Author: Iowa Radio News

RIVERTON, IA (IRN) – A Hamburg man is in jail, accused of leaving his two friends to die after wrecking his pickup. Fremont County deputies think it happened sometime overnight Thursday. Duane Stuck, 21, showed up at the hospital Friday morning. Rescue crews found his two passengers in a truck submerged in the Nishnabotna near Riverton. Family of those who died want to know why Stuck didn’t call for help, and he is charged with two counts of homicide by vehicle, operating while intoxicated, and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.

OXFORD, IA (IRN) – One person is dead after a plane crashed near the Green Castle Aero Club near Oxford in Johnson county. On Sunday evening the plane crashed in a cornfield a few hundred yards south of the club. Authorities said the name of the deceased individual is being withheld until family is notified.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa is turning down nearly three-quarters of the COVID-19 vaccine doses available to the state from the federal government because demand for the shots remains weak. A total of 88 of Iowa’s 99 counties have told the state they don’t need all or part of their weekly vaccine allocations for that week.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Des Moines Downtown Farmers’ Market, the Iowa City Farmers’ market as well as farmers markets in Waterloo, Marion, Cedar Rapids and other cities returned Saturday with huge crowds and big smiles under masks. The pandemic forced the traditional markets to close last year.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Former University of Iowa All-American Chuck Darling has passed away at the age of 91 in Colorado. Darling was a two-sport star for the Hawkeyes, earning three letters in basketball (1950-52) and two in track (1950-51). Born in Denison, Iowa, Darling is one of three players in program annals to be a consensus first-team All-American, earning the distinction as a senior in 1952.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Two people are hospitalized in serious condition after getting shot on Des Moines’ north side Saturday night. Police say a man and a woman were both hit by gunfire while inside a vehicle. A neighbor watched as the violence unfolded and said there was an argument before the shooting started.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A house fire in Cedar Rapids Saturday resulted in the occupants being displaced. No one was hurt.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Des Moines Downtown Farmers’ Market, the Iowa City Farmers’ market as well as farmers markets in Waterloo, Marion, Cedar Rapids and other cities returned Saturday with huge crowds and big smiles under masks. The pandemic forced the traditional markets to close last year.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Former University of Iowa All-American Chuck Darling has passed away at the age of 91 in Colorado. Darling was a two-sport star for the Hawkeyes, earning three letters in basketball (1950-52) and two in track (1950-51). Born in Denison, Iowa, Darling is one of three players in program annals to be a consensus first-team All-American, earning the distinction as a senior in 1952.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a series of new laws on Friday, one of which may draw a lawsuit from the federal government. The law would allow Iowa landlords to refuse tenants who use federal housing assistance. Some cities and counties in the state have ordinances that ban discriminating against Section 8 renters. This law makes those ordinances legal.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – A new law makes it a crime for a sex offender to babysit in Iowa. Governor Reynolds signed House File 710 into law Friday, declaring any sex offender who knowingly has “control” or “unsupervised access” to a child is guilty of child endangerment. The only exceptions are for cases where the sex offender is the parent or married to and living with a parent of the child.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – State Auditor Rob Sand is calling Governor Reynold’s decision to give back $95 million federal COVID-19 relief funds a ‘partisan stunt’ that cost the state jobs. The money was earmarked for schools.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Board of Regents has announced the new University of Iowa president. Barbara Wilson will be the 22nd University of Iowa president. She previously served as executive vice president and vice president for academic affairs at the University of Illinois. She accepted a five-year contract with an annual salary of $600,000.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – An Iowa man charged with leaving a threatening voicemail telling Gov. Kim Reynolds she should be “hung for treason” defended his comments Thursday as free speech, saying he was expressing opposition to COVID-19 restrictions. Harvey Hunter Jr., 48, is charged with first-degree harassment for the profane Jan. 5 message he left on a governor’s office phone line set up to gather input over whether Reynolds should continue the partial statewide mask mandate.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A woman was injured in a shooting Thursday night in Des Moines. She is the fourth person in the city to be shot in 24 hours.

AMES, IA (IRN) – The Ames Police Department is investigating the weekend death of a toddler as “suspicious.” No charges have been filed.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Gov. Kim Reynolds’ plan to require more Iowa gas stations to offer ethanol may have hit a snag Thursday at the Statehouse. Reynolds’ Renewable Fuel Bill passed out of a Senate subcommittee on Thursday morning. An amendment to that bill would add liability protection for retailers and exempt the E15 standard for those who have incompatible pumps. Many complain they can’t afford to upgrade their tanks claiming it will cost retailers $1 billion.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Governor Kim Reynolds is having the state of Iowa return $95 million in COVID relief funding to the federal government. During an interview on Fox News on Thursday night, Gov. Reynolds said that the money was “additional” and supposed to be used to get kids back into the classroom and do surveillance testing. She says we don’t need it because our kids were back in school quickly. Des Moines Public Schools didn’t return until October.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA (IRN) – Casey’s General Stores agreed Wednesday to sell six of its gas stations to end antitrust allegations. The planned sale comes in response to a Federal Trade Commission complaint that the Ankeny company’s proposed acquisition of the Omaha, Nebraska-based Bucky’s Convenience Stores chain would increase its monopoly power in some parts of Iowa and Nebraska. Casey’s agreed to sell six stations: five in Nebraska and one in Council Bluffs. Half of the locations are Casey’s stores, and the other half are Bucky’s stations.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Gov. Kim Reynolds said she believes it’s a good idea to build a wrought iron fence around Terrace Hill for protection. The Iowa Department of Public Safety will pay $400,000 for the fence. The Iowa State Patrol said this has been in the works since 2017, but recent death threats against the governor sped up the process.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – With interest in coronavirus vaccines lagging in much of Iowa, Gov. Kim Reynolds says public health officials plan to make shots available at gathering spots like farmers markets and sports events. Reynolds says the state is holding talks with groups including the Iowa Cubs baseball team and Des Moines Downtown Farmers Market about holding mass vaccination clinics at those sites.

WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – American Airlines is returning to twice daily scheduled service from the Waterloo Region Airport to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. The service will begin on Thursday, June 3.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Iowa senior men’s basketball player Jordan Bohannon announced that he will play for the Hawkeyes in the 2021-22 season. The NCAA granted eligibility relief to winter sport athletes during the 2020-21 academic year due to the pandemic, so Bohannon has another season of eligibility.