DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A former Des Moines lawyer and current assistant attorney general for the state is suing the Des Moines Police Department. Paxton Williams, who is Black, claims he was tackled, pepper-sprayed, and handcuffed for no reason during a 2020 racial justice protest in Des Moines. He said that police caused the violence that erupted that day. IOWA (IRN) – The Iowa DCI’s Criminalistics Laboratory analyzed over 17,000 fentanyl pills disguised as prescription drugs in the state in 2021. In the first six months of 2022, the number has already quadrupled to over 70,000 fentanyl pills disguised as prescription drugs. Governor Kim Reynolds says it’s President Biden’s fault for not securing the border. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Dozens of protestors drove laps around Terrace Hill Tuesday asking Governor Reynolds to step in and stop a carbon capture pipeline from being built. Earlier Tuesday morning, the same protesters filled the Iowa Utilities Board meeting — asking the voting members to deny three companies permits to build carbon capture pipelines through hundreds of miles of Iowa farmland. Some say the pipelines will contribute to the climate crisis, ruin topsoil, pose a danger to the small Iowa communities and won’t save the ethanol industry. AMES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has dispatched wildland firefighters to Alaska, Texas, and Colorado as wildfires continue to scorch areas out west. The fire program has been sending Iowa wildland firefighters to national incidents since 2006.

TAMA COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A lawsuit has been filed to stop new wind turbine projects in Tama County. The lawsuit claims the county board of supervisors violated the state’s open meeting law. The group “Tama County Against Turbines” says the board didn’t post that they’d be voting on an ordinance related to turbines and they didn’t hold a public hearing. The issue surrounds two wind farm projects in the area. The lawsuit asks a judge to void a May vote on turbine regulations and stop any new construction or expansion of existing wind farms. Wind energy accounts for more than half of the state’s electricity generation. WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A semi-truck driver is dead after a crash at the intersection of Highway 5 and Interstate 35 in West Des Moines Monday night. Police say the driver was trying to merge but lost control and crashed into a ditch. CEDAR FALLS, IA (IRN) – A Cedar Falls woman was attacked by her dog and sustained serious injuries Monday. Police say the owner was transported via ambulance to a nearby hospital. Black Hawk County Animal Control removed the dog from the residence. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A Cedar Rapids woman was hit by a train shortly before 2:00 am Sunday. There’s no word on her condition. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Polk County Health Department has confirmed the first case of monkeypox in the county. The patient likely contracted the virus during recent travel within the United States. The person is isolating and receiving outpatient care. Monkeypox is a viral infection that is spread through skin-to-skin contact, through body fluids or through shared bedding or clothing. A vaccine is available.

IOWA (IRN) – Strong to severe thunderstorms moved through Iowa this morning producing winds upward of 80 mph. The hardest hit was the Highway 30 corridor in central Iowa where large trees and branches were downed and buildings destroyed. ALTOONA, IA (IRN) – Two people are recovering in the hospital following an early morning house fire in Altoona on Sunday. Firefighters rescued a couple trapped inside the house. The cause of the fire is unknown. LINN COUNTY, IA (IRN) – The Linn County Sheriff’s Office says a motorcyclist was hurt after colliding with a deer Saturday. Robert Oxendine, 41, of Fairfax, was riding his motorcycle westbound on Highway 100 when he hit a deer, lost control of his motorcycle, and crashed into the ditch. He wasn’t wearing a helmet. VINTON, IA (IRN) – The Vinton Public Library closed its doors indefinitely on Friday afternoon after the interim director quit. The closure is due to complaints coming from the public. The last two directors left after residents complained about the book displays, claiming there were too many LGBTQ topics and not enough Christian books. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Thousands of reproductive rights advocates from all over Iowa gathered at the Iowa State Capitol on Sunday to protest the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade. Abortion is still legal in Iowa, but it is anticipated the legislature will take up the issue when it returns in January.

IOWA (IRN) – The U.S. Marshals Northern Iowa Fugitive Task Force conducted an operation that lead to 13 fugitive sex offenders in the state being located and arrested. Officials say the arrests lead to the recovery of two firearms, multiple rounds of ammunition, narcotics, and three new criminal cases. All fugitives arrested were in non-compliant status with Iowa’s Sex Offender Registry laws. FORT DODGE, IA (IRN) – A 14-year-old boy in Fort Dodge was arrested for allegedly stabbing another juvenile Thursday night. Fort Dodge police responded to a report of a fight at a park. Witnesses told officers that someone had been stabbed and a suspect had been chased into a house. Police found the 14-year-old suspect inside the house and took him into custody. The victim is a 17-year-old male. LOUISVILLE, KY (IRN) – There’s tragic news out of Kentucky connected to a future Iowa Hawkeye. The father of Ava Jones, who committed to play basketball at the University of Iowa five days ago, has passed away, three days after Louisville police said the Jones family was hit by a car while walking on the sidewalk. Ava and her mom are still unconscious. ELGIN, IA (IRN) – A 9-year-old is thanking the man she says rescued her during a close call on the Turkey River near Elgin last month. She was tubing with her family when she got separated, floated toward a brush pile in the river, and went under water. The man was able to pull her out when she popped up because she was wearing a life vest. They went their separate ways, but were later able to reconnect by social media.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A Cedar Rapids woman was arrested Tuesday on over 25 charges of identity theft from multiple victims, and a string of fraudulent purchases and financial accounts that resulted in tens of thousands of dollars in losses for the victims. Police say 44-year-old Jennifer Smith used the identity of at least four different people for her personal financial gain. TAYLOR COUNTY, IA (IRN) – The beach at Lake of Three Fires in Taylor County is closed temporarily for swimming. The closure is because of Naegleria fowleri, also known as the “brain-eating amoeba.” A Missouri resident has a confirmed infection after they were potentially exposed while swimming at the lake. Authorities are conducting tests to confirm if the amoeba, which can cause rare life-threatening brain infections, is in the lake. Infections can only occur if the contaminated water gets up a swimmer’s nose, and cannot be spread from one person to another. USA (IRN) – The nation’s largest food distributor has joined other businesses accusing the four largest meat processors of working together to inflate beef prices. Sysco recently filed a federal lawsuit accusing Tyson Foods, JBS, Cargill, and National Beef of price-fixing. The lawsuit says the companies have conspired to suppress the number of cattle slaughtered to help drive up the price of beef. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Wells Fargo announced another round of layoffs in the Des Moines metro, more than doubling the number of workers at the banking giant who have lost jobs in central Iowa so far this year. A total of 197 people have lost their jobs because of a downturn in the housing market. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Approximately 40% of Mediacom subscribers in Iowa were left without service Tuesday afternoon. Mediacom says the outage was caused by a software bug to a large router operated by a third-party. The company has installed software updates and rebooted its system since the outage.