Des Moines RegisterView CommentsThe head of the Des Moines postal workers' union says the new U.S. postmaster general's cost-cutting measures are slowing down mail delivery in central Iowa.Des Moines Local 44 American Postal Workers Union President Mike Bates said that since Postmaster General Louis DeJoy banned overtime last month, supervisors have ordered trucks to leave the distribution station at exactly the prescribed time, even if workers have not yet loaded them with all of the day's mail.In one instance, Bates said, a supervisor ordered a carrier to halt his...…Des Moines RegisterView CommentsThe head of the Des Moines postal workers' union says the new U.S. postmaster general's cost-cutting measures are slowing down mail delivery in central Iowa.Des Moines Local 44 American Postal Workers Union President Mike Bates said that since Postmaster General Louis DeJoy banned overtime last month, supervisors have ordered trucks to leave the distribution station at exactly the prescribed time, even if workers have not yet loaded them with all of the day's mail.In one instance, Bates said, a supervisor ordered a carrier to halt his...WW…

Des Moines RegisterView CommentsSchool districts that opt for 100% online learning may not get to play sports this fall.The Iowa Department of Education announced Friday evening that, should a school district or nonpublic school move to 100% online or remote learning, all “in-person activities and practices would need to be suspended “Offering in-person activities would be incompatible with the goal of mitigating higher rates of virus transmission,” the department continued. “Extracurricular activities could still be conducted virtually.”That includes sports sponsored through the...…Des Moines RegisterView CommentsSchool districts that opt for 100% online learning may not get to play sports this fall.The Iowa Department of Education announced Friday evening that, should a school district or nonpublic school move to 100% online or remote learning, all “in-person activities and practices would need to be suspended “Offering in-person activities would be incompatible with the goal of mitigating higher rates of virus transmission,” the department continued. “Extracurricular activities could still be conducted virtually.”That includes sports sponsored through the...WW…

Des Moines RegisterView CommentsUpdate: Kanye West will appear on Iowa ballots this November, the Secretary of State confirmed Aug. 17. Rapper Kanye West has filed paperwork to run for president in Iowa, Secretary of State Paul Pate said Friday."I can confirm that representatives from the Kanye West presidential campaign just delivered nominating petitions to our office," Pate tweeted. "We will review the petitions to ensure they meet the minimum requirements."In a second tweet, Pate said the review likely would not be completed until Monday. West's paperwork indicates he...…Des Moines RegisterView CommentsUpdate: Kanye West will appear on Iowa ballots this November, the Secretary of State confirmed Aug. 17. Rapper Kanye West has filed paperwork to run for president in Iowa, Secretary of State Paul Pate said Friday."I can confirm that representatives from the Kanye West presidential campaign just delivered nominating petitions to our office," Pate tweeted. "We will review the petitions to ensure they meet the minimum requirements."In a second tweet, Pate said the review likely would not be completed until Monday. West's paperwork indicates he...WW…

Des Moines RegisterPELLA, Ia. — Bella the Goat had been poked and prodded at a morning veterinarian appointment and, by early afternoon, the young doe was not exactly in the mood to practice her show walk.Stella Turnbull, the 13-year-old human on the other end of Bella’s rope, would have preferred a lazy afternoon, too, but instead she traced the show ring’s looping path through the heat and humidity that hung like a thick blanket just above her family’s driveway.  With a week to go until Stella and Bella’s debut at the Iowa State Fair — the Super Bowl of Hawkeye goat...…Des Moines RegisterPELLA, Ia. — Bella the Goat had been poked and prodded at a morning veterinarian appointment and, by early afternoon, the young doe was not exactly in the mood to practice her show walk.Stella Turnbull, the 13-year-old human on the other end of Bella’s rope, would have preferred a lazy afternoon, too, but instead she traced the show ring’s looping path through the heat and humidity that hung like a thick blanket just above her family’s driveway.  With a week to go until Stella and Bella’s debut at the Iowa State Fair — the Super Bowl of Hawkeye goat...WW…

Des Moines RegisterView CommentsAn Ankeny stream ran white on Wednesday after a Hy-Vee store released 800 gallons of spoiled milk into the ecosystem. Dead fish began surfacing Thursday.Iowa’s Department of Natural Resources investigated reports Wednesday morning that a tributary of Ankeny’s Fourmile Creek had turned white and that fish in the stream were struggling at the surface. The DNR traced the contamination through a storm drain and back to the Hy-Vee store at 410 N. Ankeny Blvd.The store lost power and closed early on Monday after tore through Iowa. Employees at the store...…Des Moines RegisterView CommentsAn Ankeny stream ran white on Wednesday after a Hy-Vee store released 800 gallons of spoiled milk into the ecosystem. Dead fish began surfacing Thursday.Iowa’s Department of Natural Resources investigated reports Wednesday morning that a tributary of Ankeny’s Fourmile Creek had turned white and that fish in the stream were struggling at the surface. The DNR traced the contamination through a storm drain and back to the Hy-Vee store at 410 N. Ankeny Blvd.The store lost power and closed early on Monday after tore through Iowa. Employees at the store...WW…

