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Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton campaigned in Iowa Des Moines today, the same day early voting for the November election began in Iowa, and a day after her main opponent, Republican Donald Trump, campaigned in Council Bluffs.

Clinton spoke to hundreds of supporters on at Cowles Commons plaza in downtown Des Moines, asking them if they were ready to go to the polls.

“Well, luckily in Iowa you can start today, lots of folks don’t have that opportunity across the country,” she said.

On Friday, September 30th, Midwestern bluegrass group The Matchsellers will perform on IPR Studio One's "Java Blend." 

Stop by The Java House in downtown Iowa City at 2 P.M. to hear Java Blend host Ben Kieffer chat with the duo and listen to tunes off the group's new album, Songs We Made Up. 

Cedar Rapids is taking another step toward flood recovery, with city leaders announcing the flood evacuation area would open at noon tomorrow for what City Manager Jeff Pomeranz said are, “flood-related recovery activities.”  They’re asking people who don’t have homes or businesses in the area to stay away to allow work to be done as easily as possible.

Donald Trump’s latest Iowa visit took him to Council Bluffs this afternoon, on the eve of the start of early voting in Iowa.  His visit was his latest stop in a state where he leads or is tied in most pre-election polls. 

A crowd of hundreds of enthusiastic supporters greeted Trump at the Mid-America Center. Just a few days removed from his first debate with Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, Trump touted is political inexperience as a positive.  

The lessons learned from the historic flood of 2008 are helping Iowa mitigate damage from this year’s flooding in northern and eastern parts of the state.

Jeff Olson is the Public Safety Director for the City of Cedar Falls. On Wednesday's Talk of Iowa, Olson told host Charity Nebbe the city recorded its second-highest water levels in this year's flooding.

After the 2008 flood, the city wrote a plan that Olson says, "tells us exactly what we need to do," when the Cedar River peaks. 

The University of Iowa quarterback who led the Hawkeyes to two Rose Bowl victories and who finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting has died. 

Randy Duncan was born in Osage, but played high school football for Des Moines Roosevelt.

He was an All-American at Iowa in 1959 and the first pick in the NFL draft, going to the Green Bay Packers.

He did not sign with Green Bay, which was then led by Vince Lombardi.

Instead, he played two years in the Canadian Football League.

But he gave up professional football for a career as a lawyer in Des Moines.

Cedar Rapids officials are allowing some people to return to their homes and businesses, while reminding others that the flooding danger has not completely passed.

As of this morning, the Cedar River level stood at 20.7 feet.  That’s down about a foot from yesterday’s crest, but still nearly nine feet above flood stage.

A lawsuit farmers have filed against seed giant Syngenta will proceed as a class action, potentially involving hundreds of thousands of corn growers nationwide.

U.S. District Court Judge John Lungstrum approved the motion to certify the Syngenta AG MIR 162 Corn Litigation as a class action Monday in Kansas City, Kansas.

An area of north Des Moines that holds a nostalgic place in the hearts of many central Iowans is being remade into a site where future generations can build memories.

Riverview Park sat on an island near the Des Moines River and operated from 1915 until 1978.

Plans are now in place to convert it into an outdoor concert venue large enough for 10,000 people.

Des Moines Parks and Recreation Director Ben Page says in designing the project, it was important to celebrate the future while honoring the past.

The Cedar River crested in downtown Cedar Rapids this morning, a foot lower than predicted but still 10 feet above flood stage. 

The river level was at 22 feet late this morning, and will begin slowly falling by late today. 

“It’s not over,” said City Manager Jeff Pomeranz at a news conference this morning.

City officials are monitoring nearly 10 miles of temporary, sand-filled Hesco barriers and earthen levees, looking for weak spots and for possible breaches. 

“We’re very confident this temporary system will work,” said Pomeranz.

This week’s Symphonies of Iowa encore broadcast presents the wcfsymphony’s “Bach I” concert on Monday evening, October 3 at 7 p.m. It features music composed by the illustrious Johann Sebastian Bach.

Join the symphony for a musical journey into J.S. Bach’s incredible creativity with some of Baroque music’s most beloved works. Tune in on Monday, October 3 at 7 p.m. for this Symphonies of Iowa encore broadcast!

