MUSCATINE, IA (IRN) – The Muscatine County attorney has requested that the Iowa attorney general’s office prosecute theft and burglary charges against the Muscatine police chief’s son, citing a conflict of interest. Drake Talkington, 19, has been charged with several felonies including second-degree burglary, trafficking in stolen weapons, second-degree theft and possession of methamphetamine.
COUNCIL BLUFFS (IA) – Efforts to create citywide Wi-Fi access in Council Bluffs are underway. The Daily NonPareil reports that the city has obtained the necessary equipment and will soon begin installation. The effort is a collaboration between the city and the Council Bluffs Community School District. In addition to assisting students who are issued laptops by the school, the collaboration is also seen as an incentive to economic development.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (IRN) – Two Iowans are among 5 men who have been charged in federal court in South Dakota with attempted commercial sex trafficking. KCCI-TV reports that the charges relate to responses to online advertisements during an undercover operation. Those indicted are 25-year-old Benjamin Iverson and 29-year-old Scott Larson of Sioux Falls; 27-year-old Nathanuel Downs of Sioux City, Iowa; 29-year-old Lance Hunter Jr. of Little Rock, Iowa; and 26-year-old Jose Oxlaj of Guatemala. All of the defendants have pleaded not guilty.
DES MOINES (IRN) – The financial website bankrate.com has selected Des Moines as one of the top five places in America to retire. They ranked 196 of America’s cities in terms of walkability, cost of living, crime rate, health care quality, tax rates, wellness and weather. The other top cities were Mesa, Prescott, and Tucson Arizona, along with Arlington Virginia.
DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Polk County deputies responded to a call of a man yelling for help in the Des Moines River near the northern city limits of Des Moines Monday evening. Shortly before sunset two separate men who were fishing contacted the Polk County Sheriff’s Office to report the incident. The two fishermen lost sight of the man after he went underwater. Polk County deputies and Des Moines Fire and Rescue launched multiple boats but were unable to locate the man before darkness caused the search to be postponed. The search has now resumed.
COUNCIL BLUFFS (IRN) – Council Bluffs Police are investigating the death of a woman whose body was found near a burning pickup truck early Monday morning. WOWT-TV reports the woman was with a dead dog, and both had gunshot wounds to the head. Foul play is not suspected. She was identified as Paula Arnett, 43, of Ingleside, Texas. A handgun was found under her body. Police have learned that Arnett, her husband, and 17-year-old stepson were traveling from Texas to Sioux City.
DES MOINES (IRN) – The Iowa Department of Agriculture is responding to a new case of the bird flu in Sioux County. The flock has a variety of species and an estimated 3,800 birds.
NORTH LIBERTY, IA (IRN) – A North Liberty girl received the trip of a lifetime last week when she met her idol, pop singer Justin Bieber. The Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier reports that Maria Kramer is the only person in the world known to have the deletion of her 17th chromosome, a condition that has caused her to spend much of her life at the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital. Family and friends started a social media campaign to help Maria meet Bieber, and the meeting took place last week in California. Bieber tweeted several photos of him with Maria accompanied by the hashtags #mialovesjustin and #justinlovesmia.