Author: Iowa Radio News

PLEASANT HILL, IA (IRN) – A Des Moines man is recovering after being shot near a Casey’s convenience store in Pleasant Hill on Tuesday night. When police arrived, they found a man in his 30s suffering from a wound. Donald Hutchins, of Indiana, was identified as a person of interest. He has since been charged with possession of a firearm by a felon. The investigation is ongoing.

CEDAR FALLS, IA (IRN) – The man rescued from an apartment fire on October 21 has died from his injuries. Crews in Black Hawk County got the call for a fire alarm and found light smoke in the hallways, and an apartment with heavy black smoke and flames. Firefighters rescued an unresponsive 67-year-old Douglas Fairbank from the apartment and performed life-saving measures. He was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, where he later passed away.

IOWA (IRN) – Alcohol use is rapidly rising in the Hawkeye State. Sixty percent of those polled in a new statewide survey say they are drinking more since the pandemic. Forty-five percent cite stress as a reason for drinking more. 22.8% of Iowans report binge drinking.

IOWA (IRN) – Several candidates for the Iowa statehouse changed their addresses to run in specific districts this November. One candidate, Republican Majority Leader Sen. Jack Whitver (R-Grimes), claims to reside in a home where records show hasn’t used water since February. Iowa law requires candidates for the state legislature have residency for at least 60 days before the general election along with living in the state for one year.

ENGLAND (IRN) – The Ohio State and Iowa Marching Bands displayed a tribute to Elton John at Saturday’s football game halftime show which earned them a nod from the singing legend himself. The performance featured a medley of John’s greatest hits, from Crocodile Rock to Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, in addition to an array of exciting formations, including images of John playing the piano. The inventive performance caught John’s attention, prompting him to thank both bands.

IOWA (IRN) – More than half of Iowans surveyed in a new Des Moines Register poll are set to support the new state amendment proposal that would add gun rights to the state’s constitution. According to the new poll, 58% of people surveyed say they’ll vote for the amendment this election season, while 37% say they’ll vote no.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines police have arrested a man in connection with a Saturday morning shooting that sent one man to the hospital with critical injuries. A driver crashed into a parked vehicle, and when officers arrived, they discovered the 22-year-old man who was driving was suffering from a gunshot wound. 18-year-old Christopher Wessels Jr., of Des Moines, was charged with attempted murder and robbery in connection with the shooting. Apparently it was a drug deal that went wrong.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA (IRN) – The Des Moines’ Hoover High School football coach claims players and fans from Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson High School threatened his players and used racial slurs after the game Friday night. The game was the final game of the season for each team, and Thomas Jefferson beat Hoover, winning their only game of the season.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A new Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll shows a majority of Iowans, 61%, believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases. 33% say it should be illegal in most or all cases and 6% are not sure.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A new cleaner, and more convenient way for people to redeem bottles and cans is coming to the Des Moines metro. Droppett! is opening to the public soon and will allow people to drop cans off in bags and then send money directly to their bank accounts.

WARREN COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A confirmed mountain lion is on the move just south of Des Moines on the southwest side of Indianola. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources confirmed it was a mountain lion and is moving east.

ST. CHARLES COUNTY, MO (IRN) – Two Iowans died after a crash in Missouri early Sunday morning. The Missouri State Patrol reports that a man was driving drunk and struck the rear of another vehicle, killing Steven Anderson, 59, and Kristi Anderson, 61, of West Des Moines. The drunk driver then went off the road and into a ditch. The driver was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated, which resulted in death.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – One person is dead following an early morning shooting in Iowa City. Shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday, police responded to the H-Bar for a report of multiple shots fired in an alley. When police arrived they found a man had been shot; he was taken to an area hospital where he later died.

AMES, IA (IRN) – Advertised as “Italy’s No. 1 brand of pasta,” the popular pasta brand Barilla will face a lawsuit over allegedly misleading consumers to believe that products made in the United States were actually made in the motherland of pasta, Italy. Ames, Iowa became home to the company’s first U.S. manufacturing facility in 1998. A federal judge found that the company’s phrase, “Italy’s No.1 brand of pasta,” could mislead consumers to believe that the pasta is made in Italy. Barilla also features the green, red and white colors of the Italian flag on the signature blue boxes.

IOWA (IRN) – Wind advisories were issued early Sunday for most of central and western Iowa, with wind gusts of up to 50 mph observed. The advisory came along with near-record high temperatures and low humidity for much of the state.

WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A man wanted for allegedly trying to kill his pregnant girlfriend in a July 4th shooting in West Des Moines is now behind bars in the Polk County Jail. Brandon Cameron,19, allegedly shot at a home at least eight times after his girlfriend refused to come outside. Four other people were inside at the time of the shooting.

CEDAR FALLS, IA (IRN) – An apartment building fire in Cedar Falls Friday afternoon is now under investigation after crews had to rescue an unresponsive male from the scene. The man suffered life-threatening injuries and was taken to a local hospital.

DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – Dubuque Police responded to an altercation outside the Dubuque Community School District Alta Vista campus between several adults and students on Friday morning. Officers and school staff intervened in the disturbance, separated all parties involved, and dispersed the crowd. There were no major injuries reported.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa grocery giant Hy-Vee is looking to India to fill open IT positions. The company said the change will allow 24-hour work on its apps and websites. Hy-Vee says it will continue to have IT positions here in Iowa. Earlier this year, Hy-Vee cut a total of 415 corporate jobs in its IT, engineering, equipment, real estate and construction departments.

DALLAS COUNTY, IA (IRN) – The fall migration of wild birds has brought the bird flu back to Iowa. The Iowa Department of Agriculture confirmed the first case in the state since May was found in a noncommercial flock in Dallas County. The flock had 48 birds in it. It’s the first time bird flu has been detected in the county. Last spring, there was a massive outbreak of the bird flu in Iowa. Nearly 13.4 million birds were affected, including 15 commercial flocks, and four backyard flocks were detected.

KEOKUK, IA (IRN) – A southeast Iowa man died Wednesday after the bicycle he was riding was hit by a vehicle in Keokuk. Clark Pfeiferling, 57 of Keokuk, was riding a bicycle when the bike was struck from behind by a vehicle driven by 70-year-old Sharon Robey of Niota, Illinois. The bike ended up under the vehicle. Pfeiferling died from his injuries.

CEDAR FALLS, IA (IRN) – A former bank vice president who submitted false documents to the bank for whom he worked was sentenced to federal prison on Thursday. 59-year-old Bradley Schlotfeldt pled guilty to one count of making a false statement to a financial institution. Schlotfeldt submitted false documents related to multiple loans that led to the bank writing off nearly $7,00,000 in bad loans. Schlotfeldt was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay $3,000,000 in restitution.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Food Bank of Iowa has supplied the Des Moines Area Religious Council’s food pantries for nearly 50 years. Now, a majority of them will find other ways to fill their shelves because of a contract dispute. The Food Bank of Iowa announced eleven of DMARC’s fifteen affiliated food pantries did not sign an updated contract and will no longer cooperate with the agency.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources now says the “possible mountain lion” in Des Moines was really someone’s house cat. Des Moines Police posted on Facebook Thursday, saying the sighting was reported in the Gray’s Woods neighborhood on the city’s east side. The DNR confirmed the video showed a mountain lion, but since corrected their statement. A DNR spokesperson says the video was grainy and small, so it was hard to tell. The spokesperson apologized for any confusion it may have caused.