OTTUMWA, IA (IRN) – An Ottumwa man is accused of trying to talk a 14-year-old girl into meeting him for sex. KTVO-TV reports 26-year-old Anthony Gomez also asked the victim to send nude pictures of herself in exchange for money. Gomez also spoke with the victim on multiple occasions about driving to her residence and picking her up. The girl told Gomez her age multiple times.
IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – An Iowa City man faces charges after five pounds of marijuana mailed to his home was intercepted by the United States Postal Service. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports the postal service discovered a suspicious package that was to be shipped to the home of 20-year-old Brett Wilkins. Wilkins called the Iowa City Post Office to ask about the status of his package, which was then delivered to his home. Police later served a search warrant at the residence, where Wilkins said the items in the package were his.
SALEM, IA (IRN) – Damage surveys are being conducted today by the National Weather Service as at least one tornado occurred in Wednesday in southeastern Iowa. According to KCII Radio, trained weather spotters reported a tornado and funnel clouds near Salem at 3 p.m., and an emergency management coordinator saw a funnel cloud by Mediapolis. The severe storms produced large hail, heavy downpours, and strong winds.
MARENGO, IA (IRN) – A jury has convicted an Iowa man of first-degree murder in the 2000 disappearance of his fiancee even though her body has never been found. KCCI-TV reports jurors returned the verdict in Marengo Wednesday against Tait Purk in the death of Cora Okonski, a 23-year-old waitress and mother of a young child. Purk will be sentenced to life in prison without parole. He confessed the crime to another inmate while in prison.
BLACK HAWK COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A Waterloo man is dead after his car collided nearly head-on with a truck transporting a large dumpster Wednesday afternoon south of Cedar Falls. KCRG-TV reports 41-year-old Christopher Potter was northbound when a southbound Mack truck failed to yield when it turned in front of him.
MUSCATINE, IA (IRN) – Two Muscatine High School students have been arrested for threatening terrorism. KWPC-Radio reports school authorities found terroristic threats on an electronic device owned by the High School. An investigation is underway.
TITONKA, IA (IRN) – The remains of an Iowa sailor killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor are being returned to Iowa today. The Des Moines Register reports William Kennedy, of Titonka, was one of 429 sailors and Marines who were killed aboard the battleship USS Oklahoma. He was 24. Kennedy’s recently identified remains had been buried in an area for the unidentified at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. He will be buried next to his mother at a Titonka cemetery tomorrow.