STORM LAKE, IA (IRN) – Seven students in the Storm Lake School District have been arrested on criminal charges for sharing nude photos on their phones. The Sioux City Journal reports that the investigation began Feb. 6, when police were called to Storm Lake High School about multiple students sending nude photographs via text messages to other students. Six of the seven students are in high school; the seventh is in middle school.

FORT DODGE, IA (IRN) – Two people have been injured by a natural gas explosion at their home in Fort Dodge. The Messenger reports that the four residents had just been told to leave the house Wednesday afternoon when the blast occurred. Authorities blamed a natural gas leak that may have started when a city public works crew stuck a gas line in front of the house A MidAmerican Energy worker sent to the home as a precaution advised the occupants to leave and was a few feet from the front door when the explosion occurred. The worker wasn’t hurt.

ELDRIDGE, IA (IRN) – A 15-year-old boy is dead after a head-on collision in rural Scott County yesterday. KWQC-TV reports the boy crossed the centerline and hit a Ford truck head-on. He died at the scene, but the truck driver is OK. Low visibility caused by fog may have been a contributing factor. The teenager who died was a sophomore at North Scott Senior High School.

RED OAK, IA (IRN) – A judge has cited Iowa’s new “stand your ground” law in granting immunity to a man accused of shooting to death an attacker. KGAN-TV reports the judge ordered the release of 39-year-old Kevin Staley, who acknowledged shooting 27-year-old Devin Davis, of Villisca, on Oct. 11 in Red Oak. Two men startled Staley in an alley wearing hoodies and bandanas as they screamed and ran toward him. Staley pulled his handgun after he was knocked down and shot one who turned out to be Davis. They both ran off, and Davis collapsed and died a few moments later.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Coincidentally, just hours before a deadly shooting at a south Florida high school in which 17 people were killed yesterday, Iowa lawmakers advanced a bill at the that would ensure schools have a plan to respond to active shooter incidents. Many lawmakers said they were surprised to learn that not all Iowa school districts have a plan. The bill has bipartisan support.

WINTERSET, IA (IRN) – An Iowa veteran has made his way into the Guiness Book of World Records. Posthumously. WHO-TV reports that while Ted Nowakowski of Winterset passed away before he was recognized, he was the world’s longest surviving heart transplant patient. Nowakowski was born in 1948, and received his transplant in 1983, giving him another 34 years of life. He passed away last month at the age of 69. Nowakowski worked for three decades at Murray High School, where he coached football and taught art.