CLIVE, IA (IRN) – The League of United Latin American Citizens is calling for hate crime charges against the woman arrested on suspicion of hitting a teenager with her car and leaving the scene because the teen was “Mexican,” as the woman said. KCCI-TV reports Nicole Franklin, 42, was charged with attempted murder Thursday night after police said she purposely ran over 14-year-old Natalia Miranda as she walked to a school event earlier this month.

QUAD CITIES (IRN) – Part of Interstate 74 near the Quad Cities Airport was covered in hog entrails after a semi spill, according to WQAD-TV. Travelers reported a sewage-like mess along the roadway, accompanied by a bad smell in the area yesterday. Police say the road remains slippery and greasy, and urge caution in the area.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa’s unemployment rate remained at 2.6% in November as the number of people with and without jobs both increased, according to statistics released Friday.
Iowa Workforce Development reported Iowa’s 2.6% unemployment rate was the nation’s fifth lowest, tied with Colorado, Hawaii, New Hampshire and Virginia. Vermont had the lowest rate, at 2.3%. The national unemployment rate in November was 3.5%.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Five-year-old Cooper Leeman from Radcliffe, Iowa, will serve as the honorary Kid Captain for the Hawkeyes’ game with the University of Southern California in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego, California, Dec. 27. Cooper has overcome multiple health challenges, including a heart disorder and a stroke, to become a child his parents say “…loves to laugh and enjoys school.”