DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The head of Des Moines Public Schools will receive a $400,000 payout after announcing his resignation. Superintendent Tom Ahart’s contract goes through June 2023, but he’ll only work until the end of this school year. Ahart is ending a 15-year career with the Des Moines school system. He says he is stepping down because of stress these past two years. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A man is dead after he crashed a pickup truck into a parking lot near the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines Monday. The 24-year-old driver, who was the only one in the truck, hit several utility poles and multiple unoccupied vehicles before coming to a stop. ORIENT, IA (IRN) – The storm which left an EF-4 tornado near Winterset on March 5 also caused major disruptions in the town of Orient. A hailstorm dropped baseball sized hail on homes, cars and the Orient-Macksburg School. The school suffered roof and water damage, as well as hail damage to school vehicles. The school remains closed ten days after the storm. DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – Over the past weekend, Davenport police officers responded to calls involving kids shooting water-based gel beads at unsuspecting motorists. It’s a TikTok trend that may distract a driver and cause a crash. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa lawmakers want to make Daylight Saving Time in Iowa permanent. Federal law says states can exempt themselves from Daylight Saving Time and use standard time year-round, but it’s illegal to do it the other way. If this bill passes and Congress allows it to take effect the sun will rise after 8 am in January, 8:45 am at its latest point. Critics say there’s a reason Congress only allows states to opt out of daylight saving time by sticking with standard time year round.

LAKE VIEW, IA (IRN) – An Iowa high school teacher has been arrested for allegedly sexually abusing one of her students. According to the Sac County Sheriff’s Office, 34-year-old Stefanie Kelsey of Sac City, was arrested Friday. She is charged with three counts of third-degree sexual abuse. The investigation found Kelsey had been having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old male student at East Sac County High School. WICHITA, KA (IRN) – Three children from Johnston were killed in a car crash on Saturday in Kansas. The car veered onto the opposite side of the highway and crashed into a tractor-trailer. The children were ages 7, 10 and 12. The driver of the car was taken to the hospital with serious injuries. BONDURANT, IA (IRN) – An Ankeny woman has been charged in the January death of 77-year-old Lynne Harriet Stewart. A 30-year-old employee of Courtyard Estates was charged in the case. Catherine Forkpa is charged with dependent adult abuse and intentional reckless abuse. Stewart was staying at the facility in Bondurant, which is an assisted living facility for people with dementia. IOWA (IRN) – The Iowa State Cyclones are heading back to the NCAA tournament, one season after losing 20 games. The Cyclones are the 11th seed in the Midwest region, taking on the 6th-seeded LSU Tigers on Friday in Milwaukee. IOWA (IRN) – The newly crowned Big Ten Tournament champion Iowa Hawkeyes are heading to Buffalo for the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The 5th-seeded Hawkeyes will take on the 12th-seeded Richmond Spiders on Thursday. IOWA (IRN) – The Iowa and Iowa State women’s basketball team learned their NCAA Tournament opening round opponents yesterday. Iowa was announced as the 2-seed in the Greensboro region and will host Illinois State in Iowa City on Friday. Iowa State was announced as the 3-seed in the Greensboro region and will host UT-Arlington on Friday in Ames. The stage is now set for a potential Cy-Hawk sweet 16 matchup if both teams win their first two games.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – State and federal officials said Friday that Iowa’s third case of bird flu has been identified in a flock of about 919,000 egg-laying chickens in the southwestern part of the state. The latest outbreak in Taylor County is the first case of avian influenza in Iowa this year in an egg-laying facility. The previous Iowa cases were a small outbreak among an outdoor flock of ducks and chickens in western Iowa on March 1 and in a flock of 50,000 turkeys in northwest Iowa on March 6. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – More than 100 students at Central Academy walked out Friday afternoon in protest of the state’s new law banning transgender girls from participating in girls’ sports at the K-12 and college levels. The students marched several blocks up Grand Avenue to the Governor’s Mansion, chanting and holding signs supporting transgender rights. SPENCER, IA (IRN) – Staff at the Spencer Hospital in Spencer, Iowa, have loaded a van of medical supplies to send to Ukraine, including items for trauma care, surgery, and orthopedic treatment. Employees from the hospital’s supply chain and plant ops teams gathered the supplies and took them to Red Oak. From there, the supplies will be shipped. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Just 4 years after Maddie Poppie won American Idol, another Iowa native is stepping up and competing on the show. Haley Slaton from Cedar Rapids auditioned in front of Luke Bryan, Katy Perry, and Lionel Richie on the 20th season of the singing competition reality show. Her audition airs Sunday, March 20th. Wish her good luck.

WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A West Des Moines man is in jail after being charged with two counts of child endangerment. Antoine Scott allegedly locked a child in a bedroom and left him in filthy conditions. Police found used diapers, alcohol bottles, and soiled child’s clothing in the room. Police say the child also suffered injuries to his head, face and mouth. Scott is being held in the Polk County Jail without bond. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A fire started at Lost Island Theme Park in Waterloo last night. The fire is in the new amusement park section that is scheduled to open in May or June of this year. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A state panel responsible for tracking Iowa revenue trends says growth continues at a good pace but that tax changes signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds last week will reverse that trend beginning next year. The Revenue Estimating Conference said Thursday that state revenue will grow 4.3% this year, but will fall 0.2% next year. The revenue decline is due to the estimated loss of $236 million in tax revenue. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – The Iowa City Community School District is considering a four-day school week all year round.The school board discussed it at a meeting on Tuesday, with the superintendent presenting two draft calendars. They showed a plan where school days would generally run Monday through Thursday. The calendar would include extended breaks throughout the year, including several weeks off in the summer. The superintendent said the new model could address the “summer slide,” and help retain teachers. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – After Monday’s tragic shooting, classes at East High School have been canceled for the week. But many students from schools across the metro are showing their support. Thursday was Scarlet Day. As a sign of solidarity, students and staff from across Des Moines and beyond wore red and black in support of East High School.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Governor Kim Reynolds announced her re-election bid last night in Des Moines. Recent polling shows Reynolds leading her Democratic challenger Deidre Dejear by eight percentage points. STORY COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A teenager is facing felony charges for allegedly setting three fires in the town of Maxwell oover the last two months. The suspect is a 17-year-old. The teen was arrested after a school bus was set on fire at Collins-Maxwell High School, and there were two fires set at a Casey’s location in Maxwell last month. POLK COUNTY, IA (IRN) – The National Weather Service says a technical problem caused severe weather warnings in Iowa on Saturday to be delayed by minutes. They say the backlog was traced to a “damaged fiber optic cable” at a network hub in Texas. OMAHA, NE (IRN) – Ron Stander, whose fight against unbeaten world heavyweight champion Joe Frazier in 1972 was the highlight of his 13-year career, has died of complications of diabetes at his home near Omaha. He was 77. Stander was known as the “Bluffs Butcher,” a nod to both his hometown of Council Bluffs, Iowa, and his aggressive, brawling style. He was 38-21-3 in a professional career that spanned the years 1969-82.