DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A family of four has survived a plane crash in Des Moines. KCCI-TV reports the family was taking off in their private aircraft and had to deploy the parachute. The parachute snagged on a stoplight. The accident is under investigation.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A Cedar Rapids man has been accused of starting his mother’s garage on fire. KCRG-TV reports a woman came home and found scorch marks on her detached garage. She told investigators she thought her son, 18-year-old Kyle Netolicky, was responsible. Officers determined Netolicky had intentionally started the garage on fire, and he’s in jail.

SOMERS, IA (IRN) – An Iowa man who flew a U.S. flag upside down under a Chinese flag to protest future placement of an oil pipeline near his home, has been charged with desecrating the American banner. The Fort Dodge Messenger reports Homer Martz says the pipeline will be placed without his consent next to the well supplying his home with water near Somers. He says he didn’t know he was desecrating the flag, a misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail.

LE MARS, IA (IRN) – The Le Mars gospel group “The Browns” will be inducted into America’s Old Time Country Music Hall of Fame, according to the Sioux City Journal. The Browns perform inside the family’s intimate 150-seat performance theater in downtown Le Mars. Artists are nominated into America’s Old Time Country Music Hall of Fame by musicians who’ve already been inducted.

LECLAIRE, IA (IRN) – 11 teams from Port Byron, Illinois and LeClaire, Iowa will compete this weekend to see who can tug the hardest. The 30th Annual Tug Fest goes all weekend with live music, parades and carnival rides. Today a 680-pound rope will stretch 2,400 feet across the Mississippi River. Then, competitors will have three minutes to see who can pull the most rope. It’s a fundraiser for local fire and police departments.