DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Department of Public Health reported Thursday that Iowa has surpassed 40,000 positive coronavirus cases. As of 10 a.m. Thursday, IDPH reported 716 new positive cases and 7 additional deaths. There have been 815 deaths in Iowa since the pandemic began.

FORT DODGE, IA (IRN) – The Fort Dodge Police Department has made an arrest in connection to an assault with a flare gun. First responders treated a 52-year-old man who had been shot in the face and upper torso. Police said after firing the flares at the victim, the attacker began assaulting him with an unknown object before fleeing. Authorities arrested William C. Goddard Jr., 31, of Fort Dodge, for attempted murder and going armed with intent.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Police in Des Moines are investigating after a man showed up at an Emergency Room early Wednesday morning suffering from a gunshot wound to his knee. The victim isn’t cooperating with the investigation.

WAVERLY, IA (IRN) – A northeast Iowa school district has completed an investigation after reports that its fans shouted racial taunts at a Black player on an opposing school’s baseball team. The Waverly-Shell Rock Community School District confirmed that students yelled taunts at Charles City baseball player Jeremiah Chapman. The taunts included “You should have been George Floyd,” “go back to the fields,” and calling him Collin, in reference to former NFL quarterback and activist Colin Kaepernick. The district said that they would be taking “appropriate measures” against those involved.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Republican Ashley Hinson says she has ended a working relationship with a consulting firm she blames for plagiarism uncovered by the New York Times. Hinson is vying to unseat Democratic first-term Congresswomen Abby Finkenauer. The Times found Hinson had plagiarized work from their paper, the Des Moines Register, CNBC, The Hill, and even from Finkenauer’s website. Hinson apologized for the plagiarism.