Author: Iowa Radio News

FORT DODGE, IA (IRN) – A Fort Dodge woman has filed a lawsuit alleging that a physician assistant engaged in a sexual relationship with her while treating her for mental health problems. KCCI-TV reports the lawsuit alleges that 32-year-old physician assistant Mervin Casey IV sexually exploited the patient and mishandled prescription drugs.

MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – A Mason City man is facing a first-degree harassment charge in connection to an incident at MercyOne-North Iowa Medical Center. KIMT-TV reports King James, 29, allegedly followed the victim from her place of work to the parking lot of the hospital and told the victim he was going to “shoot and kill her.”

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Activists across the country yesterday sent a message to all members of Congress to close down the child detention camps on the border. WHO-TV reports dozens of protesters gathered outside Congresswoman Cindy Axne’s office in Des Moines. The protesters demanded children be taken out of detention centers and be placed with family members until their asylum hearings.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The road to the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, begins this weekend in Des Moines. More than 1,600 elite athletes will pack Hy-Vee Hall for the 2019 USA Gymnastics Championships. The weekend’s top performers will represent Team USA in Peru during the Pan-Am Games in July.

INDEPENDENCE, IA (IRN) – A wildlife rehabilitation center is receiving dozens of bra donations from across the country after a Facebook post went viral. KCRG-TV reports Wildthunder Wildlife & Animal Rehabilitation & Sanctuary in Independence is using the clasps on bras to heal broken turtle shells. Since the social media post exploded last week, they’re still getting boxes of bras every day from 17 states. They’ve even had people send bras from Canada and the United Kingdom.

MAHASKA COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Two people were killed in a head-on collision in Mahaska County Monday. According to the Mahaska County Sheriff’s Office, at 10:15 a.m. two vehicles collided on Highway 92. A Chevrolet S10 pickup crossed the centerline and collided head-on with a Mack semi tractor/trailer. The driver of the pickup was 32-year-old Chase Matthew VonLienen of North Liberty and the passenger was 40-year-old Bobbie Jean Milford of Wellman. Both were pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the semi was uninjured.

HAMILTON COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A man died over the weekend in a lawn mower accident in Hamilton County. The Sheriff’s Office says a man was mowing a steep ditch when the mower tipped over and pinned him underneath. First responders arrived, but the man died a short time later.

BRIGHTON, IA (IRN) – A kayaker who went missing Saturday has been found deceased. KCII-radio reports after flipping his kayak on the Skunk River, 52-year-old David Alan Woodson of Brighton went missing. A search ensued. The body of Woodson was located late afternoon Monday.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A man convicted of shooting his girlfriend in the head is eligible for parole after serving four years of his 45-year sentence. KCCI-TV reports Brian Case will go before the Iowa Parole Board July 17. Case shot his then-girlfriend Ellie Van Dam in the head. Van Dam survived the shooting but lost hearing in one ear and is paralyzed on one side of her face. Police were called to Case’s home 33 times before he shot Van Dam and he has a lengthy and violent past.

JOHNSTON, IA (IRN) – A Johnston woman is facing charges she left two young children alone. WHO-TV reports Winnie Wleh is charged with two counts of child endangerment. A 2-year-old and a 4-year-old were found near an apartment complex pool asking strangers for food and water. Officers later found the children standing outside a locked apartment with no parents or guardians present.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Opioid-related deaths in Iowa plunged to their lowest level in five years. The Iowa Department of Public Health reports there were 137 deaths related to opioids in 2018. That’s down from 206 in 2017 and reverses a fairly steady upward trend of fatalities.

IOWA (IRN) – A new specialty license plate design is available to vehicle owners in Iowa starting this month, according to the DOT. The new option is the “blackout” plate. It features an all-black design with white lettering. It will be available in the standard six-character alphanumeric plate for $35 or a personalized seven-character plate for $60. Funds from the plate will go toward the Road Use Tax Fund, which funds various road and bridge projects throughout the state.

