IRETON, IA (IRN) – A Sioux County man was killed over the weekend after being struck by a tree branch. The Sioux City Journal reports 49-year-old Christopher Soppe of Ireton was cutting down the tree branch outside a residence Saturday afternoon when it fell and hit him. Soppe was a high school special education teacher at Boyden-Hull and coached baseball. He was helping a neighbor clean up storm debris when the accident occurred.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Two armed robbers ganged up on a man at a stoplight in Des Moines yesterday. The Des Moines Register reports the 20-year-old Altoona man told police that men carrying silver revolvers came up on both sides of his car. The man says the robbers threatened to shoot him if he went to police and said they’d gotten his address from items in the car. They got away with the man’s Social Security card, credit cards and $50 in cash.

WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A construction worker was injured after falling through the roof at the historic Hostess Wonder Bread bakery building in Waterloo this morning. KWWL-TV reports witnesses say he landed on the concrete floor. His condition is unknown. Other construction workers say he was conscious, but in a lot of pain after the fall. The historic building is currently in the remodeling process to become a Single Speed Brewery location.

WASHINGTON, IA (IRN) – One person is dead and another was injured in a house fire in Washington early Sunday morning. KCII-radio reports the fire was in a two story building, and a ladder truck was deployed to fight the fire. An adjacent building was damaged. The state fire marshal’s office is investigating.

WEBSTER COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Search and rescue efforts by authorities continue for a man missing in the Des Moines River in Webster County. WHO-TV reports a 23-year-old man was last seen in the river near Lehigh just before 6 a.m. Sunday. Witnesses saw the man struggling to swim under a bridge. Once he went under water, he never resurfaced.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A motorcyclist was killed in a crash while fleeing police in Des Moines Saturday. The Des Moines Register reports a patrol officer attempted to stop 25-year-old Vincent Quang for a traffic violation. Quang rode into a parking lot, indicating that he was stopping, but then fled at a high speed. The officer didn’t pursue Quang and quickly lost sight of him. Police say they later found the motorcycle had crashed nearby. Quang was dead.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – There are at least 3,400 untested rape kits in storage around Iowa, according to KCCI-TV. The Crime Victim Assistance Division within the Iowa attorney general’s office says preliminary data indicate law enforcement agencies don’t have standardized rules for handling such evidence. The division received $2 million in federal funding to conduct research into how kits were being processed and some testing.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – The American Association of University Professors added the University of Iowa to its list of sanctioned colleges. KCRG-TV reports the AAUP based that decision on the Board of Regents hiring of President Bruce Harreld, in spite of faculty objections. Harreld has faced heat since he became president last fall for not having any academic administrative experience. Placement on the AAUP sanction list makes it more difficult for universities to hire professors.