CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A driver is in critical condition after refusing to stop for a police squad car and crashing into a parked car and Cedar Rapids home. KGAN-TV reports officers tried to stop the vehicle shortly before midnight but refused to stop.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA (IRN) – A bicyclist died after being struck by a vehicle in Pottawattamie County. KCCI-TV reports William Shepard, 55, of Council Bluffs was found unresponsive in the grass at the side of the road. Deputies believed it was a fatal hit-and-run. About five hours later, former Council Bluffs police officer Robert Christensen, 56, contacted deputies and said that he may be the one that struck Shepard. Christensen said he thought he had a struck a deer and saw on the news that a bicyclist was hit. A piece of his vehicle had been found at the scene.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A Des Moines mother is facing felony charges after being accused of leaving her two young children home alone and without food or water last week. WHO-TV reports 24-year-old Juawar Kallo was booked into the Polk County Jail Tuesday.

TAMA COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A derailment involving a Union Pacific train hauling sugar and soda occurred yesterday in Tama County. Union Pacific officials said 28 cars were involved and there were no hazardous materials.

ROCK ISLAND, IA (IRN) – Barge traffic is moving again on the Mississippi River after months of disruptions due to flooding. All of the locks on the Mississippi River managed by the Rock Island District of the Army Corps of Engineers are back open.