FORT DODGE, IA (IRN) – One of the Fort Dodge parents accused of drowning their newborn daughter in a bathtub is asking for different public defenders. Brandon Thoma and Taylor Blaha are charged with first-degree murder. Blaha submitted a letter to the judge asking for a new public attorney because she did not think her current representation had her best interest in mind. The letter also said she didn’t understand what they told her or what was on the court documents and asked the judge to consider her learning disability in the decision. WAUKEE, IA (IRN) – Firefighters are investigating a fire at a commercial building in Waukee. The fire originated in the bailing room of the building. Firefighters say a machine malfunctioned, causing a spark which led to the fire. The “bailing” process compacts paper scraps into recycling, after which the paper is used to make phone books. MARION, IA (IRN) – The Linn-Mar Board of Education is urging families to push back on Governor Kim Reynolds’ plan to divert taxpayer funds for Iowa families wanting to go to private schools. They say public schools are already underfunded and have been under attack and this latest proposal is “the greatest blow yet.” CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – The artist who made a sculpture will pay to remove her sculpture from the Hotel at Kirkwood Community College after she sued, claiming the college had mutilated it. Molly Mason designed the sculpture as a water fountain when it was installed when the hotel opened in 2008. She filed a lawsuit in 2021 claiming Kirkwood had altered her work by removing the water feature and replacing it with plants around the base, referring to it as an “overgrown planter.”

DYERSVILLE, IA (IRN) – Emergency services responded to an incident where two people fell 20 feet from a portable scaffold in Dyersville on Thursday, with one person left injured and another dying of his injuries. HAWKEYE, IA (IRN) – A Fayette County woman has been arrested for attempted murder after allegedly striking her husband multiple times in the head with a sword. The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office said deputies responded to a home in rural Hawkeye for a report of domestic assault on Wednesday. First responders found a 70-year-old man with severe lacerations to the head. The assault happened after a verbal argument between the man and 58-year-old Kim Renee Cannon, from Hawkeye. MONTICELLO, IA (IRN) – The Jones County Attorney says the man who shot and killed Patrick O’Brine while O’Brine was breaking into his home was justified in shooting him. The audio from the 911 call reveals screaming and three shots fired by the homeowner, two of which struck O’Brine. Investigators say O’Brine broke into the basement of the home and approached the homeowner wearing a ski mask and armed. He was shot and killed by the homeowner. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – After gaining approval from the Senate Appropriations Committee Thursday, the governor’s proposal to use taxpayer money to fund private school scholarships is ready for debate and a full vote on the Senate floor. Rules have been changed so the House version of the governor’s ‘school choice’ plan is exempt from the traditional budgetary process in the House Appropriations or Ways and Means Committees. This means we won’t know the budgetary impact of the legislation. IOWA (IRN) – Yesterday’s snowstorm is the first to impact much of Iowa in 2023. The temperatures stayed at and above freezing through the night, so the snow has been melting overnight. The most snow in the state fell in the Sac County town of Auburn, with 10.4 inches.

ANKENY, IA (IRN) – Two Des Moines bar owners are charged with using a GPS device to stalk a woman. Steven McFadden was arrested again. McFadden is the owner of the Grumpy Goat restaurants and Tipsy Crow bar in the metro. The owner of Zora Bar and Rooftop, Edwin Allen, was also arrested Wednesday morning on similar charges of stalking and harassment. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Des Moines police officers involved in the shooting death of a teen will not be criminally charged. The Iowa Attorney General’s Office announced Wednesday, it has completed its review of the Dec. 26 shooting of the 16-year-old and found the officers were justified. The teen, identified only as “T.J.,” was shot and killed inside an apartment. The Attorney General’s Office said it reviewed an investigation by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, including body camera video worn by all the officers involved in the shooting. ​​DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowans on SNAP benefits could see some major restrictions with the program and at the grocery store if House Republicans get their way. More than 250,000 Iowans rely on SNAP benefits, but a new plan by the GOP in the Iowa House may make it harder for families to qualify for assistance. The newly proposed changes would restrict SNAP recipients to buy only WIC-approved foods. SNAP is a federal program, not a state one. OSCEOLA, IA (IRN) – The severe weather system that dumped snow and freezing rain across Iowa Wednesday night and Thursday morning, caused long-haul truck drivers to stop their journeys through the state earlier than usual. Truck stops were filled up across much of the area.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A money mystery is unfolding behind an apartment complex on the southeast side of Des Moines. Automated teller machines keep showing up in a wooded area behind the building. One of the tenants calls police every time he sees a new one. So far, he says he has discovered eleven ATM’s this month. All are broken open and the money is gone. SIOUX CITY, IA (IRN) – A 23-year-old Sioux City man has been charged in the death of a woman who was shot while she was calling an emergency dispatcher. Sarah Zoelle called 911 Saturday night and was pleading for help, saying her boyfriend, Austyn Self, was pointing a gun at her. A 911 dispatcher then heard a gunshot. Officers say Zoelle was holding a 6-month-old child in her arms when they found her suffering from a gunshot wound. She died later at a hospital. Two other young children were in the house. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Public feedback indicates the Iowa school choice bill is widely unpopular. New numbers came in Tuesday evening after a public hearing was held to discuss Gov. Reynolds’ controversial new school choice bill in Des Moines. 73% of Iowans who gave feedback came out against the Students First Act; more than 1,200 Iowans said they don’t want their taxpayer dollars going to private schools. The other 27%, around 440 people, indicated they were in favor of the plan. AMES, IA (IRN) – Jaren Holmes scored 21 points, and the No. 12 Iowa State Men’s basketball team defeated No. 7 Texas 78-67 on Tuesday night.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A winter storm watch has been issued for much of Iowa from 12 p.m. Wednesday until 9 a.m. Thursday. This system will bring a swath of heavy snow across the state. Snow will start early afternoon Wednesday and continue through early Thursday morning, with the heaviest falling Wednesday night. WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Police are investigating an attempted murder-suicide in West Des Moines. Police responded to a 911 call from a woman saying that she had been shot by her boyfriend. When they arrived at the scene, police found the injured woman with a gunshot wound to her head and a man who was deceased from an apparent gunshot wound. The woman was transported to the hospital with serious injuries. Evidence indicates that the shooting was an attempted murder of the woman before the man turned the weapon on himself. CHICKASAW COUNTY, IA (IRN) – An Iowa man is facing multiple charges, including vehicular homicide, for a 2022 OWI-related crash that killed his 18-year-old son. A traffic stop was attempted in September 2022 by a Chickasaw County Deputy Sheriff. 38-year-old Curtis Allen Williams refused to stop. The pursuit reached speeds over 105 mph when Williams failed to negotiate a curve, causing the vehicle to roll. His 18-year-old son, Jaxon, was pronounced dead at the scene. DURANT, IA (IRN) – An Iowa woman is dead after a head-on crash with a FedEx truck in Cedar County. The crash happened on Saturday near Durant. A car was driving eastbound on I-80, and a Fedex truck was heading westbound. The car ended up hitting the truck head-on. Rebecca McClaine, from Bettendorf, was driving the car and died. She wasn’t wearing her seatbelt. IOWA COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Multiple spotters reported a tornado on the ground in Iowa County around Williamsburg on Monday around 2 p.m. The National Weather Service confirmed that the tornado was an EF1 with maximum windspeeds of around 90 mph. The tornado traveled less than 5 miles and was on the ground for about 8 minutes. No injuries were reported. This is the first tornado in Iowa in January since 1967.