law enforcement officials. Ernst toured the Le Mars law enforcement center and talked with officers about increasing crime and a lack of resources to deal with it. Ernst said there has been more violence in nearby large cities in Minnesota and Illinois, and it is now spreading to Iowa. “Communities surrounding Iowa like a spike in crime in Chicago, a spike in crime in Rochester, all of that is bleeding into

Some high profile Republicans who may run for president are in Des Moines today (Friday) where they’ll speak at a gathering of Christian conservatives. Two members of the Trump White House will address The Family Leader’s annual Leadership Summit: former Vice President Mike Pence and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem will also be there. Family Leader president Bob Vander Plaats told Iowa PBS that those three potential GOP candidates were invited because

071521 404 A prosecutor today has rejected claims that the killing of a University of Iowa student could be connected to sex trafficking and other abductions. Mollie Tibbetts disappeared and was found murdered in rural eastern Iowa in 2018. Cristhian Bahena Rivera was convicted for the murder earlier this year. The 27-year-old dairy farm worker testified that two masked men killed Tibbetts but forced him to dispose of her body. Assistant attorney general Scott Brown says a man’s alleged

071521 304 Officials say no deaths or injuries have been reported from tornadoes that tore through central and eastern Iowa, but many have found damaged buildings, shredded trees and overturned vehicles in the path of the storms. The National Weather Service says law enforcement and trained spotters confirmed tornadoes yesterday afternoon and night in mostly rural, uninhabited areas. But one that touched down near Lake City in north-central Iowa damaged a home, flipped a truck and trailer and

Parts of Siouxland under a tornado watch until 9 tonight, including Woodbury, Monona, Ida, Cherokee, Buena Vista, Clay, Emmet, and Pocahontas. The National Weather Service issued tornado warnings for several counties across central Iowa, including Calhoun and Carroll just outside of Siouxland. A judge has agreed to delay the sentencing of the man convicted of killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts after his lawyers said they need time to investigate new information implicating other

Sioux City Democrat J.D. Scholten says today he won’t run for office anytime soon. In fact, today Scholten is announcing he will take a job with a progressive group that seeks rural votes in battleground states. He'll be taking over as executive director of RuralVote.org, a super PAC focused on improving Democrats' chances in rural America. The former baseball player and paralegal is s best known for nearly defeating controversial conservative Representative Steve King in Iowa’s 4 th district in