STORY COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A former Iowa church pastor is accused of drugging and sexually abusing a child more than a decade ago. 68-year-old Mark Benson allegedly abused the girl several times at his home in Cambridge from 2009 to 2012. The victim was between the ages of 10 and 13 at the time. She told police Benson gave her medicine to make her sleep before he abused her. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines police say they confiscated a record number of guns in the city last year. They collected 780 guns in 2022 compared to 640 guns which was the average for the previous three years. Police say it’s almost become routine for officers to find guns at crime scenes. MARENGO, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is claiming that C-6 Zero is not following through on its promises to clean up the site after a massive explosion rocked the facility in December. According to officials, exposed chemicals and hazardous materials are still left in the damaged building. CORALVILLE, IA (IRN) – Iowa has the highest average radon levels of any state, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services said the invisible, tasteless, odorless, radioactive gas is the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the state, leading to an estimated 400 deaths annually.

GRINNELL, IA (IRN) – Police say a shooting at an apartment complex in Grinnell was self-defense. Grinnell police arrested Cody McCall and Logan Moline in connection to the Dec. 29, 2022 shooting. They face assault and burglary charges. The two men allegedly broke into the victim’s apartment and attacked him, with McCall trying to stab the victim in the throat with a kitchen knife. That’s when the victim shot McCall twice in the chest. McCall and Moline ran from the apartment. Police say they caught Moline quickly after he slipped on ice. McCall told police he attacked the victim to keep him from using his gun. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – The Iowa State Medical Examiner’s office has identified the human remains found on December 30 as missing Cedar Rapids employee Erik Spaw. Hunters found the body in the Cedar River on Friday. Erik Spaw, an employee with the Cedar Rapids Water Division, was reported missing after his city-owned fleet vehicle was recovered from the Cedar River. Spaw’s family believes complications from Spaw’s Type 1 Diabetes contributed to his crash. WASHINGTON, D.C (IRN) – The U.S. House of Representatives still has no speaker after 11 votes over the course of three days as Republicans in the chamber are in disarray. Frontrunner Kevin McCarthy continues to come up short with a small block of Republicans voting against him. All four of Iowa’s representatives have continued to vote for McCarthy. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The new legislative session in Des Moines starts next week, and there’s an effort by Iowa’s Democratic Rural Caucus to protect public schools from Governor Kim Reynold’s controversial school voucher plan. Organizers said they’re hearing rumors that lawmakers could bring the school voucher plan to a vote their first week back at the statehouse after it failed last session. One anti-voucher advocate says, “this is really just a tax break for parents wealthy enough to send their kids to private school.” DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Brenna Bird was sworn in as Iowa’s attorney general on Thursday. Bird, a Republican, defeated Democrat Tom Miller in the November election. Miller had held the office for nearly 40 years, making him the longest-serving state attorney general in the country. Bird says one of her biggest priorities is addressing what she calls ‘government overreach.’

SAC COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A Sac County woman faces animal neglect charges after investigators say they found dead animals in her freezer. Billi Beyer was arrested on New Year’s Day. Police say they found two dead dogs in a freezer in her garage. They also found two dead cats in her home. Police say Beyer tried to run from officers before they took her into custody. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines police responded to a crash with injuries on Wednesday evening. Police say a car hit a pedestrian and the person has serious injuries. The crash is being investigated as a hit-and-run. Officers located the vehicle involved about two miles from the crash scene. CEDAR FALLS, IA (IRN) – Cedar Falls police received a report of an internal “active shooter” alarm at a Viking Pump facility yesterday. Responders helped evacuate employees and a perimeter was established. After two searches, no shooter was located and no injuries were reported. The cause of the alarm is under investigation. FAYETTE COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A Fayette County barn is considered a total loss after a fire overnight Wednesday, as well as an RV and a trailer home that were parked near the barn. No injuries were reported. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Capitol Press Association is canceling its 2023 legislative preview forum as state Republican leaders declined to participate in the event that had been held annually for more than 20 years. Gov. Kim Reynolds, Republican Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver and Republican House Speaker Pat Grassley all declined their invitations to the forum.

WAUKEE, IA (IRN) A Waukee man is charged with attempted murder after police say he struck a woman with a hammer 10 times on Tuesday. Police have charged 40-year-old Brian Andrew Huckfeldt with the crime. According to court documents, Huckfeldt told the victim he was going to kill her. He allegedly hit her in the head with a hammer once and continued to swing the hammer as she tried to block the attack. Court documents say the victim suffered permanent disfigurement from the multiple lacerations. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A 29-year-old woman died after being stabbed at a townhome in Cedar Rapids Monday evening. Police say the stabbing victim, Devonna Walker, was taken to a local hospital, where she later died. Officers detained two people to be interviewed about the incident. Both were later released. The investigation is ongoing. MARSHALLTOWN, IA (IRN) – Marshalltown police are looking for the cause of a crash that killed a man there on New Year’s Day. Police say 62-year-old Stephen Thompson died in a single-vehicle collision. ANKENY, IA (IRN) – A man tumbled out of a moving car on the I-35 East Mixmaster Tuesday morning in Ankeny. As the car rolls to a stop, video shows another person getting out of the car and approaching the man on the ground. It appears the car was going around 20 mph, but it’s unclear if the person jumped out or fell out of the car. Others stopped to help as well. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – It’s the most commonly made – and most commonly broken New Year’s resolution: plans to get back to the gym and get back in shape. Central Iowa gyms say those big self-promises make January the number-one month for new memberships. One gym owner has seen a 30% increase in memberships this year.

BUCHANNAN COUNTY, IA (IRN) – The Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a motor vehicle accident south of Hazleton this morning. The driver of a loaded semi lost control on the icy roadway and broke through a guardrail on a bridge, going over the side and coming to rest in the water below. The driver was assisted out of his vehicle and sustained only minor injuries. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The end of 2022 was met with disappointment for the Iowa State Patrol. Once again, more than 300 people died on Iowa roads over the course of the year. State leaders had hoped to keep fatalities under 300 last year, but 338 people died. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Cedar Rapids police said one person was taken to the hospital Monday night after a “weapons incident.” No other information has been released. IOWA (IRN) – Among the new laws going into effect in 2023 in Iowa is a change in the state’s “bottle bill.” Iowa grocery and convenience stores no longer have to accept customers’ empty cans or bottles. The new law also raises the handling fee for redemption centers to three cents per container. Previously, they were one cent. CEDAR RAPIDS and IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Both Cedar Rapids and Iowa City earned perfect scores for the Human Rights Campaign’s annual rating of U.S. cities for their inclusion of LGBTQ people. The cities are within a group of 120 cities nationwide to earn a perfect score of 100 on the Municipal Equality Index. The rating is calculated using factors such as non-discrimination laws, leadership on LGBTQ+ equality, law enforcement, municipal services and municipality as an employer.