😁 Happy Friday! It’s August— which means it’s officially back-to-school season (whether you have kids or just PTSD from your own locker days). Remember when your locker said everything about you? Prime hallway location, the right decorations, and a non-annoying locker partner? Elite status.
Now? We’re just proud when the junk drawer closes without a fight.

-The Bennett



Weekend Weather:
Today ☀ Hi 76, Sat ⛅ Hi 77, Sun 🌦 Hi 77, Mon 🌦 Hi 79

B&A Club:
🎂 Happy Birthday
Joleen Janssen -- Glidden
Kade Hansen -- Breda
🥂 Happy Anniversary
Shane & Sami Sapp -- Carroll (5 yrs)

Microsoft’s blowout FY25 Q4 earnings powered a surge in shares making it the second $4 trillion company, joining an elite club shared only by Nvidia.

Jon Keegan

MicrosoftMSFT $532.74 (3.80%) had a blowout fiscal fourth quarter, beating estimates for earnings and revenue. In premarket trading, shares surged over 8%, pushing the valuation above $4 trillion, an elite club only shared with NvidiaNVDA $177.34 (-1.08%).

On the earnings call last night, CEO Satya Nadella summed up the company’s impressive fiscal year performance:

Like Nvidia, Microsoft’s surging valuation is powered by white-hot demand for AI computing. The legacy tech giant has nimbly positioned itself for success in a fast-moving, young AI industry:

Indeed, Azure’s performance was a big driver of growth for the quarter, with Azure (and other cloud services) revenue growth increasing 39% year on year.

For the first time, the company revealed how much money Azure has made: more than $75 billion in annual revenue.

That number could have been even higher if supply weren’t an issue.

“While we brought additional data center capacity online this quarter, demand remains higher than supply,” CFO Amy Hood said.

The demand is so high for Microsoft’s cloud computing services that it has a significant contracted backlog — $368 billion worth.

To catch up with that demand, Hood said on the earnings call last night that the company continues to spend huge on capex: “We expect Q1 capital expenditures to be over $30 billion driven by the continued strong demand signals we see.”

But Hood cautioned that the capex seen in FY25 might not be the norm:

Update (10:23 a.m. ET): a previous version of this piece attributed Google’s AI model to Microsoft. see article

We had numerous people mention that they would like to purchase one of our KCIM 75th commemorative t-shirts that we wore at Live + Local, so now they are available! We have an online store that will be open now until August 12, 2025. You can find the store link here or if you decide to purchase later you can find the link pinned on our KCIM facebook page as well. Thank you for your supporting and celebrating KCIM's 75th Anniversary!

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Join us on Thursday, August 7th, for NIGHT TO REMEMBER at Carroll National Gold Club in Carroll, Iowa - Get ready for an epic summer experience featuring headliner Mt. Joy, an amazing DJ lineup, and world-class production. This is a night you won’t want to miss! Doors open at 6:00PM! And NOW is your opportunity to WIN a FREE pair of VIP tickets to see this epic event! Carroll National will be giving away 5 pairs of VIP Tickets and the WINNERS will be announced on August 1st, 2025!

MT. JOY
Mt. Joy is a five-piece indie rock band with a folk-infused, soulful sound based in Los Angeles, but with strong roots in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where founding members Matt Quinn (vocals, guitar) and Sam Cooper (guitar) met in high school. The band takes its name from Mount Joy in Valley Forge National Park, a location near their hometown. 

 Mt. Joy is known for its blend of alternative rock, indie rock, folk rock, blues rock, and Americana. They cite classic artists like Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, The Grateful Dead, and The Beatles as influences, alongside more contemporary artists such as The Alabama Shakes, My Morning Jacket, and Vampire Weekend. listen now

🌽 Sweet corn is often referred to as an Iowa summer-time delicacy, and what better way to enjoy it then by attending the 2025 Sweet Corn Daze festival in Rockwell City this weekend. In its 15^th year, Sweet Corn Daze started as a one-day, city-wide picnic, but has expanded to offer additional free fun and activities for kids and adults. Friday night kicks off with Live on the Square, with Riddled with Class performing from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and the street dance at Amvets following immediately until 12:30 p.m. Saturday is when the rest of the activities will take place, with the parade starting at 9 a.m. at the South Central Calhoun (SCC) Middle School, followed with the crowning of the Sweet Corn Daze Princess and Rockwell City Rotary’s Citizen of the Year at the bandstand. The rest of the day will consist of inflatables, crafts, and live entertainment all free for attendees. A bingo fundraiser will be held at the community building for an enhancement project for the Rockwell City Pool, and a corn hole tournament at 1 p.m. at Amvets. The event will conclude with the SCC class alumni reunions starting at 4 p.m. The complete schedule and a list of sponsors who help to make this event happen can be found included below.

