JOHNSTON, IA (IRN) – Dozens of students at the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy in Camp Dodge were transferred to metro hospitals after becoming ill this morning due to carbon monoxide poisoning. WHO-TV reports cadets had headaches, nausea, and lightheadedness. When the first crew arrived they tested for carbon monoxide and found high levels. A total of 56 patients suffering from symptoms were transferred to Des Moines metro hospitals.

WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley is the new Senate president pro tempore, which means he will preside over the Senate in the vice president’s absence and is third in line of presidential succession. Senator Joni Ernst will also be taking up a new leadership position: vice chairwoman of the Senate Republican Conference.

WASHINGTON, D.C. Not one, but two Iowa lawmakers are set to make history once they both officially take their posts as representatives in the U.S. House come January. Abby Finkenauer and Cindy Axne joined fellow “incoming freshman” to the House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. this week. Together, Axne and Finkenauer will become Iowa’s first female representatives in the U.S. House, a feat they celebrated at the Capitol on Wednesday.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – More than 3,500 students, staff and community members gathered on the Drake campus to stand up against hate. KCCI-TV reports the Idaho-based white supremacist group “The Road to Power” left calls that officials say “convey offensive, disturbing and hateful recorded messages,” on campus phone lines. The university also reported racist notes being slipped under student dorm room doors.

CALIFORNIA (IRN) – At least nine Iowans are in California helping victims of the wildfires. They’re volunteers from the Iowa Chapter of the American Red Cross. The Iowa volunteers are mostly helping out with sheltering needs, as thousands of people lost their homes in the fire.
Other Iowa volunteers are working on family reunification.