LST-325, the last operational tank landing craft from World War II, visits Muscatine. It is available for tours through Monday.
MAYA MARCHEL HOFF
Welcome to Week in Iowa.
Iowa's political leaders and public officials are offering prayers and condolences after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated during a speaking event at Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday.
During a question-and-answer session with students, Kirk, 31, was shot in the neck.
Gov. Kim Reynolds ordered all flags at half-staff beginning Wednesday until sunset on Sunday to honor Kirk. The order is in conjunction with President Donald Trump's proclamation to lower all U.S. flags for the same amount of time.
Flags across Iowa will also be lowered for the same time frame to commemorate Patriot Day on Thursday and honor those who lost their lives during the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.
Here is the news from across Iowa this week.
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Iowa voters' ballots are going to look a lot different next fall with Joni Ernst's announcement this week that she will not seek reelection to the U.S. Senate.
And it's not just the state's U.S. Senate election that will feature new names. The impact of Ernst's decision will ripple all the way down the ballot.
Ernst's retirement from the Senate creates just the fourth U.S. Senate election in Iowa without an incumbent in nearly six decades and the first since 2014 -- when Ernst first won election to the U.S. Senate.
Toss in Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds' decision to also not seek reelection -- Reynolds made that announcement in April -- and Iowa will have open-seat elections for both the U.S. Senate and governor on the same ballot for the first time since 1968.
For a full debrief of the state of Iowa's Senate race, continue reading here.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds returns to India to deepen trade, agriculture ties
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is leading an eight-day trade mission to India, returning with a delegation of Iowa officials and business leaders to strengthen relationships she says are already showing results from her initial visit last year.
Reynolds, joined by Iowa Economic Development Authority Director Debi Durham, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig and representatives of Iowa's farm and business sectors, departed Sept. 6 for stops in Delhi, Pune and Mumbai. The trip will feature meetings with Indian government officials, trade associations and private-sector leaders in food, agriculture and biotechnology.
"Our visit to India last year kicked off a number of relationships between Iowa and Indian businesses and trade associations and furthered conversations on investing in Iowa and market access for certain Iowa agricultural products," Reynolds said in a statement.
Deputy Gazette Des Moines Bureau Chief Tom Barton has more on Reynolds' visit to India here.
Other political stories you may have missed Hinson kicks off Senate run in Iowa with 99-county tourIowa employers optimistic, but federal uncertainty cause for concern, state business leaders sayIowa's Joe Mitchell announced U.S. House campaign to 'have President Trump's back' People LST-325, which landed tanks and men at Normandy, arrives in Muscatine
LST-325 cruise director Ken Rupp says that for the decommissioned tank landing ship's 50-member crew, "we get by with a little help from our friends."
As the 327-foot museum ship was coming to the end of its five-day trip up the Mississippi to Muscatine, a medical emergency on board threw off the time schedule. Arriving on the Muscatine riverfront at about 11 p.m. Tuesday, the initial plan was for the ship to run its twin General Motors 900 HP engines all night to hold the ship in place and then dock properly in the morning.
LST-325 is the last fully operational WWII "landing ship, tank," of its kind, first being commissioned on Feb. 1, 1943. Its service during the war included traveling to the beaches of Normandy during D-Day on June 6, 1944, and then subsequent supply runs.
Dave Hotle of the Muscatine Journal has the full story here.
Pilgrimage to Israel turned 'harrowing'
Nearly three months after returning from a pilgrimage to Israel, Greg Giles said his smartphone still warns of missile, rocket and drone threats several thousand miles away.
The alerts, which resemble low, rumbling horns, followed by the sound of a rattlesnake vibrating its tail, make him "jump." But Giles, Congregation Beth Shalom's president, didn't delete the Home Front Command app after being evacuated from Jerusalem with 10 other members of the Sioux City synagogue in late June.
"I want to keep my finger on the pulse of what's going on in Israel when there's incoming missiles," Giles explained, while seated in Congregation Beth Shalom's library next to Rabbi Meir Goldstein, who arranged what was to be a 16-day trip.
Sioux City Journal reporter Dolly A. Butz has the full story here.
Mason City woman's devotion to gardening creates a private paradise
Nestled on a quiet street on the south side of Mason City, Sally Becker's garden is like a secret doorway to a floral fairyland.
Becker, who turns 80 this month, works full time at North Iowa Area Community College as its writing lab specialist, but still finds more than four hours a day to get into her garden.
Packed with rare flowers, huge tropical ferns and palms, hanging baskets, and whimsical decor, Becker's passion for her private paradise is clear in every detail.
Ailis McCardle of the Mason City Globe Gazette has more on the garden here.
Culture 'Not fade away: The Immersive Surf Ballroom Experience,' opens in Clear Lake
The Surf Ballroom & Museum has opened the Music Experience Center and a new permanent exhibit honoring the legacy of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson.
"Not Fade Away: The Immersive Surf Ballroom Experience" is an interactive, evolving exhibit located on the lower floor of the Music Experience Center.
The exhibit also features a variety of rare and valuable guitars and other Les Paul artifacts.
Brian Luallen, the CEO of the Surf Ballroom and Museum, said the exhibit was meant to honor the cultural impact of Holly, Valens and Richardson, educate visitors about the history of rock 'n' roll and the roots of the surf, and spark wonder and a desire to create music in young people.
Mason City Globe Gazette reporter Ailis McCardle has more on the new exhibit here.
Sports Iowa's Kirk Ferentz doesn't regret fourth down decisions
Iowa's offense got the ball 10 times against Iowa State in a 16-13 loss to the Cyclones on Saturday. The Hawkeyes managed three scoring drives (two field goals and one touchdown), five punts, an interception and a turnover on downs.
When asked about the two field goals, which came from the Iowa State's 12 and 18 yard lines in fourth-and-two situations, on Tuesday, head coach Kirk Ferentz said he gave no thought to attempting to convert on fourth rather than kick the field goals.
"Not in either situation, no," Ferentz said. "I think we went for at least one -- and converted one. ... I'm not second-guessing on the ones we did the other day, given the circumstances we were in."
University of Iowa sports reporter Ethan Petrik has the full story here.
Number of the week: 156
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources issued 156 advisories across 39 state beaches, up from 145 advisories last year. That meant about 26% of weekly water samples collected from Memorial Day through Labor Day tested high enough for bacteria or toxins to trigger warnings -- the highest advisory rate since at least 2016.
Two-thirds of Iowa's state park beaches faced "swimming not recommended" advisories at least once this summer, with heavy rains fueling higher bacteria levels that pushed advisories to their highest rate in a decade, according to state monitoring officials and data.
Wet years tend to drive bacteria spikes, while calm, dry summers allow algal blooms to build. Iowa was wetter this year than the past few summers, washing bacteria downstream into Iowa's lakes and beaches, said Daniel Kendall, who oversees the DNR's beach monitoring program.
Deputy Gazette Des Moines Bureau Chief Tom Barton has more here on Iowa's beach advisories hitting a decade high.
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