2025 Sweet Corn Daze Schedule of Events:
Friday, Aug 1 -"Live on the Square” – Riddled with Class 6pm to 9pm
Street Dance at Amvets - Section 7  9pm-12:30 am

Saturday, Aug 2 –
8:30 am – Parade line up @ middle school, register at rockwellcity.com or just show up!
9:00 am - Big Parade - starts at SCC Middle School
*Following parade- Crowning of Sweet Corn Daze Princess at the bandstand
*Following princess crowning- Introduction of Rockwell City Rotary Citizen of the Year at the bandstand
10:00 – 2:00 pm - Craft, Merchandise & Food Vendors and of course  SWEETCORN!!
10:00 – 2:00 pm – FREE Kids Inflatables
10:00 – 2:00 pm – FREE face painting by JOYFUL COLORZ
10:00 – 2:00 pm – FREE petting zoo by Cheshire Moon Farms
10:00 – 2:00 pm – Live entertainment  in the gazebo
10:30 - 12:00 pm - FREE kids craft with Calhoun county Conservation
12:00 pm - Sign up for Amvets Corn Hole Tournament
1:00 pm - Bingo at the Community Building- Fundraiser for the enhancement committee pool project.
1:00 pm - Corn Hole Tournament at Amvets with DJ
4:00 pm - Class Alumni Reunions

🐮 With the severe storms and hot days behind for now, organizing parties for the Glidden FFA Fun Days could not be more excited for the beautiful forecast as the event gets underway (Thursday-Saturday). Vice President for the Glidden FFA Alumni, Dan Schoenherr says when the event started two decades ago, it was a jammed packed full day of activities put on by the Glidden FFA Alumni. Since then, he says it has continued to grow and now is a three-day celebration with multiple partnerships. Other events taking place on Friday include the penny dive at the Glidden Aquatic Center starting at 3 p.m. Schoenherr says they have added an adult class to the greased pig competition and a fireworks display to wrap up Friday night activities. Schoenherr says Saturday is the busiest day of the weekend with something for everyone to enjoy. Saturday night features the adult bean bag tournament and the street dance with a band downtown. The event winds down on Sunday with the antique tractor pull at the little league ball fields starting at 11 a.m. and the Glidden Gator Alumni swim meet at 11 a.m. at the pool. Schoenherr thanks all the volunteers and sponsors who continue to make the Glidden FFA Fun Days a success and looks forward to seeing everyone this upcoming weekend in Glidden. The complete schedule of events can be found at the Glidden FFA Fun Days Facebook page.

💰 Third & Main Market in Lake View is one of the eight grocery or food producing businesses across Iowa to be awarded a Rural Innovation Grant through the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA). Just over $72,000 was awarded through Governor Kim Reynolds Empower Rural Iowa Initiative, which aims to assist towns with a population of less than 20,000 with various of projects to upgrade and improve services offered to residents. Third & Main Market, previously known as Lake View Foods, will receive $2,640 for a digital system for marketing and to offer targeted discounts to save customers money. The complete list of recipients for the grant can be found included here. The next round of funding closes on Aug. 29 with a focus on increasing rural housing availability.

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Courtney Crowder Des Moines Register

Joni Bell expects her chefs to come up with a new concoction at least once a week.

"Concocting." That’s what Bell likes to call their madcap culinary experiments in her catering company’s kitchen-turned-laboratory. Because the point is to dream, to invent new flavor combinations and hatch true epicurean surprises. 

And their guidelines are simple: Make something, anything, that would turn heads at the Iowa State Fair.

Well, deceptively simple. Because, one, serving anything at the State Fair means being able to recreate the same dish upwards of 30,000 times. In a portable kitchen. In the sweltering heat of a Midwestern August — possibly punctuated by a sudden downpour, just for good measure.

Two, space constraints in their makeshift cookhouse mean the item should use mostly ingredients already on hand at Bell’s two food stands, a barbecue joint called The Rib Shack and the grilled cheese-focused spot, What’s Your Cheez.

And, three, fairgoers must want to buy it — no small task when nearly 200 other vendors are vying for the same dollars. So, nothing gross for gross' sake.

You got to think of what the masses are going to like, Bell reminds her chefs. Nobody’s gonna eat tuna casserole at the fair.

Bacon. Cheese. Mac-n-cheese. Barbecue.

More bacon. That’s what they want. see full story

MORE STATE NEWS:

✅A FEAR OF WHAT?: A list of the weirdest and most rare phobias…
✅LOVE OR HATE: Summer’s weirdest food combos…
✅CHECKLIST: Things to do before summer is over.
✅CUTTING IT SHORT: These 17 Iowa districts have cut down to a 4-day school week.
✅WATCH: College move-in day tips!
✅COMING UP: Live + Local on Thursdays!
✅SATURDAY: The annual Highway 141 Garage sale!
✅LIVE MUSIC: Stone Pier Summer Concert Series this Saturday, a duo of great performances
✅SUNDAY: FFA Fun Days in Glidden

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