Good morning, Cedar Rapids.

Six-year-old Kaisley King (from near Boone) was diagnosed about a year ago with HLH, underwent ten chemotherapy doses at Blank Children’s Hospital and is now in remission, and she is this week's Iowa State Kid Captain as the Cyclones will play Oklahoma State at 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31.

An explosion and fire tore through the Quaker Oats plant in downtown Cedar Rapids on Saturday, Oct.

24; firefighters controlled the blaze in about 90 minutes, no one was injured, and PepsiCo says damage assessments are ongoing with no timeline yet for when production will resume.

Firefighters rescued residents from two of three apartment fires on Wednesday (about 3 a.m. in the 200 block of 31st St. NE and about 10:15 a.m. in the 200 block of 40th St. Drive SE), and officials say don’t ignore alarms, close doors to slow smoke, and keep e-bike batteries out of units.

Iowa’s only public wood kiln reopened last weekend at the Iowa Ceramics Center and Glass Studio downtown after a 2023 storm damaged its chimney and volunteers rebuilt and fired it.

A full schedule of 2027 wood-kiln classes and community firings will be announced soon (fewer than 20 public kilns remain in the U.S.).

The USDA plans to buy up to $472.5 million in U.S.-grown food for charitable food networks and nutrition programs, including $41 million in pork, $165.5 million in dairy, and $20 million in chicken, and Iowa's large hog and milk herds could benefit though USDA didn't say how much will come from the state.

With trick-or-treating coming Saturday, Oct.

31, keep pets secure in a closed room or crate with a radio + TV for white noise and make candy inaccessible. Secure decorations to prevent chewing or entanglement and make sure pets wear ID tags and have updated microchips.