DES MOINES, IOWA (August 13, 2019) — Five talented Sprout division acts (ages 2-12) and six Senior division acts (ages 13-21) have advanced to the semi-final round in Bill Riley's 60th annual Iowa State Fair Talent Search. Each act will perform again on Thursday, August 15; Friday, August 16; or Saturday, August 17.

The names, ages, hometowns and routines of the sprouts acts are:

Leah Feuerbach, 12, Durant, Dance: Tap Solo

DES MOINES, IOWA (August 13, 2019) — John Sandford, pseudonym of John Camp, the New York Times best-selling author of 52 books and a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, will be the featured speaker at the Des Moines Public Library Foundation’s annual fundraiser, the 2019 Iowa Author Awards Dinner. The event will be held on Tuesday, October 1 at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines. Proceeds from the event support the library’s many programs, services and technology updates.

DES MOINES, IOWA (August 13, 2019) — Today, Governor Kim Reynolds announced former Deputy State Auditor Andy Nielsen of Ankeny as the winner of the 2019 Outstanding CPA in Government Career Contribution Award. Nielsen received the award from the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) at the organization’s national conference in Washington, DC on August 12, 2019.

DES MOINES, IOWA (August 13, 2019) — Governor Kim Reynolds announced the appointment of Elizabeth Johnson of Altoona to serve as Executive Director of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission. Johnson, currently an administrative law judge at Iowa Workforce Development, begins her new role on August 26, 2019.