PELLA – One student was arrested after assaulting multiple other students with a knife at Pella Middle School on Wednesday morning. The Pella Police Department responded at 7:41 a.m. to the incident and with the help of staff, apprehended the alleged attacker shortly after he assaulted at least two other students, who suffered minor injuries. The building was on lockdown before classes began. The student arrested had faced a prior assault charge in February for attacking a school counselor.

DAVENPORT – Two eastern Iowa men were sentenced for federal crimes related to child pornography on Wednesday. Thirty-seven-year-old Bob Arthur Phillips of Davenport received 192 months and 48-year-old Brent Michael Fisher of Clinton was sentenced to 97 months in federal prison for distribution and receipt of child pornography. According to court documents, Phillips uploaded the child sexual abuse material to the digital storage account. Following multiple residential search warrants at Phillips’ residence, law enforcement seized numerous electronic devices belonging to Phillips, found to contain evidence of distributing and receiving child sexual assault material. Fisher possessed fifteen devices that contained child sexual abuse material, including cell phones and memory cards.

WASHINGTON D.C. – A former acting Attorney General and Iowa native has been chosen as the next ambassador to NATO. The Des Moines Register reports Matthew Whitaker has been nominated by President-Elect Donald Trump ahead of his second term on January 20th. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was organized to defend Europe against Russian advances. Whitaker is from Ankeny and holds several degrees from the University of Iowa, and was a former Hawkeyes football player.