Author: Iowa Radio News

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst has repaid $1,900 to the Office of Tax and Revenue after the Des Moines Register questioned her about a tax break she had been claiming on her condo in Washington for years. An Ernst spokesman says the homestead tax credit claim was made in error and immediately returned when it was brought to the senator’s attention. It’s unclear if Ernst will face any penalty for the claim.

CRESCO, IA (IRN) – A Cresco man was seriously injured after the horse and buggy he was driving was hit by a truck Saturday. The horse and buggy driven by a 23-year-old man pulled out in front of a Ford F150 truck. The 50-year-old driver of the truck was not able to stop in time and hit the horse. The young man was thrown from the buggy onto the road and the horse crawled into a nearby ditch and died. The buggy driver was airlifted with serious head injuries.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines Fire Department crews fought flames and snow Monday at a trailer home fire. KCCI-TV reports three children in the home escaped safely.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A bill that would eliminate the requirement to obtain a permit to buy or carry a gun in Iowa has been moved out of a Senate subcommittee. The Senate bill has the support of 15 senators, the National Rifle Association, the Iowa Firearms Coalition and Iowa Gun Owners groups. It’s opposed by Catholic, Methodist and Episcopal church groups along with domestic violence and gun safety organizations.

IOWA (IRN) – A Winter Storm Warning continues for parts of Central and Eastern Iowa through the day today with a Winter Weather Advisory in counties in Western Iowa. A range of 1″ in Western Iowa to 7″ in Eastern Iowa fell across the state Monday night through the early morning Tuesday. The Des Moines Metro saw 3 to 5″ fall.

DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – A pedestrian was struck by a car in a crosswalk in Davenport Saturday, according to WQAD-TV. The victim will be OK, and police are investigating.

MARSHALLTOWN, IA (IRN) – A woman’s body was discovered in a Marshalltown hair salon Sunday morning, according to the Des Moines Register. The body of 39-year-old Ginger Carter was found after police received a call reporting an “unattended death” at Center Cuts & More.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Volunteers at the neonatal intensive care unit at a Des Moines hospital are cuddling infants who were born suffering from opioid withdrawal. KCCI-TV reports every 15 minutes, a baby is born suffering from the condition. It’s called neonatal abstinence syndrome, and babies who have it may cry excessively, have trouble sleeping and gain weight slowly. Vicki Agnitsch, a retired nurse who is one of 22 volunteers part of the Cuddler Volunteer program at Blank Children’s Hospital, says “touch is so important to babies…without it, there would be failure to thrive.”

IOWA (IRN) – A Winter Storm Warning has been issued for central and eastern Iowa for today and tomorrow. A mix of rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow are on the way. Accumulations of 2-8 inches are likely.

BURLINGTON, IA (IRN) – Someone bought a Powerball ticket in Burlington worth $2 million.
Iowa Lottery officials say the ticket matched the first five numbers in Saturday’s drawing but missed the Powerball number. The ticket was bought at Hy-Vee.

DAKOTA CITY, IA (IRN) – A two-vehicle collision that killed a 12-year-old boy is sending a woman to prison. KIMT-TV reports Trisha Dawn Luthro, 41 of Marshalltown, has been sentenced to up to 25 years behind bars. She pleaded guilty to homicide by vehicle for a September 2017 crash near Humboldt. Authorities say Luthro crossed the center line and smashed head on with the vehicle driven by Kevin Ahlstrom of Dakota City. The crash killed Ahlstrom’s 12-year-old son.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A fire prompted the evacuation of a Cedar Rapids apartment building Saturday, according to KCRG-TV. Once firefighters entered the burning unit they found a mattress and contents of a bedroom had caught flame. Crews were able to knock down the fire before it could spread to other apartments.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Republican legislators in the Iowa House of Representatives have introduced a measure that would ban hospitals from treating employees differently if they refused to be immunized for influenza. The punishment would include fines up to $25,000.

IOWA (IRN) – Tax season is off to a slower start this year, with early filers seeing smaller average refunds. The average refund is down about 8% under the first full year of the overhauled tax code, according to data released by the IRS on Friday. Refunds averaged $1,865 compared to $2,035 for tax year 2017.

CERRO GORDO COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Despite a Blizzard Warning, Cerro Gordo County deputies found themselves in a pursuit of a stolen vehicle that fled authorities at speeds of 100 miles per hour Thursday night. KIMT-TV reports the vehicle was reported stolen from rural Clear Lake, and the vehicle fled through Clear Lake. Due to the poor road conditions, the driver lost control and crashed. The passenger was caught after a short foot pursuit, and the driver was found hiding in a garage. Both face numerous charges.

ANKENY, IA (IRN) – A newly released video shows a man pointed what was later determined to be a BB gun at Ankeny police moments before he was fatally shot by an officer last fall. The Des Moines Register reports Ankeny police officer Todd Webb shot and killed 31-year-old Christopher Lee Leonard, of Springfield, Missouri, on Sept. 11. Leonard committed a robbery minutes before the shooting. A Polk County grand jury has ruled that Webb would not be indicted.

JANESVILLE, IA (IRN) – A crash near Janesville has killed a 19-year-old from Illinois. The Iowa State Patrol says Julia Walters of Morrison, Illinois was driving her 2007 Ford Fusion on Highway 218 Friday when she lost control and rolled her vehicle into the median. She flew from the vehicle and died later at a Waverly hospital. She was not wearing a seatbelt. A 21-year-old female passenger in Walter’s vehicle was injured and also went to the hospital. There is no word on her condition. She was wearing a seatbelt.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Legislature is considering a bill which would make all cell phone use while driving illegal, unless it is hands-free. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, almost 3,500 people were killed in 2016 in crashes involving distracted driving.

U.S.A. (IRN) – President Donald Trump and Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds are honoring the longest-serving member of Congress in United States history by ordering flags to fly at half-staff on Monday, February 11. U.S. Representative John David Dingell, Jr. served Michigan on Capitol Hill from 1955 through 2014. A Democrat, Dingell died at his home on Thursday at the age of 92.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A Des Moines man is behind bars after police say he assaulted his pregnant girlfriend and wouldn’t let her leave their home Thursday. KCCI-TV reports 27-year-old Mathew Levine is accused of confining his pregnant girlfriend to a bathroom during an argument and physically keeping her from leaving several times. The woman was able to get out of the bathroom and ran from the home, but Levine chased her, grabbing her phone and throwing it as she tried to call 911. She was able to get the phone back and locked herself in her car and called police.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Police are investigating a robbery at a Cedar Rapids hotel. KCRG-TV reports early this morning a man in a mask displayed a handgun and demanded money from the front desk at a Hometown Inn and Suites. The suspect left with an unknown amount of cash, and no arrests have been made.

WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – An SUV crashed into a home in Waterloo last night, according to KWWL-TV. Half of the vehicle penetrated an exterior wall. Police are investigating.

AMES, IA (IRN) – A Minnesota-based contractor might have to pay more than $800,000 in fines for a major construction error and subsequent delays in one of the state’s largest and most expensive bridge projects. KCCI-TV reports that the $23 million flyover bridge at the intersection of Interstate 35 and Highway 30 in Ames has been delayed and had to be rebuilt after it was discovered that a math error led to the six piers and each of the ramps being built incorrectly.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Ayana, the female black rhino at the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines, is pregnant again. The zoo estimates the calf’s due date is February 25th. The black rhino is a critically endangered mammal, hunted nearly to extinction for its ivory horns. There are only a few hundred of them left living in the wild and a few hundred more at zoos across the globe. The zoo will hold a contest to name the baby.