PROGRAM

BACH – Suite No. 1

BACH – Sinfonia from Cantata, BWV 174

BACH – Brandenburg Concerto No. 1

If it’s not safe for people to be at home due to flooding, then it’s also not safe for pets. That’s why Cedar Rapids Animal Care and Control is sheltering four-legged companions who can’t accompany the humans who are evacuating their homes.

Animal Care and Control Program Manager Diane Webber says the agency’s old building was completely flooded in 2008. The city agency's new facility is designed to accommodate more animals during times of crisis.

Despite the flooding of several rivers in eastern Iowa, all of Iowa’s interstate highways are open. So far only secondary roads have flooded, but that may change later this week.

As water flows down river, the Iowa Department of Transportation is keeping a close eye on Interstate 80. This highway crosses Iowa, and the country, east-to-west.

Iowa’s Secretary of State is reminding voters with disabilities there are methods in place to help them cast ballots. This applies to military veterans suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder, as well.

It’s estimated between six-and-ten percent of the 300,000 Iowans with disabilities vote. The percentage for the overall population may approach 70 for this year’s election.

Tai Tomasi is a staff attorney with Disability Rights Iowa. She’s also blind. She says technological advancements have improved her ability to go to the polls.

Cedar Rapids city leaders say they’ve done everything they possibly can to prepare for this week’s flooding, and that the next couple of days will be the most critical and dangerous period.

The Cedar River was at 20.8 feet late this afternoon, and is expected to crest at about 23 feet by tomorrow afternoon.  That would make this the second-highest to 2008’s historic flood of 31 feet.

The Des Moines Metro Opera heralds in Iowa Public Radio’s 2016 Opera in October series with performances from their 44th Festival Season. IPR’s first DMMO broadcast features Verdi’s Falstaff on Saturday, October 1st at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, October 2nd at 3:00 p.m.

As of 7pm Sunday, the Cedar River at Cedar Rapids had reached 14 feet, considered a "moderate flood stage." It is expected to crest at 23 feet at about 7am Tuesday, and will be the city's second-highest river level and the highest since the historic 2008 flood.

The Quaker Oats plant that towers over the east bank of the river was closed at 7pm Sunday.  A spokesperson said only emergency staff would be in the building until further notice.

Angel Olsen was born in St. Louis, lived for a time in Chicago, and currently resides in Asheville, North Carolina.  She has recorded and toured with Bonnie "Prince" Billy as a backing singer, and has been releasing her own music since 2010.

The Cedar River in downtown Cedar Rapids is expected to crest Monday at 24 feet. That’s seven feet lower than in 2008 when floodwaters ravaged the city’s downtown. Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett says that forecast could change.

“We’re at the mercy of the river, we’ll be able do an adequate job of keeping most of the water in the banks of the river at 22 feet, so 24 is really go to be challenging for us and we just hope it doesn’t get any worse,” he says.

Ames is among the central Iowa communities recovering from heavy rains late Thursday night.

Assistant city manager Brian Phillips says parts of Ames received five inches of rain, much of it falling in about an hour.  And he says at least two manhole covers disappeared in the deluge.

"If there's a storm sewer that has a very large slug of water going through it, that can compress the air underneath the manhole cover," Phillips says, "and that compression pushes upward [and] can pop the manhole cover off."

Currently 50,000 Latinos in Iowa are registered to vote, according to Iowa’s League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC).

The organization is intensifying voter outreach in Iowa, as it wants to increase Latino registration by as many as 10,000 people. LULAC is attending all Latino festivals in Iowa, including one this weekend in Des Moines.  It's also holding community events this month and early October. 

Updated at 10:15pm Thursday.

Sandbagging continues in communities along the Shell Rock and Cedar Rivers in northeast Iowa  after portions of Butler and Floyd county were hit with as much as a foot of rain last night. To the southeast, people in Cedar Rapids have begun building sandbag levees to protect an area devastated in 2008.

In Butler County, Sheriff Jason Johnson says volunteers who want to assist with cleanup are welcome, but sightseers are not.