CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A Waterloo convicted sex offender, who was wanted for failing to register, was arrested after he was spotted in Cedar Rapids Monday afternoon, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. Investigators say 26-year-old Ladarius Martez Blue was spotted after he stepped outside to view the solar eclipse.
DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Officials fear hundreds of Iowa students will be barred from classes on the first day of school because the students lack the newly required meningitis vaccination. The Des Moines Register reports that districts have been notifying families for months, and some even set up vaccination clinics to meet rules passed by lawmakers in 2016. Polk County health officials say nearly 1,000 students still lacked the vaccination as of Monday afternoon.
DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – Two teens have been taken into custody in connection with a shots-fired incident Monday in Davenport. Both teens have been identified as street gang members involved in a feud with a rival gang, and both have been charged with criminal gang participation. One girl has been tied to several other shots-fired incidents. She had a 12-gauge shotgun with a shortened barrel in her possession when she was apprehended.
WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – Police have arrested a man for making threats on Twitter saying he would kill Senator Joni Ernst. The Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier reports 33-year-old Joseph Dierks of Waterloo, faces a federal charge of transmitting a threat through interstate commerce. Dierks sent several tweets including one that said, “I just want you to know I’d put a bullet in your head if you were my wife.” He told police he was just joking around.
DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A commercial building fire turned into an apartment fire on Des Moines’ east side Monday. WHO-TV reports the fire started in a single-story building on East Grand, but spread next door to another commercial building that had two floors of apartments. No one was injured.
DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The numbers are in and it’s official: the 2017 edition of the Iowa State Fair was the biggest ever in terms of attendance. This year, 1,130,071 made it to the event, breaking the record set in 2015 by approximately 12,000 people. The reason for the increase? Officials say the “great weather.”