Author: Iowa Radio News

JASPER COUNTY, IA (IRN) – One person is dead in a fatal crash on Interstate 80 near Newton.
The Iowa State Patrol says a truck driver veered off the road and hit a pillar Saturday afternoon. Police have not yet identified the driver but say the person was from out of state.

CLAYTON COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Two people are facing drug charges following a traffic stop in Clayton County in northeastern Iowa. KWWL-TV reports Sheriff’s deputies pulled over a truck Wednesday night. The deputy suspected drug activity and called for assistance from the K-9 at the Prairie du Chien Police Department. A search of the vehicle produced 43.7 grams of methamphetamine.

DES MOINES, Iowa — In one of the last moves of the legislative session, Iowa Republicans passed a bill which would give the governor more power in nominating judges for lower courts.
As it currently stands, a 17-member judicial nominating commission selects the judges to be considered for court appointments. Eight of those members are elected by lawyers in the state, and eight are selected by the governor; the Senior Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court makes 17. An amendment added to a budget bill removes the Senior Justice and gives the governor a ninth selection.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Kenny Arnold, former standout guard for the University of Iowa men’s basketball team, passed away early Saturday morning. He was 59 years old.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa legislators in the Republican-led Senate have passed a bill that includes a last-minute amendment excluding transition-related medical services for transgender Iowans from taxpayer-funded insurance coverage. The amendment introduced Friday to the Health and Human Services budget bill also prevents Planned Parenthood of the Heartland from applying for certain sexual education grants.

INDEPENDENCE, IA (IRN) – A Waterloo man has been convicted by a Buchanan County jury of kidnapping and trying to kill a woman by intentionally driving his car toward a concrete bridge pylon. KCRG-TV reports the victim called 911 on April 6, 2018. She told the dispatcher she was in a car with Ronald Dean Share and he refused to let her out. During the call, the victim told dispatch Share was threatening to kill her by hitting a pylon at 100 m.p.h.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – An adult man was the victim of a fatal pedestrian and train collision in Iowa City yesterday, according to KWWL-TV. The collision was reported by a railroad employee.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Former Vice President Joe Biden, who officially announced his 2020 White House bid Thursday, will make his first visit to Iowa as a presidential candidate next week. Biden’s campaign announced the former vice president and senator from Delaware will hold events in Cedar Rapids, Dubuque and Iowa City.

MARSHALLTOWN, IA (IRN) – In July 2018, a tornado ripped through Marshalltown, and nine months later, the town is still recovering. WHO-TV reports more than 600 Habitat for Humanity of Iowa volunteers came together in Marshalltown to work on 40 different houses that were damaged by the tornado. But that’s just a start. Habitat for Humanity plans to repair 100 homes in Marshalltown in 2019.

AMES, IA (IRN) – An Ames house fire this morning that caused thousands of dollars in damages remains under investigation, according to KCCI-TV. Authorities said nobody was home during the fire and that residents of a neighboring duplex were evacuated without injury. Firefighters said $30,000 in damages to the building have rendered the home uninhabitable.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA (IRN) – A Council Bluffs high school band teacher has been arrested on accusations that he engaged in sexual activity with one of his female students, who is now 17.
The Des Moines Register reports Frederick Mendell, 56, is charged with two counts of sexual exploitation by a school employee.

TIFFIN, IA (IRN) – Five people were taken to the hospital following crashes early Thursday morning on I-80 near the exit for Tiffin. Around 2:30 a.m., one driver made a U-turn from I-80 west to I-80 east after missing the off ramp. As he made the cross, he was broadsided by another vehicle. Both vehicles flipped and landed on their roofs. As troopers were investigating, a semi rear-ended another semi that was waiting in stopped traffic.

BOONE, IA (IRN) – A Boone County man who couldn’t speak called 911 for a medical emergency Wednesday, yet first responders couldn’t find him because his flip phone was too old for police to track. WHO-TV reports the 78-year-old caller was able to confirm his address after several hours had passed, and first responders were able to get him to the hospital.

ALLEN PARK, MI (IRN) – Two former Hawkeye tight ends went in the first round of the NFL Draft yesterday. The Detroit Lions selected tight end T.J. Hockenson with the No. 8 overall pick and the Denver Broncos selected Noah Fant with the 20th pick. The two became the first tight end teammates ever selected in the first round of the draft.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Legislature has approved a property tax bill that forces counties and cities to publicize and pass by a two-thirds vote any property tax increase over 2 percent. The bill was touted by Republican Sen. Randy Feenstra as a truth in taxation bill that creates transparency in the budgeting process at county and city levels. Democratic Sen. Pam Jochum says the bill flies in the face of the constitutional home rule amendment added in 1968 that grants cities and counties local control. She says there’s already adequate public input and visibility of local budgets and taxes.

SIOUX CITY, IA (IRN) – A 36-year-old Sioux City man has been arrested following an altercation last week at a construction site. KCAU-TV reports Roel Trevino allegedly struck a man in the head with a hammer following a dispute over a phone. The victim was able to get away from Trevino, who chased the man to his truck. Trevino then threw a lunchbox at the man’s truck and shattered the back window. When arrested, Trevino had brass knuckles in his pocket.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Animal Rescue League is caring for dozens of cats and kittens that were rescued from a one-bedroom apartment in Des Moines Tuesday. WHO-TV reports when Animal Control officers arrived they found cats and kittens everywhere. The owner had thrown some of the cats outside of a window before they arrived. In total, 26 cats and kittens, were taken from the residence.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa’s Republican-led Legislature has passed a bill that limits the powers of the state’s Democratic attorney general. Under the measure, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller would need the governor, Legislature or executive council to sign off on out-of-state litigation. His ability to pursue in-state litigation wouldn’t be affected.

CHARITON, IA (IRN) – Hawkeye football star T.J. Hockenson will be in the spotlight this evening, walking on to a stage in Nashville, Tennessee — and into millions of living rooms via national television — as a first-round NFL draft pick. The glow will extend to the 4,122 people in his hometown of Chariton. His former coaches will be among the overflow crowd expected to gather at the Hotel Charitone, where a community watch party has been planned for weeks.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A child and her mother have been awarded $10 million in a civil lawsuit against Dean Hilpipre, of Webster City. KCCI-TV reports the woman and her 9-year-old daughter were entitled to $10 million after the child’s paternal grandfather sexually molested the girl for four years.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A man who fell from a downtown Cedar Rapids construction site has died of his injuries, according to KCRG-TV. Michael Dean Patterson, 47, of Norwalk, fell off a beam while working at a construction site. He was found lying in an alley.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa State Representative Andy McKean was the longest serving Republican in the Iowa Legislature until he switched parties Tuesday. McKean, of Anamosa, says he’s leaving the party because of President Donald Trump. He says that Trump sets a “poor example for our nation and particularly for our children.”

OXFORD, IA (IRN) – The assistant fire chief for the City of Oxford in Johnson County is facing charges for allegedly starting multiple grass fires. KGAN-TV reports a Johnson County Sheriff’s Deputy was on patrol in the area of the fires and discovered 30-year-old Timothy Hora stamping out flames near his pickup truck while intoxicated. Through GPS monitoring, authorities found that Hora’s vehicle had stopped at the fire locations prior to the fires being called in.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Rep. Steve King told constituents Tuesday that he has “better insight into what (Jesus) went through for us,” likening criticism from accusers in the U.S. House after fellow GOP colleagues stripped him of committee assignments. Earlier this year, King was blocked from committee assignments after lamenting that white supremacy and white nationalism have become offensive terms. King’s likening his experience to that of Jesus has also been widely condemned.