MONTROSE, IA (IRN) – Three people were found dead and one was injured in a mobile home fire in the southeast Iowa city of Montrose. The Lee County Sheriff’s Department says firefighters on Monday afternoon found the mobile home engulfed in flames. 33-year-old Jacob Glen Russell escaped the fire with severe burns and wounds. Names have not been released.
CEDAR FALLS, IA (IRN) – A Cedar Falls man was arrested after authorities found a pot-growing operation at his residence. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports while executing a search warrant at the home of 34-year-old Joseph Ackerson, investigators found a marijuana growing operation, including numerous unprocessed marijuana plants and growing equipment. Also located was processed marijuana bagged up and packaged for sale. Ackerson faces numerous drug charges.
DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A Des Moines hospital had a brief shutdown Monday night, according to WHO-TV. Police were called to Broadlawns Medical Center around 8:00 p.m. because of what they describe as a threat. Officers swept the building for about an hour but didn’t find anything and workers were given an all clear. Police have not released what the threat involved.
MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – Mason City fire crews responded to an explosion and fire at Charlie’s Auto Repair in Mason City Monday. KIMT-TV reports that while the cause of the fire has not been officially determined, workers were doing repairs on an industrial truck that contained LP gas. The workers noticed a gas smell and ran before the explosion. No one was injured.
DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A Des Moines mother paid $4,000 to bail her daughter out of jail, but she said the bondsman took the money and left her loved one behind bars. KCCI-TV reports
Lori Evans said Alpha Bail Bonds promised to help Evans get her daughter out of jail before Christmas. Police arrested daughter Airianna Evans for drug possession with intent to deliver on Dec. 18. Alpha Bail Bonds has no comment.
BETTENDORF, IA (IRN) – Bettendorf police are searching for the person or people who killed several geese at Middle Park Lagoon. WQAD-TV reports a total of seven geese appear to have been shot several times with either a BB or pellet gun. Several of the geese also had wings that had been broken. State officials have been notified.
DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – One of the last Holocaust survivors in Iowa died over the weekend.
The Des Moines Register reports that 91-year-old Jennie Wolnerman died Saturday in her Des Moines home. Her family shared one anecdote that they say truly defined her. While on a Nazi death march she stole a loaf of bread from a Nazi guard. Another guard told her that if she had the ability to steal from a guard, that she would make it. She became known for sharing food with starving prisoners. Her motto was “if you have two, give one, and if you have one, give half.”