AMES – An Ames man was sentenced Monday to life in federal prison on each of fifteen counts of sex trafficking by fraud and coercion. According to court documents, 45 year old Carl Dale Markley used fraud and coercion to cause dozens of teenage boys and young men, and a few young women, to engage in sex acts in exchange for money or some other benefit for more than two decades. Markley was a nurse practitioner in Ames and owned several businesses. Over a course of years, Markley used his professions and position in the community to befriend and gain the trust of victims, and then groom and repeatedly sexually abuse them. Markley placed hidden cameras in locations to record this abuse.

CRESCO – A Cresco man died in a single vehicle crash Sunday evening. The Iowa State Patrol reports a Ford F150 operated by 38-year-old Tyler Timothy Johnson was northbound on a bridge and struck a guardrail. Several agencies responded and Johnson was pronounced dead on scene.

DES MOINES – The Iowa House passed a measure on Monday that increases training for local officials related to open meeting laws. Iowa Capital Dispatch reports the bill is the second attempt by lawmakers in the last two years to strengthen laws related to the matter. House File 706 also includes increased penalties for open record law violations. It’s a similar version to the bill Governor Kim Reynolds vetoed last spring, without the language that prompted her move to do so.

IOWA CITY – Iowa native Ben McCollum has been named the head coach for the University of Iowa men’s basketball program. McCollum is the 23rd head coach in program history. McCollum arrives in Iowa City with a resume that includes four NCAA Division II national championships at Northwest Missouri State University. In his first season in NCAA Division I, McCollum guided Drake to a school-record 31 wins, the Missouri Valley Conference regular season and tournament titles, and to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.