Fleur Drive is now open. The street between Bell and MLK Junior Parkway had been closed since Thursday because of flooding. Des Moines parks and rec is also requesting volunteers to help clean up Grays Lake Park today and tomorrow so the park can reopen. They’ll be giving volunteers tools to pick up sticks and trash.
And it’s not just drivers who are frustrated with the flooding…farmers across the state aren’t happy their crops are in standing water. Ag experts say the worst flooding is in the southern part of the state, with the soybean crop getting hit hardest with already soggy conditions the past few weeks.
Two Democratic presidential candidates are spending their 4th of July celebrations with Iowans. Martin O’Malley and Bernie Sanders have 18 events scheduled between both of them on Friday and Saturday…walking in parades and hosting town hall meetings throughout the state.
In more caucus news…Republican presidential candidates Bobby Jindal and Mike Hucbakee are back in Iowa tomorrow. Jindal will host a town hall meeting in Waukee tomorrow night, while Huckabee will officially open his Iowa campaign headquarters in Urbandale.
The state budget doesn’t look like it will get signed prior to the holiday. Governor Branstad pointed out his philosophy about budgets in his weekly press conference today. The governor says sometimes you have to determine which would do the most harm and choose the most appropriate path.
Iowa’s congressional delegation continues to speak out about the Supreme Court’s decision to allow same-sex marriage in all 50 states. Senator Chuck Grassley says the fight between both sides of the argument isn’t over. Grassley says he still supports that marriage should be between a man and a woman.
The bird flu seems to be slowing down in Iowa, but ag officials aren’t reversing their decision to ban poultry events at county fairs to prevent the spread of the disease. No new cases of the bird flu have been reported in over a week, and now state and federal workers are focusing on clean-up and prevention.
Iowa’s Board of Regents is reportedly ditching its top lawyer. Tom Evans had served as the board’s chief negotiator for contracts with labor unions and advised the regents and schools on legal and human resources matters since 2004.
ISU’s expanding its football stadium to seat 61,000 people. The $60 million project is expected to be completed in late August, making Jack Trice Stadium the third-largest in the Big 12.