SIOUX CITY, IA (IRN) – A 16-month girl died after being left inside a hot vehicle in Sioux City, according to the Des Moines Register. Officers dispatched around 4 p.m. Sunday found the toddler unconscious. The National Weather Service says the temperature was 98 degrees at the time. She was pronounced dead later at a hospital.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Two people were taken to a hospital after suffering burns Saturday night. KWWL-TV reports gasoline was reportedly poured on a fire. A 45-year-old female sustained serious burn injuries to at least three extremities. An 11-year-old boy sustained burn injuries to at least one hand. Both were taken to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

DUBUQUE COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Two people were injured after a storm destroyed a mobile home Sunday night in Dubuque County. KCRG-TV also reports a third person was hurt after being trapped inside a collapsed barn. All three were transported to N area hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – Biting a jailer has resulted in more time behind bars for a North Iowa woman. KIMT-TV reports Neysha Lee Culley, 33 of Mason City, pleaded guilty to assault on a jailer causing bodily injury for a June 2 incident at the Cerro Gordo County Jail. Culley was in custody for allegedly resisting arrest and when staff entered her cell, she bit a jail employee on the thumb. Culley has been sentenced to an additional 21 days in jail.

ALTOONA, IA (IRN) – Altoona Police Department’s Officer Chad Hulen saved some ducklings from a storm sewer Sunday morning. The Police Department’s Facebook post shows Hulen inside the storm sewer pulling out the ducklings after they had fallen in. It also captures the moment when the ducks waddled away with their mom.

INDEPENDENCE, IA (IRN) – Four families are without a home after a fire in Independence, according to KCRG-TV. Firefighters kept overheating, as they battled flames in the extreme heat. Officials say they rotated crews to keep everyone safe. No one was hurt. Crews believe the fire started in the attic.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – One man was injured in a random shooting Saturday afternoon in Des Moines, according to KCCI-TV. He was shot in the arm. This was the fourth gunshot injury in Des Moines this weekend.

BLACK HAWK COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A truck crashed into a University of Iowa ambulance pulled off to the side of Interstate 380 in Black Hawk County on Friday. KGAN-TV reports the ambulance was disabled on the median shoulder with a flat tire, when it was struck from behind by a 2014 Ford F250. The F250 then collided with a camper being towed in the outside lane.
The driver of the truck suffered a minor injury.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The former vice president’s wife, Jill Biden, made a visit to the Hawkeye state for a meet and great with voters Friday night. Jill Biden was accompanied by her granddaughter, Natalie, who is the daughter of the Biden’s late son, Beau. Their visit comes the night after her husband went head to head with nine other candidates in the second Democratic debate in Miami on Thursday. Biden faced attacks from a younger rival, Sen. Kamala Harris throughout the night. Notably, the California senator called out Biden for a recent comment he made about his past work with two segregationist senators.

HENRY COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Southeast Iowa authorities have identified the victim of a Thursday night drowning. KTVO-TV reports just after 7:30 p.m., the Henry County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call reporting that a person had gone under water and not resurfaced while swimming in a private pond. Just before 10 p.m., the body of Cori Diandre Fitten, 21, of Mt. Pleasant, was located and removed from the pond. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The cause of death is listed as accidental drowning.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – One man is dead after a shooting on Des Moines’ north side. KCCI-TV reports Des Moines police are investigating a homicide after a 41-year-old man suffering from a gunshot wound died in the hospital Friday. Shortly after the first shooting, a 39-year-old male arrived at a hospital with a non-life-threatening gunshot injury. Police believe the two incidents are related.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – The owner of an Iowa City architecture firm recorded an employee pumping breast milk at least 22 times, according to criminal complaints. KCRG-TV reports Robert Carlson, 67, is charged with 22 counts of invasion of privacy when Iowa City police arrested him Thursday. During an interview with investigators, Carlson said he found the woman beautiful and “wanted to see what was underneath the victim’s blouse or shirt.”

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – In May, the Cedar Rapids City Council gave the final approval to begin speed ticketing from traffic cameras on I-380’s S-curve again. Citations will begin to be issued this coming Monday, July 1. Anyone driving more than 11 mph over the speed limit will be ticketed. The speed limit is 55 mph.

IOWA (IRN) – This weekend is the last chance to pay a six-cent sales tax in six central Iowa cities. Earlier this year, voters in Des Moines, West Des Moines, Altoona, Pleasant Hill, Windsor Heights and Alleman all approved a one-cent sales tax increase. The City of Des Moines has already started spending some of its expected new revenue, hiring firefighters and cutting property tax rates. The city expects to bring in $37 million more per year from the tax. Thirty percent of that is expected to come from people living outside the metro.