AMES, IA (IRN) – One person is dead following an early morning shooting in Ames. WHO-TV reports that police responded to a report of a shooting. When officers arrived, they found a male victim with a gunshot wound to the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Witnesses reported hearing an argument and several gunshots. The name of the victim is being withheld.
LACONA, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office are investigating a possible homicide near Lacona in rural Marion County. No names have been released in the incident, pending family notification.
DES MOINES (IRN) – The Iowa Economic Development Authority awarded direct financial assistance and tax benefits to six companies for job creation and expansion projects on Friday. According to the agency, the awards will assist in the creation of 304 jobs, retention of 137 jobs and will result in almost $52 million in new capital investment for the state. Cities and towns benefiting include Le Mars, Pella, Spencer, Cedar Rapids, Urbandale, and Coralville.
AMES, IA (IRN) – One person is dead after two construction workers fell from scaffolding while working on a new six-story apartment complex in Campustown in Ames Friday afternoon. The Ames Tribune reports that the two workers fell approximately three stories. The cause of the accident is unknown, and the workers’ names have not yet been released.
DES MOINES (IRN) – Des Moines’ housing market continued to heat up in May, with homes selling at the fastest pace in nearly nine years, according to a report from the Des Moines Area Association of Realtors. According to the Des Moines Register, home prices also surged in May. The median sale price during the month was $179,000, up 8.5 percent from $165,000 in the same month last year. Homes sales and prices grew statewide as well.
DES MOINES (IRN) – Four elderly sex offenders who live at the state mental hospital at Clarinda will soon be transferred to another state facility before the Clarinda hospital closes, according to the Des Moines Register. Thought was given to transferring the men to a private facility, but state officials decided to place them in the state mental hospital in Independence rather than in a regular nursing home.