CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Kentucky Senator Rand Paul is ending his campaign for president, according to KCRG-TV. Paul, who came in fifth in Monday’s Iowa Republican Caucus with 4.5 percent support, joins 2008 caucus winner Mike Huckabee and former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley as candidates to end campaigning since the caucuses.

WAUKEE, IA (IRN) – Police in Waukee responded to reports of shots fired early Wednesday morning. KCCI-TV reports police were looking for suspects in the area. A resident says one suspect was found hiding under a grill cover and was taken into custody. Waukee schools were under lockdown briefly. There have been no reports of injuries.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A man who failed to return to the Linn County Correctional Center after a furlough in December has been arrested. KGAN-TV reports 45-year-old Charles Hobert Jr. has been returned to jail. He had received a court ordered furlough on Christmas Eve, but never returned. He had been in the Linn County Jail for Stalking, Forgery and Harassment.
Upon being arrested, Hobert was charged with violation of a no contact order and escape.

LAMONT, IA (IRN) – The former St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in the northeastern Iowa town of Lamont has been destroyed by fire, according to KWWL-TV. The church had been closed for years, and was unoccupied. The cause of the fire is unknown.

MASON CITY, IA – Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow kept the Mason City Council from voting on the final steps for a downtown revitalization project Tuesday night. KIMT-TV reports council members voted to approve the final application for the project which includes a multi-million dollar renovation of the downtown district. Features include a multi-purpose arena, a performing arts pavilion and a Marriott hotel.

PLEASANT HILL, IA (IRN) – Bitter cold weather couldn’t stop 102-year-old Ruline Steininger from Pleasant Hill from caucusing Monday. WHO-TV reports Steninger, who was born seven years before women were granted the right to vote, has always supported Democrats. She caucused for Hillary Clinton, and says she plans to live long enough to help elect the first woman president. Steninger will turn 103 before the election, and says “I must live to do my part in November 2016. I can die later!”