Articles by Iowa Radio News

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Wednesday, December 9, 2020

ALBIA, IA (IRN) – Police in Albia are looking for the suspect involved in a hit-and-run that left a man seriously injured Sunday night. Law enforcement officers are looking for 44-year-old Joshua Burk of Lovilia. He’s accused of intentionally hitting a 36-year-old man with his vehicle. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Des Moines School Board voted unanimously Tuesday to apply for another waiver for online learning during the pandemic, even though participation by students is declining. Elementary school participation is 87%, middle school participation is 80%, and only 70% of high school students are participating. School district leaders say they are torn by a desire to bring students back to the classroom while keeping them safe. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – More than 20% of Iowa children are missing routine vaccinations this year, according to new data from Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield. It’s a trend that has the country on track to miss an estimated 9 million child vaccines in 2020, putting them at risk for disease. Officials blame Covid-19. WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden has selected former Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to be Secretary of Agriculture. Vilsack, a former governor of Iowa, served as Secretary of Agriculture during the Obama administration. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – The No. 3 Iowa Hawkeyes men’s basketball team toppled the No. 16 North Carolina Tar Heels Tuesday with a 13-point victory. After coasting to three blowout wins over smaller schools, Iowa aced its first true test of the season Tuesday night by beating North Carolina 93-80.


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Tuesday, December 8, 2020

IOWA (IRN) – Hy-Vee is hiring 500 pharmacy technicians in Iowa to expand access to COVID-19 testing and eventual vaccine distribution. The West Des Moines-based grocer announced it will fill 1,000 licensed pharmacy technician positions across the Midwest, about 500 of which will be in Iowa. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack could return to his old job as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. Politico reports that Biden is leaning toward asking Vilsack to lead the USDA. Vilsack served as Secretary of Agriculture for eight years under President Obama. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Authorities filed attempted murder charges in a Sunday shooting that occurred during a rally for President Donald Trump at the Statehouse. St. Charles resident Michael McKinney, 25, is in custody. McKinney admitted to firing the gunshot that struck and injured a 15-year-old girl during the rally. The victim was inside a car when the shooting occurred but was not involved in the rally. Camera footage shows the car with the victim inside back into a pickup truck before the shot is fired. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – Waterloo Fire and Rescue responded to a fire at a townhouse apartment just after midnight. Six people have been taken to the hospital. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – One person was injured in a structure fire in Des Moines Monday. Two men were living in the remodeled church while running a business there. WASHINGTON, D.C. (IRN) – President Donald Trump awarded the Medal of Freedom to Dan Gable in the Oval Office Monday, making him the first wrestler in history to receive the honor. Gable won three state high school championships for Waterloo West and two NCAA titles for ISU. He won gold at the 1972 Olympics, where he won six matches and didn’t allow a single point. As a coach, Gable led the Iowa wrestling program to 21 straight Big Ten titles and 15 NCAA team championships. He produced 152 All-Americans, 46 national champions and 12 Olympians who combined to win eight Olympic medals — four gold, one silver and three bronze.


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Monday, December 7, 2020

FORT DODGE, IA (IRN) – A girl was shot in Fort Dodge Sunday. After arrival on scene, officers began lifesaving efforts until paramedics arrived and were able to continue. The victim was transported to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries and later transported by ambulance to a Des Moines hospital. Her current condition has not been released. Police don’t believe the shooting was a random act. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – An Anamosa State Penitentiary inmate with COVID-19 has died. Larry Donell Whaley, 64, was pronounced dead on Saturday. Whaley was serving a 50-year sentence for the 2016 death of 19-year-old Samantha Teeter in Mason City. Teeter died from a bullet wound after Whaley fired a gun through his apartment door. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A shooting occurred near the statehouse Sunday evening after a traffic incident. A woman was shot in the leg. A pro-Trump rally was being held nearby, but authorities have not confirmed a connection between the incident and the rally. AMES, IA (IRN) – Just one hour before the 5 p.m. scheduled tipoff time Sunday, the men’s basketball game between the Iowa State Cyclones and DePaul Blue Demons was canceled because of COVID-19. The players were already warming up at Hilton Coliseum when the athletics departments announced that the game would not be played. DePaul has now had to postpone or cancel its first five games of the season because of COVID-19. AMES, IA (IRN) – The Big 12 championship football game matchup is set between No. 12 Iowa State and No. 13 Oklahoma. Iowa State clinched a spot in its first title game and the best conference record in the regular season with a 42-6 home win over West Virginia. The title game is Dec. 19 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Oklahoma has won six games in a row since a 37-30 loss at Iowa State on Oct. 3.


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Sunday, December 6, 2020

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Department of Public Health on Saturday reported another 62 additional COVID-19 deaths in the state. Iowa has reported 216 virus deaths in just the last three days. There have been 2,665 total deaths since the pandemic began. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – A new search timeline released Friday for the next University of Iowa president has the Iowa Board of Regents selecting a successor to Bruce Harreld by April 30. DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – A former Iowa newspaper reporter and his wife have left a $3 million estate for local causes. The Quad-City Times on Saturday reported the paper’s former reporter John Willard and his wife Carol donated the estate to the Quad-Cities Community Foundation. Interest from the $3 million estate will be divided evenly between nine organizations each year. AMES, IA (IRN) – Brock Purdy threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns, and No. 12 Iowa State dominated on defense in a 42-6 rout of West Virginia on Saturday to secure its first appearance in the Big 12 championship game. The number 19 Hawkeyes beat Illinois 35-21.


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Saturday, December 5, 2020

ALTOONA, IA (IRN) – The Iowa State Patrol says three people have died in a head-on crash near Altoona at around 12:48 a.m. Saturday morning. Troopers say a Volkswagen got onto the interstate in the wrong lane. It then hit a semi-truck head-on. Two adults and a baby inside the Volkswagen were killed in the crash. The truck driver was not seriously injured. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – After facing a workforce shortage for months, Iowa awarded an emergency $2.3 million contact-tracing contract to a company that has worked for the campaigns of President Donald Trump and Gov. Kim Reynolds and is owned by a Republican insider. The Iowa Department of Public Health selected Iowa City-based MCI for the contract out of 14 applicants, saying it submitted the best proposal and that political considerations did not play a role. IOWA (IRN) – The Iowa Department of Public Health has reported 84 more COVID-19-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the most ever for a one day period since the pandemic began. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – An Iowa man has admitted that he threatened to find someone to assassinate U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler, a Democrat from New York. During a hearing Friday in federal court, Kenneth Dean Brown, 56, of Waterloo pleaded guilty to transmitting a threatening communication. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Governor Kim Reynolds has ordered all flags in Iowa at half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Monday, December 7th, in honor of Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.