Friday, June 19, 2015

DAVENPORT, IA – A Iowa man has been sentenced to 180 months in prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and being found an armed career criminal. Jonathon Adam Lamb, age 36, formerly of Bettendorf, was sentenced Friday in the Southern District Court of Iowa. Lamb was found in possession of a stolen Colt .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol a year ago, and had prior convictions for unarmed robbery and burglary.

DES MOINES, (IRN) – Iowa’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 3.8 percent in May, significantly down from the May 2014 rate of 4.4 percent, according to Iowa Workforce Development.  Meanwhile, the U.S. unemployment rate rose slightly to 5.5 percent in May from 5.4 percent in April.

DES MOINES (IRN) – Iowa’s Supreme Court ruled today that Planned Parenthood of the Heartland may continue to use its controversial telemedicine-abortion system. The Des Moines Register reports that more than 7,200 Iowa women have used it since 2008. The system, the first of its kind in the nation, allows Planned Parenthood doctors in Des Moines or Iowa City to interact via video with patients in outlying clinics, and then dispense the pills to the women.

WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – Waterloo police on Thursday night arrested an adult and three teens on drugs and weapons charges following a traffic stop. The Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier reports officers detected an odor of marijuana and during a search recovered marijuana, a digital scale and packaging material. One of passengers, Dennis W. Washington, 24, of Waterloo, was in possession of a stun gun and a loaded .22-caliber handgun, which was reported stolen earlier in the year.

DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – A Dubuque man stabbed his girlfriend to death and then, while suffering from stab wounds of his own, demanded alcohol from neighbors, fell off a nearby retaining wall, and repeatedly asked responding police officers to shoot him. The Dubuque Tribune Herald reports that Eddie Hicks, 26, is charged with one count of first-degree murder. Police said he stabbed Kahdyesha J. Lemon, 21, to death Wednesday night at their home. Lemon had more than 20 stab wounds to her head, neck, chest and back.

WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – Police continue to investigate the death of a toddler who was found unconscious at an in-home day care Wednesday afternoon. The Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier reports that the 18-month-old boy, Brody Harrelson, of Waterloo, was discovered unresponsive in a car seat inside the home. The cause of death is unknown.

OMAHA, NE (IRN) – A new report shows farmland values continue a gradual decline in Iowa and the Midwest. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports that Omaha-based Farmers National, a real estate company, says the average sale price of an acre of high quality Iowa farmland fell to $11,000 this month from $12,250 in June 2014. Farm profit margins are depressed due to lower corn and bean prices and steady input costs.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – The American Heart Association announced a $3.7 million dollar grant to the Carver Biomedical Research Center at the University of Iowa for researchers to investigate methods to predict, prevent and treat preeclampsia in pregnancy.  Preeclampsia is a hypertension disorder in pregnant women, complicating 5-7% of all pregnancies, killing 100,000 women and 500,000 babies every year.