IOWA (IRN) – Wednesday was a fatal day on Iowa roads. The Iowa State Patrol says ice played a role in a Johnson County crash near North Liberty. A car hit an icy patch and landed upside down. The driver, 65-year-old Randall Martin, was pronounced dead at the scene. In Des Moines County a car driven by 32-year-old Timothy Boyd crossed the center line and struck another car head on. Boyd was killed in the crash. In Marshall County, 67-year-old Mark Haunsperger was pronounced dead at the scene after his car went into a ditch, rolled and landed on its roof.

CLEAR LAKE, IA (IRN) – A Chevy Avalanche collided with a train near Clear Lake this morning. KIMT-TV reports the car was dragged down the tracks before coming to rest after striking a power pole. The driver wasn’t hurt.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Iowa City police suspect dangerously cold weather played a part in the death of a man whose body was found Tuesday. KCCI-TV reports 24-year-old Paul Biagas was found dead in the snow. Investigators believe Biagas may have been walking home on New Year’s Eve to his apartment near downtown Iowa City. Biagas was not appropriately dressed for the extreme cold. An autopsy has been ordered.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A Des Moines man found guilty of first degree murder in December was sentenced Tuesday, according to WHO-TV. Twenty-six-year-old Larry Ratliff Jr. was given a mandatory life sentence in the 2017 murder of Antonio Quinn. Quinn was shot to death during a botched drug deal.

JOHNSON COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A cardboard ban is now in effect at the Iowa City Landfill and Recycling Center. KGAN-TV reports the ban is an attempt to cut waste in Johnson County by requesting residents recycle cardboard. Pizza boxes are one exception. Cardboard stained by food cannot be recycled.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – An Iowa City couple lost a collective 200 pounds last year after batriatic surgery. KCRG-TV reports the procedure is done through tiny incisions, removing part of the stomach with hunger cells, while also making the stomach smaller in the process. Cory and Diane Berwald had the surgery done for health reasons. Diane says the best part is, “my kids can now put their arms all the way around me and touch.”