PLEASANT HILL, IA (IRN) – A Pleasant Hill man has been charged with first-degree murder after he got in a fight with his girlfriend’s father and killed him early Sunday. The Des Moines Register reports 26-year-old Ricky St. John is being held without bond at the Polk County Jail. 46-year-old Timothy Neal was pronounced dead at Iowa Lutheran Hospital. No weapons were involved.
DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A Johnston mother accused of leaving her four children home alone while she traveled to Europe has pled not guilty. KGAN-TV reports Erin Macke tried but failed to make child care arrangements for her children — two age 12, one 7, one 6 — before leaving Sept. 20 for a vacation in Germany. Police say the father of one of the children was called by his child the next day, and he called police.
DELAWARE COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A landowner in Delaware County found more than a dozen dead rabbits at the base of a wind turbine on his property Wednesday. KWWL-TV reports the black and white domestic rabbits had their necks snapped, and were scattered under the propellers of a wind turbine. The Sheriff’s office suspects the rabbits were likely placed under the turbine to attract eagles and other birds into the path of the propellers by anti-wind activists.
IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – A judge has ruled that a man accused in a deadly shooting on Iowa City’s pedestrian mall cannot avoid trial using Iowa’s new “stand your ground” law as a defense. The Press-Citizen reports the judge ruled that 23-year-old Lamar Wilson’s case must first be heard by a jury. Wilson is charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder in connection with an Aug. 27 shooting that killed one man and injured two others. He has pled not guilty.
OELWEIN, IA (IRN) – Someone shot and killed a zebra in Oelwein, according to KCRG-TV. The zebra’s owner says he knows who did it after receiving online threats for months. The accused man says he has mental health issues, and made the threats, but didn’t kill the zebra.
DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – What began as a community service project has become a tradition for a group of hair stylists in Des Moines. WHO-TV reports a few times a year, Salon Spa W hair stylists visit the Central Iowa Shelter and Services to give free haircuts and manicures. On Sunday, they cut hair for about 75 people. Salon owner China Wong says,”You hear a lot of life stories. Sometimes they’re sad stories of loss and hardship, but I also hear a lot of stories that are very empowering and are of hope.”