MINNEAPOLIS, MN (IRN) – Authorities in southern Minnesota say a wrong-way, drunken driver caused a head-on crash early Sunday, killing a Des Moines woman. WCCO-TV reports 29-year-old Kacy Merseal, a bride to be, was killed in the crash. A passenger from Story City was injured.
TIFFIN, IA (IRN) – A Tiffin man is facing a number of charges after sexually abusing his daughter over the course of five years. KGAN-TV reports 50-year-old Clyde Hinkle is charged with incest, child endangerment causing bodily injury, committing lascivious acts with a child and sexual abuse. Hinkle admitted he was aware that he was committing incest and knew it was wrong. His daughter is now 12.
ALGONA, IA (IRN) – A Titonka man is facing a felony kidnapping charge after allegedly taking a woman against her will. KIMT-TV reports the Algona Police Department charged 29-year-old Anthony Jay Countryman with kidnapping. Countryman is accused of taking an adult Algona woman against her will to several rural locations. The woman wasn’t harmed.
IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Iowa City Police are searching for a suspect who robbed a 70-year-old man Monday. KCRG-TV reports the man was walking on the sidewalk when the robber approached him, assaulted him, and took cash and property. Witnesses reported seeing the suspect riding a bicycle.
DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A vote by the Des Moines City Council has sealed the fate of a proposed federal courthouse site, according to KCCI-TV. The City Council voted to buy the former YMCA site for $5.2 million if the land is not developed by its current owner by May 31, 2018. The decision means the federal government will have to find a new location for its proposed courthouse.
DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – One of the biggest attractions at the Iowa State Fair is taking shape–the butter cow. WHO-TV reports Sarah Pratt is hard at work crafting her butter sculptures. This year’s companion sculpture to the butter cow is Laura Ingalls Wilder, well known for her Little House on the Prairie books for children. This marks the 150th year since Wilder’s birth. She lived in Iowa when she was 10 years old, and it is thought her life in Iowa influenced her books.