The Polk County Assessor's website — long a go-to for property searches and photos — will soon indefinitely lose the tools that made it a staple for real estate agents, homeowners and researchers.

Why it matters: The site is the main public source for Polk County property data, and losing its search tool and photos could slow down real estate transactions, reduce transparency and cause more residents to call county staff for basic information.

Catch up quick: The website was built in-house over about three decades, primarily via one of the office's longtime programmers who is retiring in July.

• The work is specialized, and the office hasn't found someone to replace the programmer or reasonably rebuild what she'd done internally, county assessor Randy Ripperger tells Axios.

State of play: The website will begin to transition to a vendor-managed system in the upcoming weeks at an estimated five-year cost of just over $672,000.

• Ripperger warned that the new system initially will not match the functionality users are used to, with the search feature possibly missing for several months during the transition.

The intrigue: The website overhaul is happening at the same time the assessor's office is reviewing its content to meet new federal digital accessibility rules under the Americans with Disabilities Act by an April 24 deadline.

• Ripperger said his office is still evaluating what content may need to be removed or relocated before that deadline.

The big picture: Rebuilding the site to its current level of functionality could take years, Ripperger said.

• "It's not a good situation," Ripperger said.

Flashback: The office recently spent just over $500,000 to upgrade its online photos to 360-degree views of most Polk County properties.

What we're watching: Whether the changes ripple through the housing market as real estate agents, appraisers and buyers rely on the assessor's site for quick access to property records and images.

A rise in electricity demand driven by artificial intelligence is prompting some environmental groups to reconsider nuclear power — including backing a potential restart of the Duane Arnold Energy Center near Cedar Rapids.

Why it matters: A possible relaunch of Iowa's only nuclear plant highlights the tradeoff between reliable energy and nuclear safety concerns.

Driving the news: The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) this month filed comments supporting an initial step to restart a nuclear power plant in Iowa that Google plans to use for one of its data centers in the region.

• The move marks the first time in its 56-year history that the group has backed a specific nuclear project.

Flashback: Duane Arnold operated for decades until August 2020, when storm damage from a derecho accelerated its planned closure.

State of play: Owner NextEra Energy and Google aim to restart the reactor around 2029, although some groups, like the Iowa chapter of the Sierra Club, oppose the plan.

• Among issues raised in its filing, NRDC said the Iowa plant must include safety measures required after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan.

The intrigue: While nearly 60% of Iowa's electricity comes from wind, coal generation jumped 32% between 2024 and 2025, according to the filing.

What we're watching: NRDC's comments were filed as part of an interim step toward a full reopening, so it will have opportunities to weigh in again — and potentially change its mind.

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📵 Rules for Iowa's new hands-free cellphone law, which could cause violators to lose their licenses, have been approved. (Radio Iowa)

🇨🇳 An Iowa House Republican is seeking information about Drake University's "questionable partnerships" with Chinese universities. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)

🏀 Iowa State men's basketball rose to No. 6 in the final AP Top 25 before the NCAA Tournament. (KCCI)

🎟️ An antitrust trial against Live Nation and Ticketmaster resumed yesterday after negotiations failed to secure the participation of Iowa and more than two dozen other states in a settlement reached by the Justice Department. (PBS)

March is proving to be as finicky as ever, with a heat wave encompassing the West and winter conditions and high winds moving East.

Yes, but: That heat wave is heading our way soon, so if you're staying in Des Moines for spring break, spread that beach towel out and soak in all those rays.

• Who needs Clearwater Beach when you've got the kind-of-clear-ish Raccoon River Beach?

Hi. I'm not Catholic. I do love fried fish (looking at you, Culver's.)

• So, when my friend asked if I wanted to eat at Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Church last Friday, I was all in.

State of play: If you're wondering where everyone is on Friday nights, they're all waiting in line at their local fish fry.

• For $15, you got fried pollock, fried shrimp, baked salmon, pizza, a baked potato, fries, coleslaw and macaroni and cheese. Plus, there were drinks and desserts.

My thought bubble: Everyone was nice! Boy Scouts kept hocking cupcakes at me! (Guess what, it worked.)

If you go: 5:30-7pm at St. Francis of Assisi, $15 for ages 12+ and $5 for kids.

• Also, any Catholic church near you likely will have something similar!