ANAMOSA – Police are investigating a car that was found occupied and on fire in Anamosa, and resulted in the death of a man from Ryan over the weekend. The Iowa State Patrol reports a Ford Focus was found ablaze with 96 year old Maurice Vincent Hennessy inside, who was pronounced dead. A preliminary investigation shows the vehicle was traveling westbound on the wrong side of the road before leaving and going into a ditch, striking a road sign, recrossing the road, and colliding with a tree.

COUNCIL BLUFFS – A Council Bluffs man was to 108 months in prison for Receipt of Child Pornography. According to public court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, Ivan Dean Joslin, 20, pled guilty to Receipt of Child Pornography. In May 2023, Joslin met a thirteen-year-old minor in Council Bluffs and exchanged phone numbers. At his request, Joslin received over the internet sexually explicit images and videos of the minor. After completing his term of imprisonment, Joslin is required to serve six years of supervised release.

HARLAN – Several tornadoes in western Iowa have received their rating from Friday’s tornado outbreak. At least three tornadoes that passed through Pottawattamie were rated as EF-3 on the enhanced Fujita scale. Th worse was the storm that passed through Minden and Harlan, which resulted in three injuries and one death and was on the ground for close to an hour. Additional severe weather chances are in place, especially across central Iowa later today.

MINDEN – A man who was hurt during Friday’s powerful tornado in Minden has died from his injuries. KETV reports the man was unconscious when first responders found him. Three others were injured as the storm ripped through the western Iowa community, destroying nearly half of the town, according to authorities. The National Weather Service in Omaha is still surveying that storm and others that ravaged eastern Nebraska.

FORT DODGE – Two Fort Dodge residents have been charged in connection to a homicide investigation. On Friday, the Webster County Telecommunication Center received a report of a body located in a ditch by a mail carrier. Deputies found 55-year-old Dennis R. Jones dead from an apparent gunshot wound. Following investigation and a search warrant, police arrested 26-year-old Alec Jones and 21-year-old Nathan Jones. Alec is charged with first degree murder and Nathan with aiding and abetting first degree murder.

MASON CITY – A Mason City man died in a wrong way crash on Interstate 35 late Saturday. The Iowa State Patrol reports 56-year-old Glen Evan Hemming was traveling northbound in the southbound lanes near Mile Marker 194, and collided with a semi heading the right way. Hemming died from his injuries and was not wearing a seatbelt during the collision. The semi was operated by Huseein Ali Haidar of Burnsville, Minnesota, who was uninjured.

POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY – Several tornadoes touched down in western and central Iowa Friday, causing damage from Crawford to Union and Ringgold Counties to Polk and Jasper in Iowa. Perhaps the worst hit community was Minden, about 30 minutes northeast of Council Bluffs, with several flattened structures. Gov. Kim Reynolds has already issued a disaster proclamation for Pottawattamie County in response to severe weather that occurred. The National Weather Service will begin storm surveys today, but their work may only be starting, as another round of severe weather is possible across the southern half of the state late Saturday into early Sunday morning, with significant hail and rainfall as the primary threats.

DELAWARE COUNTY – One person has died in a multiple vehicle crash in Delaware County. The Iowa State Patrol reports the driver of a Polaris Ranger UTV failed to stop at an intersection in a rural part of the county and was struck by a Chevy Silverado. The operator of the UTV has died, but the name is being withheld for now. Both occupants of the truck were injured but not transported to a hospital.

DES MOINES – Governor Kim Reynolds and Lt. Governor Adam Gregg will induct the 2024 Iowa Volunteer Hall of Fame members and present the Excellence in Mentoring awards to two individuals in a ceremony at the Iowa State Capitol building on Tuesday.

Being selected for the Iowa Volunteer Hall of Fame is the most prestigious state level honor volunteers can receive as recognition of extraordinary donations of volunteer service to their communities. The 2024 Iowa Volunteer Hall of Fame inductees are:

Robert (Bob) Allbee, Muscatine
Celeste M. Lawson, Des Moines
Vicki Leonard, Dubuque
Daniel L. Lopez, Des Moines
Refugee and Immigrant Association, Iowa City
SALUD – Multicultural Health Center of Storm Lake, Storm Lake

SAC COUNTY – The Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner conducted a forensic autopsy on the body discovered in Sac County on April 24th. The body has been positively identified through dental records as that of 53-year-old David Schultz of Wall Lake. Schultz was located in a farm field in the 1900 block of Union Ave. in Sac County. He was reported missing in November of 2023 when his semi was found with his identification and cell phone inside. Preliminary autopsy results show no signs of trauma or serious injury. Further autopsy test results are pending. Authorities do not suspect foul play in the death of Schultz.

DES MOINES – Governor Kim Reynolds announced that she will lead a trade mission to India later this year. The trade mission is planned for September 13-22 and will include Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig and a delegation of agricultural and business leaders. The trade mission is being organized by the Iowa Economic Development Authority with support from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Commercial Service. While the itinerary is still being developed, Gov. Reynolds is expected to meet with business and government leaders in Mumbai and New Delhi. Iowa companies will participate in meetings specific to their market entry or expansion needs.

BURLINGTON – A Burlington woman was sentenced this week to thirty years in federal prison for conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking, attempted sex trafficking of a child, and sex trafficking three adult victims. According to public court documents, 32-year-old Miesha Lasha Stanley used force, fraud, and coercion to compel victims to engage in sex acts with customers in exchange for money. Stanley took some or all of the money that the victims earned. Stanley used the victims’ vulnerabilities, which included lack of stable housing, drug addiction, abusive relationships, and lack of familial support, to compel them to engage in paid sex acts. Stanley also conspired with co-defendant Rosella Marie Taylor to sex traffic one of the victims. The 36-year-old Taylor was sentenced to 122 months of imprisonment for conspiring to sex traffic, attempting to sex traffic, and sex trafficking two victims.