Wednesday, December 23, 2015

WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A man was arrested and an assault rifle was found following a report of gunfire in Waterloo. KWWL-TV reports police arrested 22-year-old Vincent Harrington in relation to the incident. Several people in the area ran away as police arrived. The assault rifle recovered at the scene was stolen in a burglary earlier this week.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Four people were rescued from a swiftly flowing creek in Cedar Rapids after their amphibious vehicle capsized Wednesday morning. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports the four occupants managed to get to a sandbar in the creek. Fire crews deployed inflatable rescue boats to rescue the four people. While there were no reported injuries, conditions on the creek made things potentially perilous.

DES MOINES (IRN) – Firefighters worked to put out a fire at an auto parts store in Des Moines Wednesday morning. KCCI-TV reports they were called to Auto Parts On Maury on the southside. The building was fully engulfed and flames were come out of the front three garage doors when they arrived.

BRITT, IA (IRN) – The non-profit group “The BRITT Group” has been working with the city of Britt for the past 2 years to purchase the near-century old First-State Bank building in the downtown. They recently purchased the property for just $35. The group is going to reconstruct the building into a bed and breakfast, and get the building back on the tax rolls for the city.

AFGHANISTAN (IRN) – One of the six soldiers killed in a suicide bombing in Afghanistan Monday is from Iowa. WHO-TV reports 45-year-old Joseph Lemm was killed Monday near Bagram Air Base when a suicide bomber on a motorbike carried out an attack on a joint patrol of Afghan and coalition forces. Lemm grew up in Bernard and his father still lives in New Vienna. Lemm was a 15-year veteran of the New York City Police Department. He leaves behind a wife and two children.

POWESHIEK COUNTY, IA (IRN) – One person died in a crash on Highway 146 north of Grinnell on Tuesday afternoon. The Iowa State Patrol reports a pickup truck traveling north crossed the centerline and hit an oncoming semi. The driver of the pickup, 45-year-old James Joseph Harris of Tama, died at the scene. The driver of the semi wasn’t injured.

DES MOINES (IRN) – A Des Moines man has been denied a $100,000 lottery win because he’s underage, according to KCCI-TV. 20-year-old Jobie Boals-Watters admitted that he buys hundreds of dollars of lottery tickets every week. Lottery officials say that’s illegal, and since the prize wasn’t purchased legally, the ticket won’t be honored.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Iowa City officials flew the Michigan State Spartan flag at city hall Monday to make good on a lost wager. KCRG-TV reports the city flew the Spartan flag for 24-hours to honor a bet made between East Lansing Mayor Mark Meadows and Iowa City Mayor Matt Hayek. The friendly wager was made before the Hawkeyes took on the Spartans for the Big Ten Championship, which the Hawkeyes lost. Iowa will play Stanford in the Rose Bowl on January 1. It’s not clear if Hayek has placed any wagers on that game.