ANKENY, IA (IRN) – A Polk County sheriff’s detective and his girlfriend have been given a year of probation for their roles in an Ankeny bar fight. KCCI-TV reports John Negrete and Tereasa Sunberg also were given deferred judgments at their sentencings Friday. That means their convictions can be removed from court records if they complete their probation terms. Negrete punched an Ankeny firefighter, Ross Frank, and Sunberg punched Frank’s wife, Danielle.
Negrete and Sunberg say Frank groped Sunberg at a bar before the fight. Frank denied the accusation. Negrete was off-duty.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The two men who were shot Saturday at Prospect Park in Des Moines are expected to recover. KCCI-TV reports they were injured when they were caught in the middle of a gunfire exchange after a heated argument broke out between two groups.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Police are searching for a convicted murderer after he didn’t return to his work release center in Des Moines. The Department of Corrections says Vincent Brown didn’t show up for a head count Sunday afternoon. Brown was convicted of second-degree murder for the death of Phyllis Davis, who was shot and killed in April 1996. Brown was moved to work release in August.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A former Hawkeye football player might be the next White House lawyer. Axios reports Matt Whitaker, who played tight end for the Iowa Hawkeyes 1991 Rose Bowl team and later became U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa, has been named as a possible replacement for President Donald Trump’s legal counsel. Current White House counsel Don McGahn announced last month that he will leave.

AMES, IA (IRN) – The city of Ames’ plantings in beds and containers not only keeps the downtown looking lush, they also feed the hungry. KWWL-TV reports Ames has substituted edible landscaping — including potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, squash, eggplant, cucumbers and okra — for the flowers it used to plant. On Friday, volunteers harvested more than 200 pounds of sweet potatoes from 25 planters. The vegetables are donated to a local food pantry.