FORT DODGE, IA (IRN) – A Fort Dodge man was sentenced to 65 years in prison in a sexual abuse case Wednesday. KCCI-TV reports 39-year-old Lucas Lankford pled guilty to two counts of second-degree sexual abuse, incest, and sexual exploitation of a minor. The judge called the case the most sickening case he’s ever seen. Lankford received the maximum periods of incarceration allowed by law on each of the charges.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – La’ James International Cosmetology College will forgive $2.1 million in student loan debt, and the company and two principals will also pay the state $550,000 through an Iowa Department of Justice settlement announced today. KWWL-TV reports the school was accused of deceptive and unfair practices in marketing, instruction and enrollment.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Supreme Court has upheld a ban on felons voting in Iowa.
WHO-TV reports the court issued its ruling this morning in the case of Kelli Jo Griffin, a felon convicted of drug charges. She landed in court after trying to vote in 2013. Felons in Iowa can have their voting rights restored but the process is a lengthy and complicated one. Iowa is one of three states that blocks felons from voting.

ROCKWELL, IA (IRN) – An Arizona man was arrested Wednesday night in Cerro Gordo County when narcotics were found in his vehicle after a two-vehicle crash. A teenager slowing to make a turn in her vehicle was struck from behind by a vehicle driven by 25-year-old Skyler Jorgenson, of Apache Junction, Arizona. The teen is OK, but both cars were totaled. Jorgenson suffered minor injuries. He was in possession of narcotics at the time of the crash, and faces multiple charges.

FORT MADISON, IA (IRN) – State and federal law enforcement are investigating a bank robbery in southeast Iowa that led to the shooting death of a suspect. KWWL-TV reports a robbery was reported around 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Fort Madison Bank and Trust Co. Arriving officers spotted a man running from the bank and confronted him. The man fired several shots in the direction of officers, hitting a patrol car. Police returned fire, hitting the man once in the torso, killing him.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Nearly a third of Iowans can’t afford the basic necessities, according to a statewide study from the United Way. KCRG-TV reports 31% of all households in the state are an ALICE household. ALICE stands for Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, and Employed–essentially the working poor. The report says low wage jobs and a rising cost of living are the reasons why so many Iowa families are struggling.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Lolo Jones has ended her Olympic bid, according to WHO-TV. She says she has had too many complications coming back from hip surgery to continue. Jones, a Des Moines Roosevelt High School grad, finished seventh in the 100-meter hurdles at Beijing in 2008 and fourth in London in 2012.

HONEY CREEK, IA (IRN) – An Iowa doctor has been charged with indecent exposure for exposing himself on a boat hear Honey Creek. KCCI-TV reports witnesses say Dr. Matthew Bogard was in the water, then climbed onto the boat naked, and stood there. Others on the boat were fully clothed. Bogard is a physician who works at Methodist and the Lucas County Health Center in Chariton. He told witness he was just “expressing himself.”