WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A Waterloo woman has been sentenced to nearly 2 years in prison after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl. KWWL-TV reports 28-year-old Michelle Hanson admitted she sold the drugs out of her home, which was near a city park.
LELAND, IA (IRN) – A Winnebago County man is back home after getting sucked into a grain bin Thursday, according to KIMT-TV. Anna Thorson says her husband, James, was getting beans out of a silo when he had to go inside, slipped and the auger sucked him down into the beans until he was chest high. It took emergency crews approximately 2 ½ hours to free him. He suffered a knee injury.
NORTH LIBERTY, IA (IRN) – A North Liberty man faces three counts of attempt to commit murder after police say he tried to hire someone to kill three people. WHO-TV reports 36-year-old Justin DeWitt wanted three people dead–an Iowa Department of Public Safety special agent, an adult man, and an adult woman. The murder-for-hire scheme happened while DeWitt was in jail, facing four different attempt to commit murder charges.
CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A former Iowa resident has been given seven years in prison for stealing identities, filing false tax returns and lying to get housing aid. KCCI-TV reports 38-year-old Kaeisha Robinson of Phoenix and formerly of Maquoketa and Dubuque admitted she filed several fraudulent tax returns using other people’s identities and received more than $250,000 in refunds.
IOWA (IRN) – Iowa is wrapping up 2016 as a deadly year for bicyclists. Eleven cyclists have died while riding this year, the highest in more than a decade. Iowa hasn’t seen this many cycling deaths since 2005.
JESUP, IA (IRN) – Four-year-old Reed Havlik of Jesup and his parents are headed to the Outback Bowl to spread awareness about a rare disease. KCRG-TV reports Reed has what’s called “Vanishing White Matter.” It’s a genetic disorder that slowly causes white brain matter to disappear. Over time, Reed will lose the ability to walk, use his hands, hear, speak and see. Reed is a smiling, bright-eyed Hawkeye fan who will be the U of I’s Kid Captain at the bowl game.