DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A judge says jurors will decide whether former Gov. Terry Branstad singled out a former state official for a pay cut because of his political party or sexual orientation. KCCI-TV reports Judge Brad McCall on Thursday rejected the state’s request to dismiss a long-running lawsuit filed by former Workers’ Compensation Commissioner Chris Godfrey. Branstad slashed Godfrey’s pay by 35 percent after the commissioner refused the governor’s request to resign in 2011. Godfrey argues that the pay cut and other retaliation was improperly motivated by his status as an openly gay man and Democrat. BOONE, IA (IRN) – Police in Boone arrested two people yesterday in connection with a shooting that injured one person and placed nearby schools on lockdown. KCCI-TV reports the suspects will be each charged with attempted murder. The shooting victim is expected to survive. BURLINGTON, IA (IRN) – A Burlington man faces several charges after having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old. WQAD-TV reports the Burlington Police Department arrested Shawn William Dickenson, 33, of Burlington, on multiple counts of sexual abuse in the 3rd degree. The sexual relationship spanned a 4 month period of time. IOWA CITY,A (IRN) – Iowa City firefighters rescued four people from a second story apartment Thursday after a fire started on the ground floor apartment. Firefighters rescued the four from the window of the second floor apartment when heat and smoke blocked their exit. SIOUX CITY, IA (IRN) – Students at Morningside College are celebrating the college’s past by thinking of the future. KCAU-TV reports the 2019 graduating class is marking the school’s 125th anniversary by making a time capsule. Some items for the capsule include Morningside memorabilia including a poster from the championship football season. The time capsule will be stored for the graduating class of 2044 to open on the college’s 150th anniversary.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines police are investigating after a mountain lion was spotted in the city. WHO-TV reports police received surveillance video taken in the area of 31st Street and I-235 overnight that shows a large animal near the stairs leading into a home. Vince Evelsizer, the furbearer biologist with the Iowa DNR, confirms that the animal in the video is a mountain lion. Thursday morning, police released the video and warned the public to exercise an abundance of caution with children and animals. IOWA (IRN) – President Trump is threatening to ratchet up tariffs on China from 10% to 25% Friday night if China doesn’t agree to a new trade agreement. KGAN-TV reports Iowa Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst are standing behind the president on the issue, and that they hope Iowa farmers will do so as well. DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – A girl was shot last night in Davenport, and taken to a local hospital. KGAN-TV reports the girl is 17 years old and was shot in the leg. Police are investigating, and she is expected to recover. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A tattoo shop owner on Des Moines’ east side had to board up his door after a burglary early Tuesday morning. KCCI-TV reports Gordo Tattoos owner Reymundo Ortiz said surveillance video caught the moments two thieves got away with his livelihood, stealing cables, wires, gloves and other tattooing equipment. Ortiz said everything he needs to do his job was taken, and that he doesn’t believe the burglary was a random act. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A Des Moines Public School nurse is being hailed as a hero after saving a student’s life. WHO-TV reports River Woods Elementary School nurse Carole Voorhis saved second-grader Samantha Rickers life after a near fatal seizure by opening up her airway and giving her two minutes of chest compressions. Now Voorhis says she and Samantha are bonded for life, and hopes this is the last time she ever has to save a student’s life.

ONAWA, IA (IRN) – A new report has named Onawa, a small town known for its wide main street and its claim to the invention of the Eskimo Pie ice cream treat, the poorest town in the state of Iowa. According to the 24/7 Wall Street report, Onawa (population: 2,849) is the only town in the state where more than one in every four residents live below the poverty line. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Police say one patient sexually assaulted another patient at Broadlawns Medical Center in Des Moines. KCCI-TV reports it happened in the Mental Health Unit. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A Cedar Rapids woman on parole for killing a cab driver while drunk in a 2009 crash has again been arrested for drunk driving. KCRG-TV reports Connie Jo Gates, 46, was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2009. On Sunday, witnesses observed Gates falling out of her vehicle before driving off. Police say a breath sample taken from Gates registered a .20% Blood Alcohol Concentration. She’s in jail. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – The Waterloo City Council has upheld a decision by animal control officers that a pit bull that bit three people is a vicious dog. The dog will be put down. KWWL-TV reports two of the victims were children, and one was a 78-year-old man. IOWA (IRN) – A new profession is giving people the warm fuzzies. WHO-TV reports Michelle White is a “professional cuddler.” She says cuddling as a type of therapy is rooted in the healing power of touch. Just as babies need to be cuddled, so do we. An hour long session will cost you $80. If you want to become a professional cuddler, DMACC will be offering a class in July.

