DES MOINES, IA – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is taking a job at the U.S. Dairy Export Council. The group is a nonprofit that promotes dairy products. Vilsack is entering the private sector after decades in public service. Before he was appointed agriculture secretary in 2009, he was Iowa’s governor for eight years. He also served in the Iowa state senate and as mayor of Mount Pleasant.
COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA (IRN) – A naked man spotted near a Council Bluffs park has been treated for exposure. KGAN-TV reports a 911 caller told authorities that the man wouldn’t answer when asked whether he needed help in the 33 degree temperature. He was taken to a hospital for treatment of exposure and a psychological evaluation.
OTTUMWA, IA (IRN) – A Valentine’s Day trial has been scheduled for the last of three people accused of kidnapping an Ottumwa woman. KCCI-TV reports Joel Herrarte Jr. has pled not guilty. His two accomplices were given 10 years in prison for the crime. Police say the three kidnapped the woman a year ago and held her captive for several days.
NORTH LIBERTY, IA (IRN) – A teen was shot in the leg in a North Liberty mobile home park yesterday, according to KWWL-TV. Witnesses say two teens were talking in a car when a man approached the vehicle, opened the door, and fired his weapon, injuring the teen. The suspect remains on the loose.
IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Iowa City Police are looking for the suspect in an attempted armed robbery that took place last night just blocks from the University of Iowa campus. KGAN-TV reports a woman had a handgun pointed at her in a parking lot, and was told by the would-be robber to fork over cash. The victim didn’t have any money on her, leading the suspect to flee on foot.
DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Five people have died from the flu in Iowa this year, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health. The flu hospitalized 43 people last week. The majority of those people are 64 years of age or older. So far this flu season, 130 people across the state have been hospitalized.