DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines police answered an unusual crime call on Tuesday. KCCI-TV reports police were called to a home where a woman was looking at a property with a “build to suit” sign. The woman said the cellar door was open and she walked in. Inside the basement, she found a large ATM machine.  It appeared to be vandalized to get the money out. The case remains under investigation.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Two graduates of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop were named as finalists for the National Book Award Wednesday morning, according to the Iowa City Press Citizen. Angela Flournoy’s debut novel “The Turner House” and Karen Bender’s collection of short stories “Refund,” were named as two of the five finalists for the 2015 National Book Award for Fiction.

NEWTON, IA (IRN) – A Newton police officer has been acquitted of domestic abuse charges, according to WHO-TV. Dustin Hamell was charged with domestic abuse in July for allegedly assaulting his then-fiance. She called police claiming Hamell slammed a door on her arm and pushed her. A Jasper County Jury found Hamell not guilty Tuesday morning.

CRESTON, IA (IRN) – A 45-year-old south-central Iowa woman who’s been sentenced to 20 years in prison has been told to pay back the vehicle dealership she stole from while working there. The Mason City Globe Gazette reports Lyndsay Huntsman was ordered to pay restitution of nearly $432,000 to Creston Automotive in Creston, where she’d worked for several years in the bookkeeping department.

DES MOINES (IRN) – Former Hawkeye and New York Giants football player Tyler Sash died Sept. 8 from an accidental “mixed drug toxicity involving methadone and hydrocodone,” according to the Iowa Medical Examiner. Additional studies for chronic traumatic encephalopathy  (en-SEF-uh-LAWP-uh-thee), a degenerative disease of the brain found in athletes with a history of repetitive brain trauma, are pending. Sash was 27.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – A threat allegedly made against West High School in Iowa City via Snapchat sparked a change in policy at Tuesday’s school board meeting. KCRG-TV reports parents weren’t notified of the threat until days after the incident, because school policy said threats must be validated, and Snapchats disappear after they are opened. New policy doesn’t require verification before parents are notified.

FORT DODGE, IA (IRN) – A local police department is taking money from parking tickets and giving it back to the community. KCCI-TV reports Fort Dodge police plan to take some of the fines collected from parking warrants and give it to local food pantries. The warrants are for parking tickets that haven’t been paid in a long time. There are currently over 1,200 outstanding warrants.

WAPELLO COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A little bit of the old west came to Wapello County this week. KTVO-TV reports three individuals have been arrested for horse theft. On Monday, Wapello County sheriff’s deputies responded to a report that two horses had been stolen from the Pioneer Ridge Nature Center south of Ottumwa. One Missouri man and two Ottumwa men have been charged. The horses are OK and back with their owners.