A bicyclist has died after being struck by a Kalona driver. According to the Iowa State Patrol, on Monday morning a vehicle being driven by 26-year-old Shaena Beachy struck 83-year-old David Schuldt of Iowa City while he was on a bicycle. The wreck happened near the Johnson County Fairgrounds. According to the Iowa State Patrol, Beachy was unable to move over in time to avoid the collision due to oncoming traffic in the opposite lane. Schuldt was transported by ambulance to University of Iowa Hospital, where he later died from his injuries. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Iowa will now require school districts to report all abuse complaints against teachers to the state. The new law Republican Governor Kim Reynolds signed on Monday stems from an investigation into allegations against a Linn-Mar teacher that went unreported for years. VAN METER, IA (IRN) – David Young launched his campaign Monday to represent Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Young will challenge Democratic Rep. Cindy Axne who announced last week she would seek reelection. Young, a Republican, was a two-term representative of the 3rd district before Axne defeated him in the 2018 election. ALTOONA, IA (IRN) – Facebook’s 2.5 million-square-foot data center in Altoona is about to get bigger, according to KCCI-TV. The city of Altoona voted Monday to approve the $400 million dollar expansion. The move is expected to bring 70 new jobs to Altoona, bringing the total up to 400. As part of the 20-year deal, Facebook will make a payment for every new square foot of construction instead of paying property taxes. Altoona business owners are objecting, saying they believe the tax exemption is unfair. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa outdoor enthusiasts will soon have an option to place an organ donor sticker on their hunting and fishing licenses under a new law signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds. It’s called Logan’s Law after Logan Luft, of Charles City, who died at age 15 in 2017 after an all-terrain vehicle crash. Luft, who enjoyed hunting and fishing, had decided to be an organ donor and his family says that decision saved the lives of five people who received his organs.

NEVADA, IA (IRN) – The man accused of killing a former Iowa State University golfer will ask for his trial to be moved. KCCI-TV reports Collin Richards is charged with murdering Celia Barquin Arozamena last summer. His attorneys want his trial to be moved out of Story County. A judge will hear the request today. OXFORD, IA (IRN) – Three people died Sunday afternoon in a crash on Interstate 80 near the Oxford interchange, according to the Iowa State Patrol. Troopers said the accident happened when a westbound driver attempted to turn around at a “no turnaround” crossover. The car was then broadsided by a semitractor-trailer. Two children, ages 11 and 13, were killed in the crash, as was another person whose age hasn’t been released. The one other occupant of the car was taken to a nearby hospital. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Three people were displaced Sunday afternoon after a house fire near the Drake neighborhood in Des Moines. KCCI-TV reports one person was hospitalized. The house is considered a total loss. O’BRIEN COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A man from the town of Archer has been arrested after allegedly kidnapping his ex-girlfriend. KCAU-TV reports deputies responded to a report that a woman was taken against her will and forced into a car. The car fled at a high rate of speed. A couple of hours later, 37-year-old Justin Michael Banta was taken into custody and transported to the O’Brien County Jail. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Department of Public Safety is warning of a phone scam. The department says it has received reports that scammers are posing as employees of the “Iowa state police” and claiming there is a warrant issued for the person who receives the call. They then ask for money. The department says it never calls people to demand immediate payment via prepaid debit cards or online accounts.