IOWA – From Glenwood to Burlington — with a ton of hills in between, the 2024 RAGBRAI route was announced Saturday night. The Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa is in its 51st year and also includes the communities of Red Oak, Atlantic, Winterset, Knoxville, Ottumwa, and Mt. Pleasant. The route is the 8th shortest in the history of the event, but based on elevation data, it will be the hilliest for riders who go river-to-river July 20th through the 27th. CENTERVILLE – A Centerville man has been charged for the death of a toddler. Following a joint investigation by Centerville Police, the Appanoose County Sheriff’s Office, and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Iowa State Patrol arrested 48-year-old Roger Gillespie on a charge of Child Endangerment Causing Death, a class B felony. The Centerville Police Department and emergency services responded to a home for an injured child on January 19th, where they found two-year-old Journey Marberry in critical condition. She was taken to the University of Iowa Hospital, where she died and served as an organ donor this past Saturday. Gillespie was the caretaker of Marberry when she found. LISBON – The parents of a newborn found dead in Cedar County in November of 1996 have been identified. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation reports that police were ultimately unable to locate the parents of a baby found inside a barn along Highway 30 near Lisbon 27 years ago. “Baby Jane Lincoln” was the name given to the child, whose death has since became a cold case. Recent advances in DNA technology have led the Iowa DCI to believe her parents are Luke Dean Wilson and Samantha Light Hope, both 43 years old. No charges have been filed as the circumstances surrounding the death of Baby Jane remain under investigation. SAN FRANSISCO – No matter who won, an Iowa Hawkeye and Iowa State Cyclone would have been represented in the Super Bowl. But in comeback fashion, it was the San Francisco 49ers and Pro Bowlers George Kittle and Brock Purdy who earned the right to win a championship after a 34-31 win over the Detroit Lions in the NFC Championship game played Sunday evening. Former Cyclone David Montgomery and Hawkeye Sam LaPorta are with Detroit and lost the chance to move on. Super Bowl 58 will be played on Sunday, February 11th with the 49ers and the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs.

IOWA – The Iowa Department of Education announced 2023 fall certified enrollment numbers for public school districts, accredited nonpublic schools and certified participation in Education Savings Accounts on Friday. Public school district certified enrollment was just under 484,000, down approximately one-half percent from last year. Certified enrollment at private schools was nearly 36,200, an increase of 7.4%. A total of 16,757 participants used education savings accounts. One-third of those students using state funds did not attend a private school the year before. IOWA – An Associated Press report shows that of $75 million promised by Governor Kim Reynolds to schools for safety measures, far less has actually made its way to districts. The announcement was made in June 2022 following the shooting massacre in Uvalde, Texas. Since then, two Iowa schools have been impacted by gun violence — in Perry and at the Starts Right Here academy in Des Moines. Perry had not been able to finish applying for the funds before the tragedy earlier this month. IOWA – Girls wrestling continues to expand across the state as regional qualifiers were held Friday. There were 1,602 athletes competing in the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union sanctioned tournament, which is an 18.5% increase from 2023. Of those, 448 qualified across 14 weight classes at next week’s state tournament at Xtream Arena in Coralville, the second-ever officially held girls wrestling finals in Iowa.

DES MOINES – Governor Kim Reynolds briefly discussed new court documents released about a Iowa Division of Criminal Investigatio whistleblower who accused the department of wrongdoing relating to a gambling investigation. Reynolds told Radio Iowa on Thursday that, “This is their job to do that,” and that the DCI did not need to run anything by her office. Reynolds then said she would not comment further due to the ongoing investigation. Earlier this week, court documents revealed Special Agent Mark Ludwick has accused his supervisors of unfairly targeting student athletes who have been charged with gambling at both Iowa and Iowa State. DES MOINES – An Iowa lawmaker who previously blocked a bill that would remove gender identity from the Iowa Civil Rights code is now letting legislation to move through a subcommittee. The Des Moines Register reports Judiciary Committee Chair Steven Holt of Denison has scheduled a subcommittee hearing for House File 2082 after blocking a similar measure in 2020. Holt says it’s time to have a conversation about removing gender identity from civil rights law and add gender dysphoria to the definition of a disability. IOWA – Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird has sued the Biden administration at least a dozen times during her first year in office. The Des Moines Register has been tracking the first year Republican who took over from Tom Miller, a Democrat who held the office for more than 40 years. Bird has challenged several laws outside of the State of Iowa, largely ranging over Republican policy measures in different states and against federal agencies.

SIOUX CITY – A Churdan woman was killed in a multiple vehicle crash that ended a police pursuit in Sioux City Wednesday afternoon. An Iowa State Patrol report shows 40 year old Melissa Thede was fleeing from state troopers when she rear-ended two other vehicles. Thede died as a result from injuries sustained, and one of the other drivers was injured. BUENA VISTA COUNTY – A three way crash that involved three tractor trailers resulted in one fatality in Buena Vista County Tuesday evening. The Iowa State Patrol reports a Mack semi driven by 63 year old Humberto Aladro-Valdes of Storm Lake failed to stop at the intersection of U.S. Highway 71 and Iowa Highway 7, crashing into the two other freight vehicles. Aladro-Valdes was ejected from his cab and died as a result of injuries. DES MOINES – A Des Moines man has been arrested after police say they found him with 30,000 pills of fentanyl. WHO-13 reports Sharmarke Omar Mohamed was pulled over by the Iowa State Patrol in Decatur County. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, a search warrant led to the discovery of the counterfeit pills. AMES – An Iowa State University police officer was let go from the force following several incidents of alleged misconduct in 2023. The Des Moines Register reports McKenna Rich was fired in November. Last spring, Rich was involved in a pursuit, and while doing so, violated state law, according to the university. Rich is also accused of threatening to perform an unconstitutional search in September. The final incident was a chase on October 9th, when she joined a pursuit of a wrong way driver on Highway 30 in Story County. Rich is accused of crashing into an unrelated vehicle at two different points.

AMES – A veteran Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Agent has accused superior officers of improper conduct as it related to a widespread investigation related to college athletes in the state and gambling. WHO-13 reports Special Agent Mark Ludwick was part of an deposition with legal representation of Iowa State Wrestler Paniro Johnson in Story County court, in which Ludwick asked to get off of the case due to apparent deception by his supervisor, Agent Troy Nelson. Ludwick believed the target of the investigation was the gambling sites and apps involved, and not the athletes themselves, until he was asked to get a confession from Johnson. The agent also accused the DCI of obtaining illegal evidence through geofencing without a warrant — and he claims several of his fellow colleagues refused to work the case. A total of 25 athletes from Iowa and Iowa State were charged, 16 of whom have entered plea agreements and seven who are challenging the accusations in court. IOWA CITY – New University of Iowa Athletic Director Beth Goetz held her first official press conference Tuesday. The first female leader of the department at the school was greeted by several student athletes and coaches, and addressed topics related to Name, Image, and Likeness changes, ongoing coaching searches in various programs, and the future of Hawkeyes athletics as a whole. IOWA – While warmer temperatures have been welcomed, new modes of winter precipitation have come with it, causing more travel headaches and school cancellations across the state. The National Weather Service has issued several advisories this week for freezing rain, sleet, and fog and active systems continue to push across the state. The potential for freezing roadways will remain in place throughout the week, before an even bigger warm up arrives by next week.