DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A Clive man was sentenced to life in prison today for the murder of his girlfriend’s toddler. WHO-TV reports Joe Lopez was convicted of first degree murder in May in the 2014 death of 20-month-old Ruby Alvarez. Lopez claimed Alvarez was injured when she fell from a high chair. Multiple doctors said her fractured skull and rib injuries did not match up with falling from a high chair.
SIOUX CITY, IA (IRN) – A 37-year-old Sioux City man is facing felony charges after admitting to police that he sexually abused a girl he babysat over the course of several years. KCAU-TV reports Bryan Barnhart admitted abusing the girl and other children as well.
ELKADER, IA (IRN) – Volunteers worked yesterday to build sandbag walls around businesses and some homes as the rain-swollen Turkey River threatened to breach protective levees in Elkader in northeast Iowa. KWWL-TV reports schools are closed, and people are encouraged to stay away from downtown. Floodwaters are expected to crest Friday afternoon.
GRUNDY COUNTY, IA (IRN) – One person died Wednesday in a crash in Grundy County south of Parkersburg, according to WHO-TV. A car traveling eastbound crossed the centerline and collided with a westbound semi-truck. The driver of the car was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the semi suffered minor injuries.
CORALVILLE, IA (IRN) – Coralville police say someone is robbing delivery drivers at gunpoint. KCRG-TV reports police have responded to four armed robberies at apartment complexes in the past two weeks. The robber is dressed in all black and sometimes wears a bandana over his face.
DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A Polk County task force has recommended the county raise the minimum wage, according to KCCI-TV. The task force recommended Thursday the county raise the wage to $8.75 an hour next year and increase it $1 each year until it reaches $10.75 in 2019. One task force member says, “Workers deserve a livable wage and the dignity of not having to sign up for public assistance.” It’s been eight years since the last minimum wage increase.
AMES, IA (IRN) – It’s Women’s Equality Day. Advances made historically by women rest firmly on a foundation laid by 1880 Iowa State University grad Carrie Chapman Catt. The only woman in her class at ISU, she was a suffrage leader who campaigned for the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which gave U.S. women the right to vote on this day in 1920.