Des Moines RegisterView CommentsYields may be cut by as much as half where a derecho flattened crops as it swept through Iowa this week, agriculture officials said.Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig said in a call with reporters that no other Midwestern state along the storm's 770-mile path suffered the level of wind or hail damage that struck an estimated 10 million acres across central Iowa.That's about a third of Iowa's 30 million acres of crops — acreage typically split between corn and soybeans in Iowa, the nation's largest corn producer.The derecho's straight-line...…Des Moines RegisterView CommentsYields may be cut by as much as half where a derecho flattened crops as it swept through Iowa this week, agriculture officials said.Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig said in a call with reporters that no other Midwestern state along the storm's 770-mile path suffered the level of wind or hail damage that struck an estimated 10 million acres across central Iowa.That's about a third of Iowa's 30 million acres of crops — acreage typically split between corn and soybeans in Iowa, the nation's largest corn producer.The derecho's straight-line...WW…

REKHA BASUDes Moines RegisterView CommentsWHO-TV's longtime investigative reporter and news anchor  last month generated tributes, at times tearful, from on-air co-workers, and questions from fans. Privately a few people wondered if there’d been a scandal, or some personal or professional blow-up.No and no. But her departure was not of her choosing."I spent 27 years of my life doing this,” she said in an interview Monday. "I loved my job. I think I was good at it. It's hard to be essentially forced out." “Business decision” was how the station’s news director,...…REKHA BASUDes Moines RegisterView CommentsWHO-TV's longtime investigative reporter and news anchor  last month generated tributes, at times tearful, from on-air co-workers, and questions from fans. Privately a few people wondered if there’d been a scandal, or some personal or professional blow-up.No and no. But her departure was not of her choosing."I spent 27 years of my life doing this,” she said in an interview Monday. "I loved my job. I think I was good at it. It's hard to be essentially forced out." “Business decision” was how the station’s news director,...WW…

Des Moines RegisterView CommentsBicycle sales and rentals are way up, but in at least one way cyclists are safer this year than last: Bike-car collisions are dramatically down in Iowa.The seemingly counterintuitive trends reported by some retailers and state officials can be attributed to fewer motorized vehicles on roads.Between March — when the first positive coronavirus cases were reported in Iowa — and June, the number of vehicle-to-bicycle crashes in the state fell 34% over 2019, from 117 to 77.Meanwhile, retailers like Bike World have more than 4,000...…Des Moines RegisterView CommentsBicycle sales and rentals are way up, but in at least one way cyclists are safer this year than last: Bike-car collisions are dramatically down in Iowa.The seemingly counterintuitive trends reported by some retailers and state officials can be attributed to fewer motorized vehicles on roads.Between March — when the first positive coronavirus cases were reported in Iowa — and June, the number of vehicle-to-bicycle crashes in the state fell 34% over 2019, from 117 to 77.Meanwhile, retailers like Bike World have more than 4,000...WW…

Des Moines RegisterView CommentsU.S. Sen. Joni Ernst said Thursday that President Donald Trump should not accept the Republican Party's presidential nomination from the White House, as he has suggested.And she had an alternative in mind: Des Moines."I really think it should be done in Des Moines, Iowa. That makes total sense to me," Ernst, a first-term Republican who is up for re-election this year, said on a conference call with reporters. "We’re a state that would largely support Trump, and of course we could really use that economic boom. Just send President Trump in, and we’ll find...…Des Moines RegisterView CommentsU.S. Sen. Joni Ernst said Thursday that President Donald Trump should not accept the Republican Party's presidential nomination from the White House, as he has suggested.And she had an alternative in mind: Des Moines."I really think it should be done in Des Moines, Iowa. That makes total sense to me," Ernst, a first-term Republican who is up for re-election this year, said on a conference call with reporters. "We’re a state that would largely support Trump, and of course we could really use that economic boom. Just send President Trump in, and we’ll find...WW…

Des Moines RegisterView CommentsGov. Kim Reynolds has denied a request from Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller to join a multistate lawsuit seeking to block service changes at the U.S. Postal Service, Miller said Tuesday.A group of at least 20 Democratic state attorneys general has signed onto the lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday, citing policy changes that include limiting worker overtime and late or extra shifts in the lawsuit announcement.In his statement, Miller said he's concerned about the changes at the agency but that Reynolds did not allow him to join the suit.Miller, a...…Des Moines RegisterView CommentsGov. Kim Reynolds has denied a request from Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller to join a multistate lawsuit seeking to block service changes at the U.S. Postal Service, Miller said Tuesday.A group of at least 20 Democratic state attorneys general has signed onto the lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday, citing policy changes that include limiting worker overtime and late or extra shifts in the lawsuit announcement.In his statement, Miller said he's concerned about the changes at the agency but that Reynolds did not allow him to join the suit.Miller, a...WW…