Author: Iowa Radio News

FORT MADISON, IA (IRN) – A man died after saving his 5-year-old daughter from a dog attack in southeast Iowa. KCCI-TV reports 33-year-old Robert Quick, of Dallas City, Illinois, was one of three people attacked Friday by the dog outside a home in Fort Madison. Officers had to shoot the animal because it wouldn’t release a man who was pinned on his back in the front yard. First responders soon found the wounded Quick lying in the home’s doorway. Quick asked medics to first help his daughter, who’d been bitten on the face. One official said Quick “undoubtedly saved her life by his actions.” He later died at a hospital.

WINTERSET, IA (IRN) – A driver and an Iowa state trooper were injured Friday in a three-vehicle crash near Winterset. According to the crash report, 27-year-old Dawn Clements was driving northbound on Highway 69 when her vehicle hit the back of an SUV that had just turned onto the highway. The Clements’ vehicle veered into oncoming traffic and hit an unmarked Iowa State Patrol vehicle. Clements was injured in the crash. The trooper was treated for minor injuries.

BURLINGTON, IA (IRN) – Another floodwall has failed in Iowa, inundating a county seat in the eastern part of the state. The Des Moines Register reports a flood-prevention barrier in downtown Burlington failed Saturday afternoon. The city urged residents to avoid the floodwaters, saying sewage could begin to enter the water because the water had inundated a sanitary lift station.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA (IRN) – All students in the Council Bluffs school district will receive free meals beginning this fall. The entire school district now qualifies for Community Eligibility Provision, a federal program that allows students to eat free breakfast and lunch. The Daily Nonpareil reports families in elementary schools could say up to $700 a year, with families of high school students saving up to $900 a year.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Authorities have recovered the body of a boy who went missing in a Des Moines pond yesterday, according to KCCI-TV. Officials said it’s an old quarry that can get very deep – around 30 to 40 feet – suddenly toward the middle.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A 26-year-old man died after collapsing near the finish line of the EMC Dam to DSM race on Saturday. WHO-TV reports the man was competing in the 12.4-mile race and suffered a cardiac arrest. He collapsed a block from the finish line. CPR was performed along the race route before he was transported to the hospital, where he later died.

WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A party bus in Waterloo that was full of people was struck by bullets early Saturday morning, according to KCRG-TV. The bus was hit by shots from an unknown source around Midnight. Nobody was directly hit by the bullets, but the driver received minor cuts from broken glass caused by a shot hitting a window.

U.S.A (IRN) – The Trump administration is following through on a plan to allow year-round sales of gasoline mixed with 15% ethanol, though some say the move is undercut by a policy that gives oil refineries waivers allowing them to use reduced levels of the additive. The Environmental Protection Agency announced the change Friday, ending a summertime ban on the E15 blend imposed out of concerns for increased smog from the higher ethanol blend.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – One person drowned and a would-be-rescuer went to the hospital after an incident at Terry Trueblood Recreation Center in Iowa City Friday. KCRG-TV reports a bystander reported a swimmer disappearing, and a dive team was called. Searchers found the body about an hour later. Another person who tried to rescue the swimmer was taken to the hospital, but that person’s condition has not been released.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A state-licensed therapist has voluntarily surrendered her license after pleading guilty to sexually exploiting a client. KCCI-TV reports Valerie Huntley started seeing the victim in 2012. Her church had referred her to Huntley for counseling after she had been sexually abused. Huntley worked as a counselor out of churches throughout Central Iowa for Team Restoration Ministries.

CLIVE, IA (IRN) – A graduation party got out of control Thursday night in Clive, according to WHO-TV. Police were called to the home on a noise complaint. Upon arrival, officers found nearly 100 minors, scattered in and outside the home. Police say one juvenile was visibly drunk. He put up a fight and was arrested. The parents were both home when the party was happening. They face numerous charges.

NORTH LIBERTY, IA (IRN) – A couple is accused of getting drunk and leaving their young children at home to go have sex early Friday morning in North Liberty. KGAN-TV reports the two were seen having sex on a bike trail. Officers who responded found them naked.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A teenage girl suffered serious injuries Friday morning after falling from a moving car in the parking lot of East High School in Des Moines. WHO-TV reports the
fourteen-year-old female was car surfing on top of a vehicle when it slowed and she fell to the pavement. It’s the last day of school for East.

JOHNSTON, IA (IRN) – An Illinois man turned himself in to police after getting caught trying to find a hitman to murder someone in Johnston. KCCI-TV reports Johnston police arrested 23-year-old Anna Esperanza Plank, who goes by A.J. Hernandez, after his attorney drove him to Iowa from Illinois. Hernandez wanted someone to kill his girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend.

MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – A car dealer in Mason City was sentenced to over a year in federal prison on Thursday after pleading guilty to money laundering in October of 2018. Jerry Flaherty, who worked at Wheel Man Auto at the time, sold a car for cash but didn’t report the sale under federal law. It’s believed that the money used to buy the car was related to drug activity.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – For the 35th time since it became law, Iowa has used its safe haven procedures on a newborn. The Iowa Department of Human Services reports the boy was born May 17 at an Iowa hospital and released to their custody. Through the law, parents can safely hand over custody of babies age 30 days or younger without fear of prosecution for abandonment. He’ll be placed with a foster or adoptive family.

ANKENY, IA (IRN) – There’s a national nursing shortage, and on Thursday, Des Moines Area Community College reported a record number of students enrolled in nursing for their spring 2019 semester. Across all five DMACC campuses more than 450 students were enrolled in the nursing program.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – An Iowa City man with autism who went missing on Saturday night has been found dead, according to the Des Moines Register. Nikolai Stielow’s body was found Wednesday. The 21-year-old was discovered with the assistance of the K-9 Alliance of Iowa in a heavily wooded area. Preliminary information shows no signs of foul play.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A 4-year-old from Des Moines is recovering from a gunshot wound to his shoulder after playing with a gun inside a vehicle, according to KCCI-TV. The gun belonged to one of the boy’s parents.

AMES, IA (IRN) – A southeast Minnesota man is facing multiple harassment charges for a string of notes left around the city of Ames. KIMT-TV reports the man left the notes on vehicles at different businesses. The notes were apparently targeted at specific individuals as victims say they included physical descriptions and descriptions of clothing as well as explicit sexual content.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A state court judge has temporarily halted enforcement of a new Iowa law that would have blocked Planned Parenthood of the Heartland from receiving federal grant money for sex education courses. The judge signed an order Wednesday prohibiting the state from implementing the bill that Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law on May 3 until the court can decide whether the law is constitutional.

POWESHIEK COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Around 7:30pm Wednesday, many residents in Poweshiek County witnessed a tornado. One person was injured, and several buildings were damaged. Witnesses say watching the tornado was “eerie,” as it moved slowly and calmly across the landscape. The National Weather Service says at least 10 tornados touched down in Iowa.