JOHNSON COUNTY, IA (IRN) – An autopsy is scheduled for a body pulled from the Iowa River Wednesday evening. According KCII radio, two campers fishing north of the Hills Access reported seeing a pair of pants and boots in a brush pile. Authorities searched the river by boat and recovered the body of a white male who has not been identified.
DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad says more than 1,500 workers will likely lose their jobs as a result of the bird flu outbreak. KCCI-TV reports that Branstad is asking President Obama to declare a major disaster for four of the hardest hit counties. Branstad says 438 people have sought unemployment benefits from Buena Vista, Sioux, Webster and Wright counties.
DES MOINES (IRN) – Des Moines police say one person was killed in a one-vehicle crash early Thursday morning and it appears speed likely played a role. WHO-TV reports that 29-year-old Tyler Joseph Sloan Luna of Des Moines died in the accident near Drake University. The vehicle struck the curb at a high rate of speed and went airborne about 10 feet before it hit a tree. Luna was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene.
DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – Dubuque police are investigating a stabbing death after a disturbance at a home late Wednesday night. KCRG-TV reports police found a man and a woman with stab wounds. First responders transported them to the hospital, where one died. No one has been charged in the incident.
DES MOINES (IRN) – The former bookkeeper of an Iowa farming cooperative has admitted she embezzled roughly $1.4 million over six years. KCCI-TV reports Kathy Joan Cullen, who worked 27 years for the 21st Century Cooperative in Cass County, pleaded guilty Wednesday to filing a false tax return.
OSAGE, IA (IRN) -| An Osage man facing multiple sexual abuse charges has now been charged with plotting the murder of the victim set to testify against him. The Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier reports that Mark Retterath, 50, is being held in the Mitchell County Jail. Retterath allegedly planned to use the toxin ricin to poison the victim, who also lives in Osage.
WELLMAN, IA (IRN) – A woman was struck by a car in Wellman right before dawn Wednesday. KCII radio reports that a motorist called the Washington County dispatch center saying he had struck a woman with his car and she was not responding but was breathing. The woman was transported to the University of Iowa Hospital. Names of those involved have not been released.
WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A high collar kept a Waterloo woman from suffering a slice to the neck following an assault Saturday night. The Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier reports that Geraldine Hall, 53, attempted to cut Lisa Macomber’s neck with a kitchen knife during an altercation at Hall’s home. But Macomber was wearing a tall shirt collar that protected her neck. Macomber and others in the home took the knife from Hall and detained her until police arrived.
NORTH LIBERTY, IA (IRN) – Three Iowa cities have been named as among the most playful cities in the country. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports that KaBOOM! – a nonprofit dedicated to ensuring that all kids get a childhood filled with the balanced and active play needed to thrive – is honoring cities, towns and counties across the country for making their communities more playable. The Iowa cities on the list? North Liberty, Ankeny, and Davenport.
DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A first-of-its-kind grocery store could soon be coming to Des Moines. KCCI-TV reports the group Eat Greater Des Moines is planning to add an automated grocery store where area residents and anyone driving by could quickly get fresh, healthy foods. The store would be completely automated with a touch screen order system and robotic vending of products.