DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Democratic governor nominee Fred Hubbell has chosen eastern Iowa farmer and legislator Rita Hart as his running mate. Hubbell announced Saturday morning that Hart, a state senator representing Clinton and part of Scott counties, was his pick for lieutenant governor. Hart and her husband, Paul, run a farm near Wheatland, northwest of Davenport. She also worked for more than 20 years as a teacher in the Calamus-Wheatland and Bennett school districts. She was elected to the state Senate in 2012 and re-elected in 2014.

KNOXVILLE DO NOT READ THIS SECOND STORY

PELLA, IA (IRN) – A man drowned below the Lake Red Rock Dam Friday. KNIA/KRLS radio reports a seven year old female who was playing at the water’s edge became caught up in the currents of the Des Moines River. The girl was pulled out by a nearby boater, but was unconscious and not breathing. After pulling several other people trying to rescue the girl to safety, the boater was able to resuscitate the girl by performing CPR. Her uncle, Cha Charles Lee, 42, of St. Paul, MN also tried to save her but drowned.

NEVADA (IRN) – A Story County man who admitted to killing his 2-month-old daughter by placing pillows on her face pleaded guilty Friday to child endangerment causing death. The Des Moines Register reports Calvin Curtis White, 30, of Nevada, was later struck by a train in an attempt to kill himself. He will be sentenced to 50 years in prison.

WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – West Des Moines police have arrested two people for using an ATM skimmer to clean out the bank accounts of dozens of people. KCCI-TV reports Cardozo Da Silva, 40, and Jamily Silva Sousa, 26, are charged with identity theft, forgery, credit fraud and using an illegal skimming device. Police aren’t sure where the men are from.

BELLE PLAINE, IA (IRN) – Firefighters in the eastern Iowa town of Belle Plaine were tasked with keeping a truckload of hogs cool after it got stuck on railroad tracks yesterday. KCRG-TV reports the firefighters sprayed down the hogs with water to keep them cool until they were transferred to another trailer.

IOWA (IRN) – NASA astronaut and Iowa native Peggy Whitson announced she is retiring.
Whitson has completed three long-duration missions to the International Space Station. In 2002, she become NASA’s first Space Station science officer, and in 2008 become the first female commander. Last year, Whitson became the first woman to command the Space Station twice, claimed the title for most spacewalks as a woman, and set the record for the most time in space by a US astronaut with 665 days.