JONES COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A Jones County sheriff’s deputy and his K-9 were injured in a crash Tuesday morning. Officials say a truck was trying to pass a semi when it drove right into the path of Deputy Derek Denniston. The impact caused the car to roll into a ditch. A bystander helped free the deputy and his dog. The deputy and dog were treated and released. The truck driver was cited for passing illegally.
DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A former Des Moines Roosevelt teacher and basketball coach will lose his teaching license for a year for wrongly operating outside of district oversight two bank accounts with more than $1.8 million in deposits. The Des Moines Register reports that Chris Cundiff transferred some of the money into his personal bank account and bought gifts for athletes and coaches.
DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Eight people are dead in an apparent terrorist attack after a man drove a rented pickup truck onto a bike path in lower Manhattan Tuesday. The suspect is 29-year-old Sayfullo Saipov (SYE-foo-low SYE-poff) who had been living in Tampa, Florida, but is originally from Uzbekistan (OOZ-beck-uh-stan). KCCI-TV reports a man with his same name, hometown and age was pulled over on I-80 near Van Meter in 2011. He was cited for not having a proper driver log for the truck he was driving.
IOWA (IRN) – The adoptive parents of Natalie Finn–who are now accused of the teen’s murder in her starvation related death–had taken out a combined $35,000 worth of life insurance policies on their daughter. WHO-TV reports her father and oldest brother contacted the insurance company for a payout the day after she died. Their request has been denied, and any potential payout, and to who, is pending.
DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – An insurance company that helps run Iowa’s new privatized Medicaid program is withdrawing its participation. AmeriHealth Caritas will end its Medicaid coverage at the end of November. Iowa privatized Medicaid in 2016 under Governor Branstad. Democrats say it’s “more proof that Medicaid privatization is a horrible disaster.” Governor Reynolds hasn’t yet acknowledged the criticism.
JOHNSON COUNTY, IA (IRN) – An Eastern Iowa man spotted an unusual sight on Halloween — an albino deer. KCRG-TV reports Bo Neuzil won’t give out the exact location, but says he spotted the “ghost deer” in a timber area between Iowa City and Solon.