DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines police will be heightening security in the skywalks after a 20-year-old man was attacked by a group of teenagers three months ago. Officials said there will be 20 new cameras installed to be monitored off site. The project will cost $175,000. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Department of Human Services announced Friday it will be withholding $44 million from Iowa Total Care’s January payment. The DHS said that Iowa Total Care has failed to fix numerous payment and data issues experienced by Medicaid customers and providers. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A Des Moines coffee shop is trying to be more sustainable in the new year by phasing out disposable cups. WHO-TV reports Andrea Cummings opened DreiBerge Coffee six months ago with sustainability in mind by selling their coffee in cups that don’t require a plastic lid. They are now phasing out disposable cups entirely and asking customers to bring their own cup, buy a DreiBerge cup or use a loaner cup. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – Some Eastern Iowa high school cheerleaders represented their school in London, according to KCRG-TV. The students marched in the London New Year’s Day Parade on Wednesday. They’re all juniors and seniors at Waterloo West High School. The girls say they made a lot of new friends and great memories

FORT DODGE, IA (IRN) – Police in Fort Dodge are conducting a death investigation after the body of a man was found in a grassy area. According to Fort Dodge police, officers were called to a domestic disturbance. While officers were speaking to the female, other officers located an unresponsive man in a grassy area outside of the residence. They began medical treatment on the man, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators believe the man was likely ran over by a vehicle. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A 50-year-old man was struck by a vehicle Thursday night on the east side of Des Moines. KCCI-TV reports he was taken to a hospital with serious injuries. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A handgun was found on a new inmate at the county jail Wednesday. John Steven Hansen, a 25 year old Des Moines resident, was being booked on a harassment charge. During a search a detention officer found the gun in his waistband. Hansen was still in handcuffs and hadn’t been inside the general inmate population area when the gun was found. STORY COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A former branch manager for the Greater Iowa Credit Union is charged with fraud and felony theft for allegedly stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars. WHO-TV reports thirty-five-year-old Henry Hill worked at the credit union in Ames. He told police he took money from the vault over a period of seven years. An investigation found the vault and associated accounts were short nearly $431,000. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Major League Baseball is considering restructuring its minor league teams, which could impact the Burlington Bees, the Clinton LumberKings, and the Quad Cities River Bandits. Gov. Reynolds says Iowa’s Minor League Baseball teams are “vital” to communities across the state. She made the statement in a letter to MLB Commissioner Robert Manfred. Iowa’s minor league teams provide 600 full and part-time jobs, and the economic impact of losing three Iowa minor league teams would exceed $4 million per year.

NORTH LIBERTY, IA (IRN) – Authorities in Johnson County charged a Waterloo woman with child endangerment after she allegedly smoked meth in a gas station bathroom after leaving her infant child in a car. KCRG-TV reports Saturday night, deputies responded to a Casey’s in North Liberty. Deputies say 23-year-old Kalyn Sharp went into the restroom at the gas station, leaving her 2-month-old in the car without the engine running. Store staff said Sharp was in the bathroom for 30 to 45 minutes. Authorities eventually found Sharp in the car under the influence of meth with the child inside. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines Police say 14-year old Josiah Woods was killed early yesterday morning in a shooting. WHO-TV reports Woods was in an interior porch when he was struck by gunfire. Police can’t yet confirm where the shots came from and if Woods was the intended target. It’s Des Moines’ first homicide of the year. DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – A man is facing an attempted murder charge after allegedly shooting another man New Year’s Day in Dubuque. KGAN-TV reports the victim received a wound to the abdomen, and is expected to recover. MILAN, IL (IRN) – On Wednesday, Illinois became the first state bordering Iowa with legal recreational marijuana. KCCI-TV reports dispensaries along the Iowa-Illinois border were busy as people from both states lined up to make purchases. One man traveling to Milan from the Des Moines metro says Iowa should follow its neighbor’s lead. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Kathleen Doyle scored a career high 33 points as the Iowa women’s basketball team hammered Illinois 108-72 for their first Big Ten win of the season. KWWL-TV reports the 108 points topped the Hawks’ previous scoring record set in 2004. The Hawkeyes took control early on and never looked back in the win which marked their 28th straight at home, trailing only UConn and Baylor.

CORALVILLE, IA (IRN) – A Coralville man has been arrested and is facing charges for holding a woman captive in her bedroom. KGAN-TV reports on December 28 at 5:00 a.m. Derrick Steger woke the victim up and took her phone. Officials say Steger forced her to stay in her bedroom for more than two hours. Steger allegedly threatened to kill her with a knife and then kill himself. DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – One person was seriously injured after falling off the roof of a vehicle at a Davenport intersection on Monday. WQAD-TV reports the investigation continues. IOWA (IRN) – In 2020, the minimum wage will go up in nearly half of the states in the country, but Iowa is not on that list. Twenty states will raise minimum wages starting on New Year’s Day. Another four states have plans to do the same later in the year. In the Midwest, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri and South Dakota will all raise wages. KCRG-TV reports Iowa may have trouble retaining and attracting workers. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Two Des Moines sisters are ending 2019 on a high note after unexpectedly giving birth minutes apart at the same hospital. KCCI-TV reports sisters Julia Marberry and Laurielle Jones gave birth to JaFaye and Khepri on Sunday at MercyOne Des Moines. JaFaye and Khepri were born 10 minutes apart.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – New U.S. Census estimates released Monday show Iowa’s population continued to increase slowly in the last year and now numbers 3,155,070. The July 1, 2019, estimate was up over 108,000 from the 2010 population. Iowa’s population would have been significantly lower if not for international immigration, which since 2010 has added nearly 48,000 people to the state. That immigration offset nearly 30,000 residents who moved from Iowa to other states during that period. ALDEN, IA (IRN) – A two-vehicle collision killed one person and sent three others to the hospital on Monday, according to the Iowa State Patrol. A 2007 Eclipse collided with a semi at an intersection. A passenger under the age of 18 was killed. GLENWOOD, IA (IRN) – Glenwood Resource Center Superintendent Dr. Jerry Rea has been fired from following an investigation into alleged experiments at the facility, according to the Iowa Department of Human Resources. The investigation involved “human subject experiments” focused on “optimal hydration” and “sexual arousal studies.” DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – An Iowa mom wants to warn others about a face mask that burned her stepdaughter’s face. WHO-TV reports the mask is made by the company Yes To and it’s called the Vitamin C Glow-boosting Unicorn Paper Mask. Chelsea Anders said after her stepdaughter had the mask on for about two minutes, she said it felt like it was burning and told her to take it off right away. The girl’s face was welted with red, swollen, itchy raised abrasions, that appeared to be a chemical burn. One hundred reviews from customers on the Ulta website say the same thing. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – After six months of living together, an eastern Iowa man claims a coyote became an emotional service animal to him and that he’s struggling to get up each morning without the animal. KCRG-TV reports Animal Control seized the coyote from Matt Stokes in October. It’s illegal to have a coyote as a pet in Iowa, which presents significant legal hurdles as Stokes tries to regain custody. He found the coyote as a pup, and named him Drifter.