LEGRAND, IA (IRN) – A rural LeGrand man was killed in a snowmobile crash Friday evening. KCCI-TV reports the rider, 25-year-old Travis VanDeWalle, was dead upon arrival of rescuers. VanDeWalle was found by a concerned family member after not returning when expected from a snowmobile ride. An investigation indicates that VanDeWalle was riding alone and that the vehicle overturned onto him while climbing a drift.

LINCOLN, NE (IRN) – An Iowa bank robbery suspect has been arrested in Nebraska. KCCI-TV reports officers took 46-year-old Dwight Rogers into custody Wednesday in Lincoln. Rogers is suspected of robbing the Frontier Bank in Council Bluffs on Dec. 10. Police say he used a handgun to back up his demand for cash from a teller, who gave him an undisclosed amount of money.

SIOUX CITY, IA (IRN) – Iowa wages are too low, according to a man whose company recruits employees for businesses. The Sioux City Journal reports Kelly Conolly, a vice president for J & L Staffing and Recruiting in Sioux City, said the pay gap with the two border states is making it hard for him to hire people through his employment agency. Conolly is asking Iowa legislators to raise the state’s hourly minimum wage when they return to Des Moines in January, saying higher wages in neighboring states put Iowa at a hiring disadvantage.

GARNER, IA (IRN) – A northern Iowa family with a child suffering from cancer received a year-end surprise from the Iowa State Patrol trooper’s union. The union voted unanimously to give its yearly $500 charitable donation to the family of 5-year-old Cohen Smith of Garner for medical and travel expenses. Two troopers surprised the family with the check at their home on Thursday morning.