WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – Authorities have identified the 19-year-old Waterloo woman who died this weekend after being shot in the head. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports Talesa Wright died Saturday. Police say she was in a car with two other people Friday night when she was shot. No one else was hurt. Police are still working to identify the shooter.
DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Gov. Terry Branstad has called for a single statewide minimum wage, rather than a hodgepodge of wages that vary by county, and a new Republican majority in the Legislature could give him a clear path to enact uniform pay rates. KGAN-TV reports that worries some supporters of higher minimum wages who fear the state could couple an insignificant wage increase with a ban on local jurisdictions approving their own higher wages, as four counties have already done.
COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA (IRN) – An 11-year-old boy hit trying to cross a street in Council Bluffs last week has died, according to KETV. Police say Blake Smith ran in front of a van after running past cars stopped in a turning lane. There’s no word on whether the driver will be charged.
DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A man pulled from an overnight house fire in Des Moines has died. KCCI-TV reports an elderly man was found inside the burning home. He was taken away by ambulance, and was pronounced dead at a hospital. The identity of the man has not been released.
WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The West Des Moines police chief who had been the subject of a sex discrimination lawsuit involving three women has resigned. KCCI-TV reports it’s unclear if the resignation of Chief Shaun LaDue was related to the litigation. Alice Wisner, one of the women suing, says “He was a chief that did not value the work that I did. He made me question my worth…my intelligence. With his resignation, that’s a big step toward seeing justice served.”
IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – A new sustainable community will begin construction soon in Iowa City, according to KCRG-TV. Prairie Hill Cohousing Community will consist of 36 homes and a common house for shared meals and activities. Accommodations will range from studio apartments to two-story duplexes up to four bedrooms. Half of the eight acres will be used for gardens and orchards to grow produce to use in the community kitchen.