Photo Gallery: Gazette’s Best Photos for the First Half of August 2025

Lead DSP Ellie Koechner smiles as she holds Arc student Rosslyn Henderson, 14, while feeding a llama during a field trip to Prairie Patch Farms in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. The Arc of East Central Iowa summer program has grown by 30 children this summer after gaining extra space by using Veritas Church in downtown Cedar Rapids. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Film Scene’s Ped Mall location in Iowa City, Iowa on Friday, August 1, 2025. FilmScene has partnered with nonprofit RSFIC (Resilient Sustainable Future for Iowa City) to purchase the building housing their location on the Ped Mall. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)

Leticia Marcelino hugs Ivan Maximum as he rearranges the flowers to fit a few more flowers in during the last weekend of the flower festival at the Bloomsbury Farm in Atkins on Saturday, August 2, 2025. Bloomsbury Farm will reopen in the fall for the fall festival and their sunflower fields. (Elizabeth Wood/The Gazette)

Cedar Rapids West Rotary Club member Amy March holds up her bucket to catch ping pong balls during The Big Drop at the Farmers Market in southeast Cedar Rapids on Saturday, August 2, 2025. This is the eighth year the Cedar Rapids West Rotary Club has hosted the Big Drop, and the sixth year it has been hosted at the Farmers Market. (Elizabeth Wood/The Gazette)

Jared Deines (right) high fives Roger Lahr after making his pitch shot during the Iowa City Golf Association’s 2025 Mens’s Amateur Tournament at Brown Deer Golf Club in Coralville, Iowa on Saturday, August 2, 2025. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)

Michael Canfield hits from a bunker during the Iowa City Golf Association’s 2025 Mens’s Amateur Tournament at Brown Deer Golf Club in Coralville, Iowa on Saturday, August 2, 2025. Canfield shot five under on the day. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)

A “War of 1812” emblem sits out as Tony Townsend of the Iowa Sons of the American Revolution installs his new headstone at the Center Point Cemetery in Center Point, Iowa on Monday, Aug. 4, 2025. Keyes did not have a headstone, but instead had two emblems to mark his grave. The V.A. issued a headstone for Keyes after Joe Hepperle of West Union did research on Keyes. Hepperle is also a distant relative of the Keyes family. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Rachel Pettit with her cat Tic Tac at her new home in Atkins, Iowa, on Monday, August 4, 2025. Pettit moved into the duplex in October 2024. Pettit's 1890 home off Benton Linn Road was damaged in the 2020 derecho. The house's foundation was twisted and shingles were blown off. She and her ex-husband faced insurance challenges and couldn't repair the damage. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Michael Lafantant of Cedar Rapids smiles as he embraces his daughter Michel Richard, 3, while waiting for Edeline Dor to finish her ICE check-in at the Homeland Security Investigations office in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Kennedy’s Brooklyn Gilchrist celebrates after her putt while competing in the girls’ open division during the Rotary Pribyl Junior Golf Classic at the Cedar Rapids Country Club in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Jacob Proctor, age 3, hula hoops during a National Night Out Event at Wetherby Park in Iowa City, Iowa on Tuesday, August 5, 2025. National Night out is an annual community building event with the goal of building relationships between first responders and communities as well as fostering neighborhood camaraderie. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)

Erin Boone hugs her friend Ashley Caton after baptizing her during the Summer Picnic at New Covenant Bible Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Wednesday, August 6, 2025. Community members gathered for music, worship, and several baptisms. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)

Hayley Morris reacts after missing a putt on the 16th green during the final round of the Rotary Pribyl Junior Golf Classic at Elmcrest Country Club in northeast Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Thursday, August 7, 2025. Cedar Rapids Area Rotary Clubs sponsors the annual golf tournament for girls and boys. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds puts finishing touches on her speech after taking a tour of the Ingredion, Inc., facility before a ceremony celebrating the expansion at the facility in southwest Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Wednesday, August 6, 2025. The company is building a $50 million, 9,000 square foot addition that will increase its industrial corn starch production. The project will include a corn starch dryer, bulk loading equipment and storage. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds shares a light moment with Ingredion’s new quality manager Natasha Carter after a ceremony celebrating the expansion at Ingredion, Inc., in southwest Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Wednesday, August 6, 2025. The company is building a $50 million, 9,000 square foot addition that will increase its industrial corn starch production. The project will include a corn starch dryer, bulk loading equipment and storage. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Hannah Pratt sculpts a spur out of butter for one of the displays for the butter cow during the State Fair in Des Moines on Thursday, August 7, 2025. Sarah Pratt, the Iowa State Fair’s butter sculpture, said her daughters Hannah and Grace Pratt have been learning how to sculpt butter from her. In July, Sarah, Hannah and Grace went to Washington, D.C to carve a butter cow for the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Pratt said she and Rod Zeitler, of Iowa City, will have displays in the Smithsonian. (Elizabeth Wood/The Gazette)

