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.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A former Linn County Deputy is in custody on federal child pornography charges. On July 1, 2021, a search warrant was served by the FBI on the Marion residence of Linn County Special Deputy Sheriff Gordon Grabau. BATTLE CREEK, IA (IRN) – First responders were on the scene of an explosion at a rural farm house in Battle Creek, about 50 miles southeast of Sioux City on Wednesday. Three people were injured. The cause of the explosion is unknown. IOWA CITY (IRN) – Nezzy Conway, 23, of Iowa City is being identified as the suspect who authorities said came into the Guidelink Center building in Iowa City on Tuesday and began physically assaulting staff members. Conway is in custody at the Johnson County Jail. He is being charged by University of Iowa Police with Terrorism and Possession of Incendiary or Explosive Device from a related investigation. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Governor Kim Reynolds has issued disaster declarations of Emmet, Hancock, O’Brien, and Winnebago counties after Tuesday night’s storms. CORALVILLE, IA (IRN) – The Coralville Police Department is remembering Sgt. John Williams. Williams, who worked on the force for more than 28 years, had a medical emergency after responding to a shooting involving a child on Sunday. Sergeant John Williams’ duties included being a patrol shift and field training supervisor. He was “Officer of the Year” for the department in 1999.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Two Des Moines police officers have filed a civil suit against Des Moines Black Lives Matter for allegedly diverting officers from responding to incidents of violence during protests in the summer of 2020. Officers Peter Wilson and Jeffrey George filed the suit in connection to events that occurred during protests at the Iowa State Capitol on July 1, 2020. LOVILIA, IA (IRN) – Betty Werner, a 33-year-old woman from Lovilia, was shot and killed, wrapped in bedding and debris and left in a wooded area in Monroe County on an unknown date recently. Her husband, 41-year-old Nathan Werner, killed her before eventually killing himself after law enforcement came to the couple’s home to investigate Betty’s homicide. She had been shot multiple times. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Iowa City Police responded to an unnamed facility on Tuesday to a report of a man entering the building and assaulting staff members. Upon responders’ arrival, the man reportedly began assaulting law enforcement officers until he was detained. Police say a backpack was left at the building. The Johnson County Metro Bomb Team removed the suspicious package and the area was determined to be safe. BONDURANT, IA (IRN) – The Amazon facility in Bondurant was evacuated due to threats on Tuesday. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office arrested 20-year-old Jordan Laurie. They say around 6 p.m. Tuesday, Amazon employees reported Laurie made threats to bring a gun back to the facility. He was arrested at a home in Johnston around 10:45 p.m. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Supreme Court has denied a request from Gov. Kim Reynolds to rehear the case that ended Iowa’s Constitutional Right to an abortion. The ruling denied Reynolds’ petition from last week, requesting the court revisit the ruling. The governor asked the court to establish a standard for further abortion restrictions in the state.

VAN METER, IA (IRN) – The body of a man officials say fell off his inner tube while floating on the Raccoon River Sunday has been found this morning. Emergency crews were originally called to the river in an area near Van Meter on Sunday afternoon after a man on an inner tube fell into the water and disappeared. Crews searched the river until dark Sunday and resumed their search on Monday. CORALVILLE, IA (IRN) – An investigation is underway after a boy from Coralville died from apparent gunshot injuries. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation says 3-year-old Damaria Sanders, of Coralville, died Sunday at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. The boy suffered gunshot wounds earlier that day inside his home. LOVILIA, IA (IRN) – A homicide investigation is underway in Lovilia (low-VIL-uh). Authorities found a woman’s body in a rural part of the county. Deputies were not able to make contact with the victim’s husband. When they went to the man’s home, he refused to come out. A negotiation team was called to his home to de-escalate the situation with the man. He died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. WEBSTER CITY, IA (IRN) – A man from the Hamilton County town of Kamrar is dead after the car he was driving crashed through the front window of a home near Webster City Saturday. The Iowa State Patrol said 32-year-old Jory Lanken, of Kamrar, ran a stop sign, entered a ditch and went airborne before plowing through the window. No one was home at the time. Lanken was trapped in the car and pronounced dead at the scene. BOONE COUNTY, IA (IRN) – There will soon be a new way for sight-seers to experience the beauty of central Iowa’s Des Moines River valley. Starting this month, nature lovers will be able to pedal down the tracks of the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad on four-wheeled, motor-assisted, open-air carts also known as rail bikes. On July 21 Rail Explorers USA will open its 12.4-mile round-trip tour, which winds along the Des Moines River and features a crossover of the 156-foot-tall Bass Point Creek High Bridge.

BUTLER COUNTY, IA (IRN) – One adult and two children were injured after their car crashed into a train on Sunday in Parkersburg. According to an Iowa State Patrol crash report, Aleshia Meeks, 28, failed to yield to a train that was traveling westbound. Meeks was critically injured and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. Two children aged four and one were also injured and taken to hospitals. VAN METER, IA (IRN) – Dallas County authorities are searching for a man who went underwater in the Raccoon River. At about 4:30 p.m. Sunday, rescue crews from several metro-area agencies rushed to the scene in Van Meter. Initial reports indicated that tubers were in distress. A man in his mid-30s went underwater, and authorities have not found him as of Sunday night. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A new fiscal year started on Friday, with state departments dealing with new budgets. There are also several new laws that are officially in place as of July 1. Among them are big changes to the state’s unemployment system. The number of weeks one is able to claim an unemployment check was reduced from 26 to16 weeks. IOWA (IRN) – High heat and humidity as well as chances for thunderstorms are set to dominate the forecast this week, and today will kick things off with both. First, thunderstorms will be possible across Central and Northern Iowa through the morning hours. Once the scattered showers and storms are out of the way, the extra humidity from any rain that may fall plus another warm south wind, will push heat index values over 100 into the 105 degree range by the afternoon. A Heat Advisory will kick in at 1 p.m. for much of the state.