Welcome to Week in Iowa.
It is the first official week of autumn, which means it’s prime time for the three S’s: school, sports and scares.
This week, Iowa lawmakers highlighted student achievement statistics and what they mean for federal block grants, University of Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz praised Indiana’s team and a Council Bluffs haunted house is celebrating its tenth birthday.
Also, one Iowa fan will get to participate in the “Hawkeye Wave” in a special way this weekend.
Continue reading below for this week’s news from across the state provided by our dedicated reporters, photographers and editors.
Politics across Iowa
New Republican leader chosen for Iowa Senate
Iowa Sen. Mike Klimesh, of Spillville, is the new legislative agenda-setting leader of the Iowa Senate, as selected by his Republican colleagues Wednesday, Senate Republicans announced.
In becoming the new Senate Majority Leader, Klimesh replaces Sen. Jack Whitver, of Grimes, who resigned from the post earlier this month.
The Iowa Senate Majority leader is chosen by the majority party’s members and leads the body’s legislative agenda. Republicans hold a 33-17 majority in the Iowa Senate.
Gazette Des Moines Bureau Chief Erin Murphy has more on Klimesh here.
Hinson blasts Democrats over shutdown demands; Ernst urges deal to keep government open
Iowa U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson slammed Democrats for treating Iowans’ health care as a “political game” rather than accepting a clean stopgap funding measuring as Congress barrels toward a Sept. 30 shutdown deadline.
Meanwhile Iowa GOP U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst struck a more measured tone, saying she wants to keep health coverage in place and emphasized the need for compromise to keep the government open.
Hinson on Wednesday criticized Senate Democrats for “holding government funding hostage.” She also spoke in support of tougher criminal penalties for assaults on federal immigration officers in the wake of a shooting at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Texas.
Gazette Deputy Des Moines Bureau Chief Tom Barton has more on what Hinson and Ernst are saying about a possible government shutdown here.
Other political stories you may have missed:
Business
Madness Haunted House celebrates 10 years of terror in Council Bluffs
There’s something evil brewing just south of Council Bluffs this Halloween season.
On an old acreage off Pioneer Trail, one can hear terrified screams, psychotic laughter and roaring chainsaws amid a field of dense fog and blood-red lights on Friday and Saturday nights.
The source of this horror is none other than Madness Haunted House.
The long-running local professional haunt opened for its 10th year of operation last Friday, and owners Bryon Beins and Chad Asherin were excited to unleash the terrors their creation holds onto the public once again.
Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil reporter Joe Shearer has the full story. Keep reading here if you dare.
People
Waterloo teen with rare neurological disease to be highlighted at Hawkeyes game
Jaxton Engstrom has taken part in many “Iowa Waves” from the top floors of the Stead Family Children’s Hospital. But on Saturday, he will truly experience it for the first time on the field at Kinnick Stadium.
Jaxton, 18, is the Iowa Hawkeyes Kid Captain for this weekend’s football game against Indiana University. The Kid Captain program highlights patients who have been treated in the children’s hospital.
The hospital has been Jaxton’s second home since he was 6 years old and diagnosed with Batten disease, a rare neurological disorder that has no cure and is ultimately fatal. His family said it’s “like Alzheimer’s for children.”
Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reporter Maria Kuiper has the full story here.
‘They deserve the best’: Sen. Ernst, Mayor Scott herald new Sioux City Armory project
For 72 years, the vehicle maintenance building at the Iowa Army National Guard Readiness Center has been in operation.
Soon enough, it will be retired and replaced with a modern version.
U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, visited the Iowa National Guard base in Sioux City Tuesday morning to tout a new maintenance building that top Guard leaders say will last for decades to come. The new center also will help the local First Squadron of the 113 Cavalry Regiment with mission readiness, according to the Guard.
Jared McNett with the Sioux City Journal has more on the new project here.
Sports
What Big Ten powerhouse does Indiana remind Kirk Ferentz of and what’s the key to beating the Hoosiers?
Kirk Ferentz did not skimp on the praise for No. 11 Indiana during his midweek media availability on Tuesday.
Iowa (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) faces the Hoosiers (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) for the first time under second-year head coach Curt Cignetti, who led Indiana to a College Football Playoff appearance last season.
After a 63-10 beatdown of No. 23 Illinois last week, it’s hard to excuse the Hoosiers’ 11-2 as a blip on the radar.
“Indiana is a really good football team,” Ferentz said. “Anybody that saw the game Saturday, you couldn’t help but be impressed. Really played well. Had a great year last year.”
University of Iowa sports reporter Ethan Petrik has the full story here.
Number of the week: 56%
Overall scores across Iowa for the 2024-25 school year improved, with nearly 56% of schools performing in the top three of six rating categories used to measure student achievement. This is up 10 percentage points compared to last year.
During a press conference at the Iowa State Capitol building on Wednesday, Reynolds highlighted spring assessment results from the Statewide Assessment of Student Progress for students in grades 3-11. She was joined by other education leaders, including Iowa Department of Education Director Mackenzie Snow and Davenport Superintendent T.J. Schneckloth.
Reynolds added that Iowa students have rebounded to pre-COVID levels across multiple subjects, including math, reading and writing, and saw an improvement in rates of chronic absenteeism last year.
Continue reading here for more on Iowa’s recent K-12 education statistics.
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