SIOUX CENTER, IA (IRN) – A former northwest Iowa fifth grade teacher is facing 140 criminal charges for allegedly sexually abusing students. WHO-TV reports 35-year-old Curtis Van Dam faces 14 counts of sexual exploitation by a teacher, 72 counts of 2nd degree sexual abuse, 12 counts of 3rd degree sexual abuse, three counts of lascivious acts with a child, 34 counts of lascivious conduct with a minor, and five counts of indecent exposure. More charges are expected. The alleged abuse happened while Van Dam taught at Sioux Center Christian School.
CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A man was arrested after forcing someone to withdraw cash from an ATM in Cedar Rapids Tuesday. KGAN-TV reports a man was sitting in his pickup in a Target parking lot when 31-year-old Quincy Franklin approached. He then allegedly showed the victim what appeared to be a handgun and told him to withdraw cash. Police say Franklin followed the victim into the store where he withdrew cash. Franklin was identified in video surveillance and was arrested at a nearby hotel.
DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A man charged with first-degree murder and arson in the death of his stepson is back in Iowa, according to KCCI-TV. 41-year-old Randy Miles Jr. of Des Moines, had been in a North Dakota jail on unrelated charges. Miles is accused of intentionally setting his stepson on fire. Prosecutors say Miles set a car on fire in August while his stepson was inside.
PALO, IA (IRN) – A Palo man is recovering from an accident while hunting. KCRG-TV reports Jeff Pavek was bow hunting by himself when he fell 20 feet backwards off a tree stand. When he didn’t come home that night, Pavek’s girlfriend and friend Ron Grimm went looking for him. Ron said that he knew where to find him, because they had hunted in the same place for 30 years. The pair found Pavek facedown, hidden in the brush, with a collapsed lung, broken ribs, vertebrae, a broken sternum, and a skull fracture.
VAN BUREN COUNTY, IA (IRN) – The Van Buren and Harmony School Districts in southeastern Iowa are one step closer to merging, according to KTVO-TV. The merger will go up for a vote in February to residents in both school districts. If a majority of voters from both districts approve the reorganization, the new school district will be called Van Buren Community School District. The completed merger is expected in July 2018.
AMES, IA (IRN) – An Ames High School Chemistry Teacher has been named the Iowa 2018 Teacher of the Year by the Iowa Department of Education. Aileen Sullivan and the entire High School were called to a secret assembly for the announcement. Sullivan said she knew she wanted to be a teacher in the third grade, when she drew a picture of herself at a desk in front of a classroom.