Author: Iowa Radio News

CERRO GORDO COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A Mason City man is facing a felony charge for allegedly burglarizing a residence on Aug. 9 and 10. Alan Valdez, 20, is accused of breaking into a residence in Meservey by climbing through a window on back-to-back days. He allegedly stole a total of $900. The money was recovered and returned to the residents.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – COVID-19 hospitalizations are up over 300% in Des Moines hospitals over the past month. The vast majority are unvaccinated.

IOWA (IRN) – The 2020 Census numbers are out. Iowa’s population grew in pockets around the state’s largest cities over the past decade while 68 counties in rural areas lost population. The biggest gains were in the counties around Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, and Sioux City. Four counties — Johnson, Polk, Warren and Story — grew by more than 10% and 26 counties increased by less than 10%. The remaining 68 counties lost population.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Department of Transportation is brainstorming ways to improve congestion on Interstate 235 to try to reduce traffic accidents. One potential solution would be to install ramp meters on 14 I-235 entrance ramps. The meters would reduce the number of vehicles entering the Interstate at one time.

DYERSVILLE, IA (IRN) – If you build it, they will come. Baseball fans from across the country came to Dyersville on Thursday to watch the Yankees play the White Sox at the Field of Dreams Game. The game ended in Hollywood fashion. Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson crushed a two-run homer off New York Yankees pitcher Zack Britton in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the White Sox a thrilling 9-8 walk-off win. Major League baseball says they’ll be back.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – An estimated 600 people a day will make their way to the Iowa State Fair carrying coronavirus. Dr. Meghan Schaeffer, an epidemiologist for Polk County says, “if you have an average of 100,000 people attending the Iowa State Fair every day, that’s about 600 people who could actively spread disease.” She estimates hundreds will be infected with the virus at the fair, and each person could infect two to four others.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Iowa City police arrested a person they say fired a shot at a woman last week. Danielle Lyronda Williams, 21, was charged with four offenses, including intimidation with a dangerous weapon. No one was injured.

IOWA (IRN) – Two Midwest environmental groups are petitioning the Iowa Environmental Protection Commission for rule changes that would make it harder for livestock operations to be built in environmentally sensitive areas of the state. The Iowa Environmental Council and Environmental Law & Policy Center filed the petition Wednesday.

DYERSVILLE, IA (IRN) – Urbandale native Pat Hoberg gets to be right in the middle of the action today when the White Sox and Yankees play in MLB’s Field of Dreams Game. Hoberg, who has been a major league umpire since 2014, will get to call the balls and strikes.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Democratic leaders at the Iowa Statehouse are calling for more public access to Iowa’s COVID-19 data. With the Iowa State Fair starting Thursday and school just around the corner, Democrats say Iowans need more information to make good decisions. The Iowa Department of Public Health reduced its reporting on COVID-19 testing, positive cases, hospitalizations and deaths from daily to weekly.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines Police are on the hunt for a shooting suspect who they believe is hiding out of state. Officers say 21-year-old Andrew Harris pulled the trigger and injured three people on July 31. Harris is wanted for attempted murder. One victim remains in intensive care. He was shot four times in the back and suffered a ruptured lung, and is paralyzed from the neck down.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa parents, teachers and others are holding a sit-in demanding masks be required in schools and local municipalities be allowed to make their own decisions on mask mandates. The Safe at School Sit-in will be held at the Iowa Capitol West Terrace today.

CLEAR LAKE, IA (IRN) – An investigation is underway as to how an Oldsmobile Firenza ended up in Clear Lake under 9-10 ft. of water, and who was the owner of the vehicle. Police estimate the vehicle may have been underwater for up to 25 years. They believe the car was likely on the water during ice fishing season and sunk. At the time the car was towed out, the vehicle was unoccupied, with all windows rolled up.

IOWA (IRN) – A preseason college football poll has Iowa State and Iowa in the top 25. The USA Today/American Football Coaches Association poll released Tuesday puts Iowa State in the number eight spot, which is the school’s highest preseason ranking in the poll since USA Today started administering it in 1991. The Iowa Hawkeyes are number 18.

MASON CITY, Iowa – A 21-year-old Mason City man was arrested this morning after he allegedly crashed a van into a house with a blood-alcohol level more than three times the legal limit. He was found walking near the scene and admitted to drinking hard liquor. His blood-alcohol level following the crash was .250. The legal limit is .08.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A 26-year-old supporter of former President Donald Trump has been sentenced to up to 10 years in prison for shooting into a car carrying Black girls after an Iowa Trump rally, injuring a teenager.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Blank Children’s Hospital will temporarily suspend all elective surgeries due to a high number of patients. An increase in RSV and other illnesses has kept the hospital at capacity or close to capacity every day for several weeks.

IOWA (IRN) – Iowa has started tossing out tens of thousands of expiring COVID vaccine doses as demand for the shots continues to sag. The state has discarded over 81,000 doses of the vaccine so far.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa High School Athletic Association and Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union has announced the implementation of a shot clock in high school basketball. They will implement a 35-second shot clock during the 2022-2023 season.

HAMILTON COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Investigators in Hamilton County are trying to figure out what caused a home to explode. It happened Sunday night about eight miles east of Webster City. The home was unoccupied and no one was hurt.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The body of a woman was found in the parking lot of a business in Des Moines Sunday morning. Police are investigating.

MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – A Dairy Queen employee in Mason City arrived at work to open the business on Saturday, only to find a man inside the building. The man threatened the employee with a knife. The employee was able to get away and leave the business before calling police. The intruder escaped.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A driver was taken to the hospital in critical condition after a car veered off eastbound I-235 in Des Moines and ran down a steep embankment late Sunday. The Nissan SUV came to rest in a residential neighborhood after crashing over a chain-link fence and clipping another SUV. Police say it looks like it was a medical emergency, and no one else was injured.

CHARLES CITY, IA (IRN) – Several inches of rain has fallen in a very short period of time late Sunday night in eastern Iowa. Floyd and Chickasaw Counties were particularly hard hit. Many streets and intersections in Charles City were closed due to flooding.