Arts & Community Leadership: Des Moines Performing Arts’ new CEO Monica Holt talks vision for expanding access, growing audiences, and keeping Broadway on the local stage. Local Arts & Heritage: The Warren Cultural Center is set to debut “Remnants,” a solo exhibit built from vintage Iowa State Fair ceiling tiles salvaged for new metalwork art. Women’s Services: YWCA Mankato names Dr. Joyce Levingston its new executive director, bringing more than a decade of nonprofit leadership and a focus on eliminating racism and empowering women. Health & Education: Atlantic’s Community School Foundation announces 2026 Cecile Kopecky Nursing Scholarship recipients, honoring a long legacy of nursing and education. Public Health & Food Safety: Taylor Farms expands a voluntary iceberg lettuce recall tied to a cyclospora outbreak, now affecting 27 states including Iowa. STEM & Rural Innovation: NSF backs Iowa State-led RuralSTAMINA with $15 million over two years to build a biomanufacturing innovation ecosystem across rural Nebraska and Iowa. Culture Through Sports: RAGBRAI Day 2 spotlights Danish heritage in Elk Horn, plus a 22-foot troll sculpture added to the Museum of Danish America route. Civic Education & Debate: A University of Iowa Center for Intellectual Freedom faces internal friction, with a director alleging the university isn’t supporting operations as promised.