Author: Iowa Radio News

HIAWATHA, IA (IRN) – No one will be charged with the shooting death of a Hiawatha man in a shootout that wounded three other people after the Linn County Attorney ruled it a case of self-defense. Joshua Lathrop died in a shooting on May 30th at the Sunset Village Mobile Home Park. Three other people were shot but survived in what was described as a “frenzied gun battle” involving 25 shots with bullets also hitting a trailer and vehicle in the area.

IOWA (IRN) – The National Weather Service says a winter storm will arrive in Iowa Saturday and linger into Sunday morning. A winter storm watch is in place into Sunday for many Iowa counties. The storm is expected to bring a combination of rain and freezing rain before transitioning into snow. The greatest snowfall amounts are expected in eastern and northeast Iowa.

IOWA (IRN) – An Arizona man who threatened to commit a mass shooting against the Iowa legislature was sentenced Friday to five years in prison. Cody Leveke, also identified in court records as Cody Meyers, was arrested in December 2019 and federally indicted on two charges of interstate communication of a threat. He was convicted after a jury trial in September, during which he represented himself. Leveke is a registered sex offender and wanted off the sex offender list.

IOWA (IRN) – Teachers will be eligible for the coronavirus vaccine starting next week. Iowa school districts are now in different stages of their vaccine preparations.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Drake men’s basketball team is off to its best start in history. The Bulldogs are 15-0 and among the last unbeaten teams in the country.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Federal prosecutors say a Cedar Rapids physician agreed to pay $100,000 to settle allegations he improperly prescribed addictive painkillers. Paul W. Lottes, 63, has not been charged with a crime, but he reached a civil settlement with federal regulators. Lottes was accused of prescribing opioid pills “that had no legitimate medical purpose and were not issued in the usual course of professional practice.”

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Both the Iowa House and Senate passed an education bill Thursday night that required schools to offer an in-person learning option during the pandemic. The bill will now go to Gov. Kim Reynolds’ desk, which she is expected to sign into law.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa House and Senate have passed an amendment to the Iowa Constitution that would declare that the “right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” This is the second time the bill has moved through the legislature, having been approved in 2019. It will now appear before voters in the 2022 general election.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Senate approved a bill Thursday night allowing K-12 students to use state funds to enroll in private education, something many Iowa state educators oppose. It now goes to the House.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Two Des Moines area nurses will be attending the Super Bowl as guests of the NFL. Samantha Jensen, of Pleasant Hill, and her Mom, Billie Kucharo learned they would have two tickets to the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The NFL is honoring 7,500 health care professionals with free tickets to the game. Both have been vaccinated.

CORALVILLE, IA (IRN) – An Iowa City woman is accused of assaulting two people at a store over wearing a face mask on Wednesday night. 30-year-old Evelyn Chinchilla allegedly spit on two victims after they made a comment about her not wearing a mask in a Walgreens. Officials said the three people became “entangled” and fell to the ground. Chinchilla then pulled out a handful of one of the victim’s hair and scratched their nose. She bit the other victim, breaking skin through the victim’s shirt.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa House voted Wednesday to pass a constitutional amendment that says Iowans do not have the fundamental right to abortion or public funding for it. The amendment now heads to a Senate subcommittee, which is expected to take it up next week. In order for the Iowa Constitution to be amended, the bill must be passed through the legislature twice and be approved by Iowa voters in an election.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The man responsible for using Mollie Tibbetts’ murder to further neo-Nazi agendas in robocalls is being fined. Scott Rhodes, 51, has been fined $9.9 million by the FCC. University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts was killed in the summer of 2018. Authorities arrested an undocumented immigrant for her murder. Shortly after Tibbetts’ body was found, Rhodes made hundreds of calls to Iowans claiming Tibbetts would have wanted to kill minorities he described with racial slurs.

IOWA (IRN) – More Americans, including Iowans, are putting off trips to the dentist’s office during the pandemic. 56% of Iowans admit they have delayed dental appointments since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Cloris Leachman, who went from the halls of Roosevelt High School to a legendary acting career in Hollywood, has died at the age of 94. The highlight of her career came in 1971 when Leachman won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in “The Last Picture Show.”

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Republican Adrian Dickey won the special election Tuesday to replace Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks in Iowa Senate District 41. Senate District 41 covers part of southeast Iowa, including Ottumwa, Fairfield, Bloomfield and Keosauqua. Dickey’s victory does not change the balance of power in the Senate. The seat opened when Republican Miller-Meeks stepped down after she was confirmed the winner in Iowa’s Second Congressional District.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – State Auditor Rob Sand confirmed Tuesday that his office will review allegations that Gov. Kim Reynolds provided state COVID-19 resources to a company owned by one of her campaign donors instead of area businesses that needed the resources.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – An inmate in the Iowa prison system died, likely due to the novel coronavirus and other preexisting conditions on Tuesday. Harold Arthur Duncan, 89, died at around 11:12 a.m., according to the Iowa Department of Corrections. Duncan was in prison since January 2004 for a life sentence from a first-degree murder conviction in Clay County.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa State Patrol said seven Iowa Department of Transportation plows and one patrol cruiser were damaged by drivers during the winter storm Monday and Tuesday. The trooper in the patrol car was transported to a local hospital with minor injuries.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa’s unemployment rate fell to 3.1% in December, the second-lowest rate in the country.

IOWA (IRN) – A major winter storm hit much of Iowa yesterday and today, causing hundreds of traffic accidents across the state. Several cities in Iowa reported snowfall in excess of 14 inches. Des Moines received 10.3″ on January 25th. That’s a one day record snowfall for the date. The previous record was 10.0″ on January 25th 1895.

MUSCATINE, IA (IRN) – A man is in custody after an incident at a Muscatine bar on Saturday. Police located one 25-year-old male who had suffered stab wounds. Another stabbing victim, a 37-year-old woman, had been taken to a local hospital via a personal vehicle. Police arrested Alejandro Antonio Flores, 23, of Letts.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Cedar Rapids police are investigating the death of a woman over the weekend. Shelley Lange, 52, was found inside her apartment after she reportedly fell. She was found with traumatic injuries and was taken to the hospital where she later died.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Republicans in the Iowa Senate said they have changed their policy for participants in virtual subcommittee meetings after an incident that was “pornographic in nature” during a Monday morning hearing. The incident momentarily interrupted a virtual subcommittee meeting for the governor’s wide-ranging education bill. Approximately 280 people attended the online meeting. Sen. Amy Sinclair stopped the meeting to say people who appeared without either a face or a name would be removed.