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1 week ago | 
radioiowa.com | Matt Kelley
Perhaps the worst damage in Iowa from the severe weather in the past day happened early this morning in the northwest Iowa town of Storm Lake. Aimee Barritt, the Buena Vista County emergency management coordinator, says thousands of MidAmerican Energy customers in Storm Lake are without power after a severe thunderstorm hit about 1 AM. “They have several power poles that are down at this point in time,” Barritt says.
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1 week ago | 
radioiowa.com | Matt Kelley
Iowans with disabilities have a new spokesperson. Lisa Campbell of Tama is the new Ms. Wheelchair Iowa and she’ll spend the next year traveling the state, making public appearances at parades, county fairs and sporting events to advocate for people with disabilities. Campbell says winning the state crown was a real thrill. “Oh, my gosh, it was amazing,” Campbell says.
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1 week ago | 
radioiowa.com | Matt Kelley
Parts of Iowa are seeing scattered showers this morning, but Iowans will want to keep an eye on the sky late this afternoon and tonight as severe weather is possible. National Weather Service meteorologist Alexis Jimenez says much of the state may see a few powerful storms rumble overhead, while the risk is strongest for southwest Iowa. “Our main show will be after about 4:00 PM this afternoon and we’ll have some severe storms moving up from southwest Iowa,” Jimenez says.
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1 week ago | 
radioiowa.com | Matt Kelley
A southeast Iowa native who’s been dancing almost as long as he’s been able to walk is performing in central Iowa tonight as a veteran member of the Chicago Tap Theatre. Isaac Stauffer grew up in Wayland, midway between Mount Pleasant and Washington, and first appeared on an Iowa State Fair stage at age six. He eventually won the Sprout division of the Bill Riley Talent Show, and then moved up to the 13-and-older bracket.
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1 week ago | 
radioiowa.com | Matt Kelley
U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley says American citizens deserve due process and he says President Trump should explain why a Maryland man remains imprisoned in El Salvador. The U.S. Justice Department admits it mistakenly deported Abrego Garcia, and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the U.S. must “facilitate” his return. Grassley acknowledges several of his Democratic colleagues in the Senate may fly to El Salvador as soon as today to plead for Garcia’s release. “That’s one way of doing it,” Grassley says.
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1 week ago | 
radioiowa.com | Matt Kelley
The Des Moines-based Harkin Institute is hosting what it calls a wellness symposium today on The Future of Clean Water. Event organizer Adam Shriver, the institute’s director of wellness and nutrition policy, says there are all sorts of threats to clean water — from climate change to other human-caused risks, including state and federal policies. “The real problem for clean water is that there’s a number of challenges facing it all at the same time,” Shriver says.
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1 week ago | 
radioiowa.com | Matt Kelley
It’s already morel hunting season in several Iowa counties, as foodies who crave the taste of the elusive mushrooms — battered in bread crumbs, butter and garlic — hike to their closely guarded locations in the woods in hopes of finding a coveted crop. Dr. Benjamin Orozco, an emergency physician with Gundersen Health, says there are also “false morels” starting to sprout across Iowa, and they can be dangerous. “With just a little bit of knowledge, you can avoid mistaking the two.
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1 week ago | 
radioiowa.com | Matt Kelley
Researchers from the University of Northern Iowa are exploring some of the nation’s deepest caves to learn about life in extreme environments, and their findings could ultimately help NASA in its search for life on other planets. UNI chemistry and biochemistry professor Joshua Sebree says he’s led undergraduate students on 50 to 60 fact-finding missions far underground, both in Iowa and several surrounding states.
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2 weeks ago | 
radioiowa.com | Matt Kelley
Imagine a grandfather in his 80s using words like bae, bougie or rizz with a teenage grandchild. The kid likely won’t be receptive and will instead give grandpa the side-eye. The same’s true in business. A University of Iowa study finds when companies try to market themselves as cool using slang, it can be disastrous. Bryce Pyrah, a UI doctoral student in marketing, says people of similar ages use slang with each other as a way to bond and feel closer.
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2 weeks ago | 
radioiowa.com | Matt Kelley
Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says he’ll continue drumming up support for his bill that would limit a president’s power to impose tariffs, even after President Trump vowed he’ll veto the measure if it reaches his desk. Grassley says he’s long pushed for changes in two laws dating back to the 1960s and ’70s in which Congress delegated to the president most of its power to regulate interstate and foreign commerce. “It’s one of 18 powers specifically listed for Congress to do,” Grassley says.
