MOVILLE, IA (IRN) – A 30-year Woodbury Central School District teacher has died from COVID-19. A middle school instructor, Cherie Dandurand, 53, is believed to be the first teacher from Northwest Iowa to die from COVID-19 since the novel coronavirus pandemic began.

JONES COUNTY, IA (IRN) – The search is underway for two missing girls in eastern Iowa. The Jones County Sheriff’s Office and the Iowa DCI are asking for help from the public. Elizabeth Rodgers, 14, and Rylea Ostrander, 13, both from Jones County, were last seen at Rustic Park in Lost Nation in Clinton County at around 4 p.m. on Thursday. Police found a backpack belonging to one of the girls at the park.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Cedar Rapids Police have released the final crime numbers from 2020. They report a 15% increase in violent crimes, including 12 homicides, the most on record. Half of those homicides are still unsolved.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IRN) – An Iowa man is seen in several photos and videos inside the U.S. Capitol Building when a mob of President Trump’s supporters stormed and vandalized the U.S. Capitol Wednesday. Doug Jensen, of Des Moines, is a laborer at a masonry company. He’s seen in a video leading the charge up the capitol steps as capitol police retreat before them.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A 13-year-old Des Moines teen has turned himself in for robbing and assaulting a 66-year-old woman in a Hy-Vee parking lot. Police said the suspect ran up behind the victim, grabbed her purse and attempted to pull it off her arm. The woman was pulled to the ground and seriously injured.

IOWA (IRN) – Governor Kim Reynolds is lifting limits on spectators for gatherings in an update to her ongoing Public Health Proclamation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Spectator limits for sporting events will be lifted beginning today; that includes high school activities. The proclamation still requires that groups of fans be spaced at least six-feet apart. Masks must be worn in most indoor public spaces where social distancing isn’t possible.