Here First Iowa Public Radio

Four Iowa counties are awaiting a FEMA disaster declaration after a total of 202 homes were destroyed or had major damage in Tuesday’s storm. The Waterloo Visiting Nurses Association will be closing its doors after almost a century of work in the Black Hawk county area. And Coe College in Cedar Rapids is opening an aviation management program and professional pilot school, pending accreditation approval.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds calls the devastation in Greenfield "gut-wrenching" after a tornado outbreak kills five and injures more. The head of FEMA visits the storm-damaged area today. Protesters say the University of Iowa and its police department violated their civil rights. A damaging fertilizer spill is being referred to the Iowa Attorney General's Office.

Multiple tornadoes strike Iowa, with several killed in the small community of Greenfield. Heavy rainfall threatens planting in northeast Iowa. A chance of venue for the suspect accused of killing an Algona police officer. And a new human trafficking law will go into effect July 1st.

The Des Moines City Council has approved a lawsuit settlement involving four women who accused the police department of sexual harassment and discrimination. A domestic violence intervention group in Iowa City is preparing to provide services to sexual assault victims in southeastern Iowa. And an environmental group is asking the EPA to better protect northeast Iowa’s Driftless Area from commercial animal farm waste.

Nursing homes have new federal rules for minimum staff levels, though the industry says chronic staffing shortages will make those numbers hard to meet. A new rule closing the “gun show loophole” for firearms sales goes into effect today. Iowa’s attorney general is among those suing to stop the change. And, a new state law clears the way for Lee County to have just one county courthouse. It has maintained two courthouses for the past 176 years.

Gov. Kim Reynolds is putting pandemic recovery funds into opioid addiction treatment and recovery after the legislature failed to allocate opioid settlement funds. A new law will review the accessibility of state parks for people with disabilities. And after rebranding under a new name, what is the future of Schwan’s food delivery?