CORALVILLE, IA (IRN)  — Four people, including three children, were sent to the hospital Thursday morning after a driver fleeing police hit their minivan in Coralville. KCRG-TV reports that a black sedan being pursued by law enforcement exited Interstate 80 and hit the van. The pursuit started in Cedar County and a plane was used to help track the suspect. Authorities say the injuries are not life threatening, and it is not yet clear why the driver was running from law enforcement.

WEBSTER CITY, IA (IRN) – A 28-year-old Webster City man was sentenced Thursday morning in Hamilton County District Court to 40 years in prison in the death of his father. KQWC radio reports Corbin James Graesch pleaded guilty to one count of Voluntary Manslaughter and three counts of Willful Injury in the blunt force trauma related death of 61 year old Steven J. Graesch nearly a year ago at the residence they shared in Webster City.

DES MOINES (IRN) – Leaders of both parties in the Iowa Legislature have agreed to support legislation that will keep the Mount Pleasant and Clarinda Mental Health Institutes open.  Under the terms of the agreement, the Mount Pleasant Institute will remain open as it was last July.  The two parties have also agreed to transfer operations of the Clarinda Institute to a private contractor.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Two eastern Iowa area banks are planning a merger. According to the Cedar Rapids Gazette, Garnavillo Savings Bank of Garnavillo is planning to merge with Community Savings Bank of Edgewood. It would create a financial institution with assets in excess of $370 million.

PELLA, IA (IRN) – One person has died as a result of a single car accident on Highway 163 south of Pella Wednesday evening. The Iowa State Patrol reports that Allison DeBoef of Oskaloosa was eastbound when she lost control and over-corrected, which caused the vehicle to roll on the highway and then into the median. She wasn’t wearing a seatbelt.

JESUP, IA (IRN) – The Iowa State Patrol reports that a motorcyclist is dead after an accident in the northeastern Iowa town of Jesup. Larry Fangman, 57, of Waterloo was northbound when he crossed the center line and went into the ditch where he was thrown from the motorcycle.

CHARLES CITY, IA (IRN) – A man convicted of threatening a “massacre” of school children in Charles City, who also stated he was a member of Al-Qaida, asked for his sentence to be reconsidered. KIMT-TV reports that Loren Todd Saxon, 49, was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to charges of intimidation with a dangerous weapon and public intoxication. Authorities said he was intoxicated when he made the threats last August, saying that he would shoot as many children as he could.  A judge denied his request to reconsider his sentence on Wednesday.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – KCRG-TV reports that the University of Iowa has received notice from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights of an investigation related to the firing of former field hockey coach Tracey Griesbaum. Four of her former players filed a complaint saying the university refused to look into whether gender played a role in her firing. The complaint alleges that the university investigates complaints of male and female student-athletes differently and holds female coaches to a higher standard than male ones.

WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A passing motorist attempted to get a teenage girl into his vehicle Tuesday afternoon in Waterloo.  KWWL-TV reports that the 14-year-old girl was walking home from a park when a man driving a sport utility vehicle pulled up to her, engaged her in conversation, and then told her to get in her vehicle. The girl ran off and reported the incident. No arrests have been made.