MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – A Mason City man has filed a federal lawsuit seeking $105,000 from debt collectors he says repeatedly and wrongfully harassed him with robocalls. The Mason City Globe Gazette reports that Jerry Thomas says he received at least 205 automated phone messages from the Cedar Falls-based CBE Group, a third-party debt collector. Thomas says the calls to his cellphone sought payment for a debt incurred by someone he didn’t know.
DES MOINES (IRN) – The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs today announced a schedule of family-friendly summer events at the State Historical Museum of Iowa, including a “Super” guest appearance by Hollywood actor and Iowa native Brandon Routh. The Museum’s “Blockbuster Summer” features programming every Saturday beginning June 6 through Aug. 8, except for the Independence Day holiday on July 4.
ALTA VISTA, IA – An Alta Vista man seriously injured when his golf cart was struck by a vehicle has died. Marvel Erion, 84, was injured after he pulled out of his residential drive in the northeastern Iowa town Thursday. His cart was struck by a van driven by Carley Vrieze, 40, of Racine, Minn. Vrieze and her four passengers were not hurt.
DUBUQUE, IA – Two Dubuque residents were injured Saturday in an all-terrain vehicle crash. The Dubuque Telegraph Herald reports that Nathan K. Groth, 23, was operating an ATV at high speed in a field when he lost control of the vehicle and it flipped over. Groth injured an ankle while a passenger on the ATV, Lori A. Meyer, 51, suffered multiple broken bones.
BURLINGTON, IA (IRN) – The body of a boater missing since Sunday afternoon was recovered in the Mississippi River. The Iowa DNR reports the body of Christopher Corson, 33, of Burlington, was found shortly before 11:30 a.m. Monday. Corson and Anthony Zurmuehlen, 30, of Burlington, were fishing below a roller dam when the 14-foot jon boat they were in was pulled under the dam where it rolled over. Zurmuehlen was able to grab on to a log and work his way to shore.
BEMIDJI, MN – A 15-year-old from Ankeny has died after being hit by a baseball while pitching during a pick-up game in Bemidji, Minnesota. The Bemidji Pioneer reports at around 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, Zacharie Schaubhut was pitching and he was struck by the ball after it was hit by a batter. Schaubhut had grown up in Bemidji, and his family moved to Ankeny last fall. A pre-existing condition may have played a factor in his death.
INDIANOLA, IA (IRN) – An Indianola man was killed in an accident on G36 northeast of Indianola yesterday morning. The Iowa State Patrol reports that Joe Franklin Blake, 65, entered a curve, lost control, and rolled the vehicle. He was ejected, and pronounced dead at the scene. Blake was not wearing a seatbelt.
DES MOINES (IRN) – Two inmates escaped from two different residential work release facilities on Sunday, according to the Iowa Department of Corrections. 26-year-old Eric Livingston did not return to a Waterloo work release facility. The other inmate, 51-year-old Llewellyn Roberts, failed to return to a Marshalltown work release facility. Livingston was serving time for robbery, Roberts for domestic assault.