DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Supreme Court says a stun gun, under Iowa law, is a dangerous weapon. The court made the conclusion as it affirmed the conviction of a woman charged with carrying a dangerous weapon after police found a stun gun in her purse during an arrest for theft at a Waterloo Walmart. 25-year-old Taquala Howse appealed saying her small hand-held stun gun isn’t dangerous. The court disagreed.

TUCSON, AZ (IRN) – An Iowa man has been sentenced to nearly 12 years in federal prison for assaulting a corrections officer in Arizona. KCCI-TV reports 41-year-old Howard James Sawyer of Iowa City was sentenced Thursday. Sawyer was incarcerated in Tucson after a conviction for failure to register as a sex offender when he punched the officer. The officer suffered permanent vision impairment.

DUBUQUE COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A cement truck failed to negotiate a curve and wound up on its side Tuesday afternoon in Dubuque County. KCRG-TV reports it took emergency crews 30 minutes to free the driver, 44-year-old Greg Torrance of Dyersville. He’s OK.

WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A passenger plane was forced to make an emergency landing at the Waterloo airport after smoke started coming from the cockpit on Thursday. KWWL-TV reports the American Airlines plane was en route from Sioux Falls, South Dakota to Chicago. Passengers started panicking, but the plane landed safely. The upside for the crew and passengers? The Waterloo Convention and Visitors Bureau saw a marketing opportunity and dropped off cupcakes.

AMES, IA (IRN) – Iowa State University basketball player Monte Morris is from Flint, Michigan, and wants to help his hometown during a crisis. The city water supply suffers from lead contamination. WHO-TV reports after tweeting a video asking people to donate to the Red Cross and help Flint, Hy-Vee responded. The Iowa-based grocery store chain is donating 11 semi trucks full of bottled water that left for Flint Thursday. No. 11 is Monte’s team number.