JOHNSON COUNTY, IA (IRN) – The team of dispatchers who received the initial 911 calls for the Coral Ridge Mall shooting back in June has been honored as this year’s Team Telecommunicator of the Year, according to KWWL-TV. The team works for the Johnson County Joint Emergency Communications Center. In the first three minutes of the shooting, the team handled 41 911 calls, along with 46 radio transmissions from responding officers. Over the next 90 minutes, the dispatchers received and processed a total of 215 phone calls.
SIOUX CITY, IA (IRN) – Paul Hill of Sioux City has pled guilty to child endangerment causing bodily injury in the death of his four-month-old daughter Friday morning. KTIV-TV reports in 2010, Hill was found guilty in the death of Tryniti Hill and was sentenced to 50 years in prison. He confessed to police that he had hit the girl in the stomach as he buckled her into a car seat. But last year, Hill was granted a new trial after the Iowa Court of Appeals found merit in his claim that officers violated his right to remain silent during questioning.
ROCK ISLAND, IL (IRN) – Ten search warrants were executed in Rock Island and one in Davenport on Thursday in connection to a dog fighting ring. WQAD-TV reports 64 pit bulls along with narcotics and a gun were seized during the effort. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has been called in to help transport to the dogs to a temporary shelter until custody is determined. Two Rock Island men were arrested.
DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Members of the Republican-controlled House have advanced a budget bill that would remove state funding for Planned Parenthood, according to KCCI-TV. The proposal is not expected to survive the Democratic-majority Senate. The House Appropriations Committee voted along party lines Thursday for a bill that would remove Medicaid funding for family planning facilities that provide abortions, even though Medicaid dollars are not used for abortions in Iowa.
WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A man was taken to the hospital in Waterloo Thursday night after he was shot in the foot, according to KCRG-TV. Police say the man suffered non-life threatening injuries. Six to 12 shots were fired, and a vehicle was hit by bullets. Waterloo police have no suspects in custody.
BLACK HAWK COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A pickup driven by 39-year-old Rickey Cook, of Waukon, failed to yield at an intersection in rural Black Hawk County and collided with a car driven by 24-year-old Lindsey Wagner, of Denver, Iowa. KWWL-TV reports Wagner was unresponsive at the scene and was flown by AirCare to the University of Iowa Hospitals in Iowa City. Cook and his passenger were treated for minor injuries.
DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – MidAmerican Energy announced a wind project Thursday on a scale Iowa has never seen before, according to WHO-TV. Gov. Terry Branstad called it the “largest economic development project in Iowa history.” If approved by the Iowa Utility Board, MidAmerican Energy would spend $3.6 billion on the project. Farmers are now calling wind a “third crop,” as a single wind turbine pays $8,000-$10,000 a year.
DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – The message from leaders in Dubuque was loud and clear Thursday– racism in their community will not be tolerated. KCRG-TV reports community leaders were responding after police discovered two burning crosses. Police Chief Mark Dalsing said “We will not allow these cowards to destroy what we have accomplished over the last 25 years.” Chief Dalsing was referring to a dark chapter in Dubuque’s history. In 1991, cross burnings were followed by a Ku Klux Klan rally to protest the city’s effort to attract more minorities to their community.