DES MOINES (IRN) – The number of Des Moines homicides in 2015 was as high as it has been in two decades. KCCI-TV reports for the first time since 1995, there have been more than 20 homicides in one year in the city. In 2015, there were 21 homicides. In all but one homicide this past year, the killer and the victim knew each other. The one exception was a bar fight. All homicides have been solved, except for one that occurred this past weekend.
CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A car crash on Thursday led to a police chase in Cedar Rapids, according to KWWL-TV. Someone called officers saying a driver hit their car and drove away.
When police found the driver he ran away. A police K-9 had to track the suspect down in the woods. The K-9 ended up biting the man. The man was arrested and faces multiple charges. He has not been identified.
CEDAR FALLS, IA (IRN) – Three people had to be taken to the hospital following a New Year’s Eve incident in Cedar Falls. KWWL-TV reports police responded to a fight outside the Voodoo Lounge around the same time a car was leaving the area. At least one person was hit by the car. It’s unclear if the other two were injured by the car or in the fight. All three victims are males in their 20s. They are expected to survive.
DES MOINES (IRN) – Des Moines police are investigating a gunshot wound in a 14-year-old boy’s chest reported Thursday. The victim had approached a house asking for help. Residents of the house took the boy to a hospital, and he is expected to survive. Police have no suspects, and the shooting remains under investigation.
DES MOINES (IRN) – The number of people killed on Iowa roadways dropped this year, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation. If there are no more fatal crashes in Iowa this year, it will be the fewest fatalities reported in Iowa since World War II, when 310 died in car crashes. In 2015, 316 people died in traffic accidents on Iowa roads, down five fatalities from last year. 42.6 percent of the fatalities in 2015 occurred when people were not wearing their seat belt.
JOHNSTON, IA (IRN) – Iowa National Guard soldiers have been deployed to Missouri to provide assistance in flood response. Approximately 45 members and 20 vehicles from the Iowa Army National Guard are deploying to High Ridge, Mo. to provide water purification and water transportation services. These soldiers and their equipment will arrive in Missouri on New Year’s Day and begin transporting and producing potable water that same day.