Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen is planning to survey wildfire damage. Pillen will be joined by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, Senators Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts, and Congressman Adrian Smith for an aerial tour and briefing of the Morrill County Fire today. The Morrill County Fire has burned more than 643-thousand-acres since it broke out earlier this month.
Two fallen Iowa soldiers were laid to rest during funeral services this weekend. Army Reservists Sergeant Declan Coady and Major Jeffrey O'Brien were killed in an Iranian drone strike in Kuwait earlier this month. A funeral for Major O'Brien of Waukee was held Saturday morning at Valley Church in West Des Moines. Sergeant Coady's funeral was Saturday afternoon at The Bridge Church in Johnston. He was from West Des Moines, and was a sophomore at Drake University.
Iowa lawmakers return to work tomorrow. Among bills still being considered is one that would exempt conversion therapy from the definition of child abuse. Another would restrict the governor's emergency powers. The session is scheduled to end on April 21st.If agreements aren't reached by then, legislators won't receive their paychecks.
Iowa U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley is part of a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators introducing a bill to increase transparency regarding fertilizer prices. The Fertilizer Transparency Act of 2026 would require the U.S. Department of Agriculture to publish data on fertilizer prices from manufacturers on a weekly basis. Under current law, the USDA conducts an annual voluntary survey on prices producers pay for inputs. The rise in fertilizer costs has been an ongoing concern for farmers, with renewed scrutiny following U.S. military action in Iran and disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
A new poll lead by Iowa medical professionals says a large majority of Iowa residents oppose a bill in the Iowa legislature that would remove immunization requirements for school-aged children. American Families for Vaccines worked with Victory Enterprises to poll one-thousand likely Iowa voters and found 73-percent of respondents oppose the legislation. The bill did not pass Friday's funnel deadline and is considered dead for this year's legislative session.
The University of Nebraska men's basketball team's run in the NCAA Tournament is continuing. Pryce Sandfort scored 15 points as the Huskers defeated Vanderbilt 74-to-72 on Saturday to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history. Nebraska will face Iowa in the Sweet 16 on Thursday in Houston.