DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – An early Monday morning house fire in Des Moines was set intentionally. KCCI-TV reports 34-year-old Kyle Robert Lincoln is charged with arson and second-degree theft. Lincoln allegedly set fire to a home owned by his father, then left the scene in a vehicle owned by a family member. He’s in jail.

CLARKE COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A 23-year-old man who admitted to sexually abusing a 13-year-old child walked out of jail a free man Monday because a county attorney failed to show up for his plea hearing. KCCI-TV reports the ruling comes after Clarke County Attorney Michelle Rivera missed the man’s plea hearing while being arrested for public intoxication.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IRN) – Homelessness in Iowa is down in 2018, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Their annual report found that more than 2,700 Iowans experienced homelessness for at least one night throughout the year. That’s a slight drop since last year. Meanwhile, homelessness among veterans rose 14.6 percent.

IOWA (IRN) – Two rural Iowa school districts will require middle school students to take a firearms safety course this spring. The Des Moines Register reports students from Clarksville and North Butler will learn how to safely handle a gun during a physical education course focusing on hunter safety. Superintendent for both districts Joel Foster says he hopes the course will also prepare students to react in the event of an active shooter situation.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Iowa congressman Rod Blum likely violated a number of ethics rules in his private business dealings, including his ownership in a company that used false claims and House resources to promote itself, according to the Office of Congressional Ethics. Committee leaders say they won’t take any further action against Blum, who is leaving Congress after losing his bid for a third term to Democrat Abby Finkenauer in the Nov. 6 election.