2026/02/12

Eye Opener: Iowa Lakes baseball team in deadly bus crash

It's Thursday, February 12.

Today's emoji forecast: ☔🌤️ Some of us will see rain chances today, but it'll clear up for warm days heading into the weekend. Jon Rivas has your forecast.

What people are talking about:

A school staff member in Atlantic was terminated amid an investigation into alleged misconduct with students.
Blank Park Zoo is celebrating the recent birth of one of the most endangered primates in the world.
Fire crews were called to the scene of an apartment fire in Des Moines last night and had to return this morning after it rekindled.

TOP STORY: Iowa Lakes baseball team mourns deadly bus crash

THE 101: A bus crash yesterday on Highway 4 in Calhoun County left more than 30 people injured and one person dead.

WHAT WE KNOW: The crash happened around 11 a.m. on Highway 4 near 220th Street, just west of Twin Lakes. Officials with Iowa Lakes Community College in Estherville released a statement at around 1:35 p.m. confirming the school's bus was the vehicle involved. The Iowa Lakes baseball team, heading south for a series of games in Arkansas, was on the bus.

Iowa State Patrol officials confirmed to KCCI one person died in the crash.

MAIN TAKEAWAYS:

Authorities are still investigating the cause of the crash. No other vehicles were involved. The bus left the roadway and flipped at least once, according to state troopers.
The identity of the person who died has not been released. Multiple other occupants of the bus had to be hospitalized.
Iowa Lakes students held a vigil last night to mourn the loss of life.

4 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

🛬 Welcome home: Roughly 150 Iowa National Guard soldiers had emotional reunions with loved ones yesterday when they returned home following a deployment to the Middle East. Read more

🎓 Teachers' social media posts: A new proposal in the Statehouse could cost educators their license if they publicly celebrate an act of politically motivated violence — and specifically "the unlawful killing of Charles J. Kirk." Read more

🦅 Nestflix & no chill: The beloved Decorah Eagles seem to be going through a bit of relationship drama. Read more

✈️ Airport scene: A plane left the runway yesterday at the Des Moines International Airport, drawing a response from emergency crews. Read more

WEEKEND WEATHER OUTLOOK

The system that we have been anticipating all week long as arrived this morning and clouds have moved back in.

There is moisture that will be capable of producing light rain with some wet flakes mixed in, but this all will be battling dry air through the morning. There will be a slight chance for some patchy rain snow mix for the morning commute, but it will not be widespread over the entire state. We could see wet conditions for the morning drive, but ice doesn't seem likely with temperatures mostly above freezing. Some areas have been able to drop to 32 degrees, but ice will still be hard to form over the short window before sunrise.

The precipitation chances will come to an end for the afternoon and we will clear up deeper into the day. Highs will stay in the 50s with the sun returning. The weekend will continue the warm up with highs in the 50s and 60s. Saturday will have a touch of clouds through the day as a stronger system is expected to push to our south. Most models are keeping rain chances to our south, but we could still have a slight chance for rain for the southern half of the state if this track changes with any northerly nudge. As of now, rain chances are still out of the forecast but this could change if models adjust the track at all.

Next week will bring even warmer temperatures with highs in the mid and low 60s. Monday and Tuesday look to be on the gusty side with the warmer temperatures. There seems to be solid agreement amongst models predicting cooler temperatures Wednesday and beyond. This cooldown could also bring possible rain and/or snow chances deeper into next week.

DAY BY DAY:

Today: Patchy wintry mix possible during the morning. Little to no accumulation. Clouds decreasing by afternoon. High 53F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph.
Friday: Sunny skies. High 58F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday: Partly cloudy. Slim chance of a sprinkle in far southern Iowa. High 57F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday: Mostly sunny. High around 61F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.