DES MOINES, IA – (IRN) – A Chicago man was booked into the Polk County Jail today on charges related to a drive-by shooting at a cookout earlier this month, according to WHO. Twenty-year-old Devonte Colbert is charged with attempted murder and intimidation with a dangerous weapon. An SUV with three people in it pulled up to the house and started firing. One man was shot, but survived.
DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – A Dubuque man arrested on domestic assault charges choked and beat his girlfriend, according to KDTH-Radio. 27-year-old Christopher Peterson allegedly grabbed her by the throat, took her cell phone when she tried to call 911, then hit her head against a refrigerator, kicked her in the face, head-butted her, and hit her with a folding chair while she was on the ground. Peterson says he only pushed her, and doesn’t know how she received her injuries.
WARREN COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Emergency crews were called to a fire at a building under construction in Warren County early this morning, according to KCCI-TV. The fire broke out at the Loving Rest Pet Funeral Home. About half of the structure was destroyed before crews could get the fire under control. The cause is unknown, but there was lightning in the area at the time. No one was injured.
FRANKLIN COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A 5-year-old in Franklin County was severely injured at the hands of her aunt, and the child’s mother says the Iowa Department of Human Services is responsible for putting the child under her aunt’s care. WHO-TV reports the girl is in a coma. Jessica Torres is charged with child endangerment with serious injury and willful injury with serious injury, both Class C felonies.
WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – An 8-year-old Waterloo girl is recovering after a dog bit off part of her ear. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports Innocence Robertson was playing at a friend’s house when the dog was let out to get a treat. Robertson says the dog came after her and her cousin. She says the dog jumped up, grabbed her head and she fell down. The animal will be euthanized.
DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A development group wants to build a 29-story high-rise in downtown Des Moines. The Des Moines Register reports Blackbird Investments wants to build the proposed $60 million tower on an empty lot where half of the former Younkers department store was destroyed in a 2014 fire. The plan calls for 220 condos or apartments, 150 hotel rooms and ground-level storefronts. If the tower is built, it will be one of the tallest structures in downtown Des Moines.
DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Smoking among all adults has reached an all-time low, according to KCCI-TV. Nationally, 17% of adults smoke — down from nearly 21 percent five years ago. Smoking is down 2% among young adults, the biggest decline in the 20 years. Smoking among youth 17 or younger has been cut in half since 2008.