DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Johnston mom accused of leaving her four kids home alone while she took a vacation to Europe pleaded guilty Monday morning. WHO-TV reports Erin Macke faces a maximum of eight years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for sometime in April.
MUSCATINE, IA (IRN) – A 17-year-old juvenile has been arrested and charged with intimidation with a dangerous weapon after a shots fired incident in Muscatine. KWQC-TV reports there were no injuries.
DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines police are investigating a fatal crash involving a car and a pedestrian that happened Sunday night. KCCI-TV reports it appears the man was struck by a vehicle which left the scene. Police have now arrested a woman in the incident. She faces numerous charges, including giving police a false identity once she was arrested.
ALDEN, IA (IRN) – A 61-year-old Iowa grandfather has been sentenced to five years of probation and sex offender treatment for molesting his 6-year-old granddaughter. KCRG-TV reports Dean Hilpipre of Alden was sentenced Friday in a plea deal. The girl’s mother criticized prosecutors for failing to send Hilpipre to prison.
NEVADA, IA (IRN) – Public safety officials are concerned about up to 500,000 bales of flammable stover that are stored across central Iowa and will be left over after a cellulosic ethanol plant is sold. The Des Moines Register reports that the newly merged DowDuPont is selling its $225 million cellulosic ethanol plant in Nevada, and many residents are asking what will happen to the stover. The plant’s corn cobs, husks and stalks are a major fire liability.
WARREN COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Dozens of Iowans sprinted into 34 degree water at Lake Ahquabi in Indianola Saturday as a part of the Special Olympics Iowa Polar Plunge fundraiser. Athlete John Fitten says the organization helped him believe in himself. He says, “I was told that I would never have a job, and would be home living with my parents. I surpassed what everybody told me I couldn’t do and now I’m here, married, I have a job, and I’m participating in one of the best things that’s ever happened to me.”