Shaylin Munson yells to watch out for an incoming ball on the 16th green during the final round of the Rotary Pribyl Junior Golf Classic at Elmcrest Country Club in northeast Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Thursday, August 7, 2025. Cedar Rapids Area Rotary Clubs sponsors the annual golf tournament for girls and boys. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Logan Newcomb (left), 8, Carter Kleve (CQ) (center), 8, and Kaden Daum, 8, try to catch a football that Wyatt Scharf (CQ), 6, threw in the parking lot of Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City on Saturday, August 9, 2025. While waiting to greet the players, the boys played a game of football in a few empty parking lot spaces. (Elizabeth Wood/The Gazette)

Stormy, a female nine-year-old mini Goldendoodle retrieves a tennis ball thrown by Molly LaKose of Cedar Rapids during the 20th K9Splash! at Bever Park Pool in southeast Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Saturday, August 9, 2025. LaKose has taken Stormy to K9Splash! Every year of her life. The event where dogs take over the pool is a fundraiser for K9COLA, Citizens for Off-Leash Areas. The non-profit uses the funds to support two off-leash dog parks, Cheyenne Off-Leash Dog Park and K9 Acres Off-Leash Dog Park. The organization helps dogs and dog owners enjoy the experience of off-leash parks and dog friendly activities. The event concludes Sunday 10am-4pm. The first hour is reserved for small dogs, less than 15” from the top of their head. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Angie Dennis McMann laughs as Odin, a three-year-old Giant Schnauzer splashes her as he plays during the 20th K9Splash! at Bever Park Pool in southeast Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Saturday, August 9, 2025. The event where dogs take over the pool is a fundraiser for K9COLA, Citizens for Off-Leash Areas. The non-profit uses the funds to support two off-leash dog parks, Cheyenne Off-Leash Dog Park and K9 Acres Off-Leash Dog Park. The organization helps dogs and dog owners enjoy the experience of off-leash parks and dog friendly activities. The event concludes Sunday 10am-4pm. The first hour is reserved for small dogs, less than 15” from the top of their head. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Little Brother Trae Perez (center) , 11, laughs as Big Brother Hunter Orton (left) reacts before taking a seasoning mix with Hunter’s wife and Big Sister Tedde as they taste test the selection of seasonings at The Grill Works in Marion, Iowa, on Saturday, August 9, 2025. Trae wanted a seasoning to put on popcorn. The trio were waiting for lunch from T & T BBQ And Catering, set up in the parking lot.The Ortons have been a big brother and big sister to Trae for about five years. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Charli Nutt, age 9, bowls during the Watermelon Bowling competition at the thirtieth annual Watermelon Days festival in Atkins, Iowa on Saturday, August 9, 2025. Watermelon bowling follows the same rules as normal bowling, but contestants are limited to a single melon over the contest’s three frames. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)

Suzan Erem poses for a portrait next to an apple tree on her farm in West Branch on Sunday, August 10, 2025. Erem’s farm, Draco Hill Nature Farm, sells a variety of produce and hosts a few festivals throughout the year. (Elizabeth Wood/The Gazette)

Nick Heisdorffer with Energy Control of Iowa, in North Liberty, Iowa, smooths 3M DFPA Blaze dichroic glass film on a window panel of the covered Graduate walkway leading to the Pedestrian Mall in Iowa City, Iowa, on Tuesday, August 12, 2025. Heisdorffer and Alex DeWald are cleaning the 105 panels and affixing the acrylic glass finish to them. The beatification project should take the rest of the week to complete. The colors change as the film is viewed from different angles. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Theatre Cedar Rapids executive director Katie Hallman s[reads confetti with a shovel during a 100th anniversary celebration and renovation groundbreaking ceremony at Theatre Cedar Rapids in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Tuesday, August 12, 2025. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)

Mr. Shucks fixes Cedar Rapids Kernels Cobb Squad member Nichelle Brown with her tiara as she waits to go on the field during the Kernels vs. River Bandits baseball game at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Reagan Fox of Kanawha, Iowa sprays down her goat with fly spray before the FFA Meat Goat Showmanship competition at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa on Wednesday, August 13, 2025. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)

The colored lights of carnival rides illuminate the midway at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa on Wednesday, August 13, 2025. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)

Western Dubuque’s Henry Gilbertson chips the ball during the boys’ golf MVC super meet at South Hills Golf Course in Waterloo, Iowa on Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Mimi Ke teaches her students how to ascend and descend on the aerial silks at National Dance Academy in Coralville on Thursday, August 14, 2025.(Elizabeth Wood/The Gazette)