CRESTON (IRN) – A Creston man recently hired to be a teacher and football coach faces felony charges. WHO-13 reports 42-year-old Ryan Kissell was arrested Wednesday following an investigation and charged with 46 felonies, including 2nd degree sexual abuse and lascivious acts with a child. Kissell was hired by Nodaway Valley ahead of the upcoming academic year. A victim came forward to police this summer, claiming Kissell’s abuse had been ongoing for more than a decade. MASON CITY (IRN) – An Iowa school district is using artificial intelligence to determine what books to ban under a new Iowa law. KCRG-TV reports the Mason City School District is using Chat GPT to remove materials following the law signed by Governor Reynolds bans certain types of books from school library shelves. The author of Friday Night Lights Buzz Bissinger criticized the district after the title was removed — he says the book contains no sexual content in the Cedar Rapids Gazette. DES MOINES (IRN) – The People’s Choice Award for Best New Food of the Iowa State Fair was announced. A deep-fried bacon brisket mac-n-cheese grilled cheese from What’s Your Cheez won the contest, according to the Des Moines Register.

DES MOINES (IRN) – Police have made an arrest in connection to a fire at a hotel in Des Moines. WHO-13 reports 33-year-old Richard Thompson has been charged with first degree arson. He’s accused of being involved in his second hotel-related fire over the past year, and allegedly started a fire at the Fleur Lodge on Monday. CEDAR RAPIDS (IRN) – A Cedar Rapids man is accused of abusing a young child. KCRG-TV reports Jeffrey Wayne Beaman has been charged with three counts of 2nd degree sexual abuse in connection to the case. Beaman turned himself into police this week. DES MOINES (IRN) – Sunday featured a record breaking crowd at the Iowa State Fair. KCCI-TV reports 114,937 is the most who have attended day four of the festivities — breaking the previous high mark set in 2017. On Monday, 100,214 people attended — nearly 12,000 more than in 2022. ANKENY (IRN) – Iowa-based Casey’s General Stores is continuing acquiring new locations. On Tuesday, the chain announced the intent to purchase 63 stores in Kentucky and Tennessee from EG America, according to the Des Moines Register.

DES MOINES (IRN) – Police have identified a man who they believe drowned at Saylorville Lake over the weekend. WHO-13 reports Rober Mayberry, Jr., died while swimming at the Party Cove of the southeast area of the lake Saturday. Witnesses told the Polk County Sheriff’s Office that Mayberry was last seen swimming before going missing. His body was found Sunday morning. OSCEOLA (IRN) – An Osceola man died in a high speed crash in Clarke County. KCCI-TV reports the Iowa State Patrol is investigating after 24-year-old Dignan Forry was driving at a high rate of speed when he lost control of his vehicle and crashed. A passenger was flown with injuries by helicopter to a Des Moines Hospital. BUCKINGHAN (IRN) – One person has died after an apparent explosion in Tama County. KCRG-TV reports several emergency crews responded to a residence near Buckingham on Monday morning. Neighbors told the TV station the explosion scattered debris in the area. A body was found near the residence as well. IOWA CITY (IRN) – The college football season is on the horizon, and the Iowa Hawkeyes will start 2023 in the AP Top 25 Poll. The Des Moines Register reports the football team is No. 25, as voted on by various members of the media. This is the fourth time in five years the Hawkeyes open in the AP Poll.

DES MOINES – Recovery crews found the body of a man who went underwater at Saylorville Lake this weekend. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office reports that rescue crews were called out to ‘Party Cove’ on Saturday for a person who had gone missing in the water. Crews found the individual on Sunday morning, and the victim has not been identified. DES MOINES – Iowa State Fair attendance is mainly up from 2022 so far, according to KCCI-TV. As of Saturday, 306,000 people had attended the fairgrounds through the first three days of the event, an increase from just under 300,000 at that time last year. The 2022 fair had the fourth most attended on record at 1.12 million. (Not for Raccoon Valley Radio) GUTHRIE CENTER – There was an accident in Guthrie Center causing the death of a juvenile Saturday in Guthrie Center. According to the Iowa State Patrol, deputies responded to the incident where a 2002 Chevrolet Suburban driven by 45-year-old Shane Ellis of Guthrie Center was backing out of his residential driveway facing north and struck a child entering the driver’s blind side. Ellis performed life saving measures until rescue personnel could arrive. The juvenile was later pronounced dead at the scene (Not for KNIA/KRLS) KNOXVILLE – Kyle Larson became a two time winner of the Nos Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals Saturday. Larson led all 50 laps in a dominating performance in front of a sellout crowd at Knoxville Raceway.

IOWA (IRN) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture projects the annual corn crop yield should increase in 2023, especially as harvest begins to loom. The August projections show the forecast for the state is 2.62 billion bushels, up six percent from last year, with an average of 2023 bushels per acre. Soybean and oat production is expected to be down from 2022, at five and two percent respectively. DES MOINES (IRN) – One of Iowa’s biggest employers is once again requiring in-person working. Principal Financial told most of their local workers that they will need to report to the office at least three days per week by November 6th, according to Axios Des Moines. This comes as many downtown Des Moines employers are shrinking their footprint. The Des Moines Register reports Nationwide and Wells Fargo are among the employers selling their downtown spaces. CEDAR RAPIDS (IRN) – An Iowa man was found not guilty for driving through a crowd of abortion-rights protestors. David Alan Huston is not guilty of assault and fleeing the scene, according to KWWL. A group was protesting in front of a federal courthouse in Cedar Rapids following the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2023, when Huston drove by. He claimed that the protestors swarmed his vehicle and blocked traffic when he had a green light. One woman was hit in the ensuing collision. ***Not for KNIA/KRLS*** KNOXVILLE (IRN) – Thousands of race fans have gathered in the Sprint Car Capital of the World for the 62nd NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals. The biggest sprint car racing weekend in the world features dozens of drivers from across the globe competing for the most prestigious title in the sport — Knoxville Nationals Champion. Eleven-time title winner Donny Schatz (shots) won the crown in 2022. He is in the field of finalists racing tonight in Knoxville.