DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa’s unemployment rate dropped slightly in March to 3.1 percent. Iowa Workforce Development announced today that the rate fell from 3.2 percent in February and was down from 3.8 percent a year ago. Iowa’s unemployment rate is over a full point lower than the national rate of 4.5 percent OTTUMWA, IA (IRN) – An Ottumwa teacher is behind bars facing sexual exploitation charges. On Wednesday, police arrested 26-year-old Jose De Jesus Ortiz Jr. Officers received a call from the Ottumwa Community School District regarding a high school teacher having an inappropriate relationship with a student. According to The Ottumwa Daily News, Ortiz is a Spanish teacher at Ottumwa High School. MARSHALLTOWN, IA (IRN) – An argument turned into a killing Monday in front of the House of Compassion, a soup kitchen in Marshalltown. WHO-TV reports 23-year-old Wyatt Slinker and 55-year-old David Lurvey got into an argument, a punch was thrown by Slinker, and Lurvey fell to the ground suffering a critical head injury. Lurvey had loaned Slinker $20 so he could buy pet food for his dog and cat, and Lurvey was asking for the loan to be returned. PEOSTA, IA (IRN) – The parents of a 13-year-old boy and the boy’s uncle from Peosta have been accused of having the boy wear a chain around his waist attached to weights to keep him from running away again. KCRG-TV reports Cynthia and Michael Kobusch, and her brother, Jeffrey Merfeld, have been charged with child endangerment. Neighbors saw the victim walking around with a four-foot black log chain attached to weights. AMES, IA (IRN) – An agriculture research center at Iowa State University is on the chopping block, but advocates say they hope Gov. Terry Branstad reconsiders. KCCI-TV reports Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture leaders say they didn’t know about the bill that would close the facility until a few days ago. Some legislators said the center has completed its work and can now close. Director Mark Rasmussen says it’s embarrassing lawmakers don’t know what the center does, and that it actually generates revenue through grants. MARION, IA (IRN) – After six years of faithful service to the Marion Police Department, K-9 Bruno is retiring. Bruno joined the department in 2010 and specialized in narcotics. He will retire to the home of his handler, detective Jeff Gilson. Gilson says, “He’s a huge part of my family. My kids love him. My wife loves him. He’s a great dog.”

DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – A judge says a Dubuque man is competent to stand trial on charges that he raped and killed a woman. The Telegraph Herald reports Helmon Betwell allegedly attacked 66-year-old Nancy Krapfl in 2015, as she was walking in Dubuque. A defense expert says Betwell has an intellectual disability that prevents him from understanding legal proceedings. The judge says that subnormal intelligence is just one consideration in a competency decision. OTTUMWA, IA (IRN) – An Ottumwa man is behind bars for beating a man up and stealing his pants. 19-year-old Marquis Bedford and a juvenile co-defendant repeatedly punched and kicked the victim in the head until they heard police sirens, when they ran after stealing the victim’s pants and wallet. Bedford late attempted to bribe a witness with a PlayStation 4 gaming console, asking her to tell authorities he wasn’t involved. He’s in jail. SAC CITY, IA (IRN) – A 57-year-old northwest Iowa woman and her son have pled not guilty to marijuana charges. KCCI-TV reports Glenda Turnquist, of Schaller, and her son, 34-year-old Keegan Cross, were found with 80 marijuana plants, growing lamps, watering pumps, potting soil and fertilizer. Cross is also accused of using his grandfather’s credit card to buy gear for the pot operation. WEVER, IA (IRN) – Governor Terry Branstad cut the ribbon on the new $2 billion dollar Orascom fertilizer plant in Lee County yesterday. Helping fund the construction were $107 million in state tax credits and hundreds of millions of dollars in federal tax breaks. Democrats say the project is an economic disaster that helped lead Iowa into deficit problems. The factory will eventually employ 200 workers, costing the state and federal governments $2.5 million dollars per job created. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – A former spokeswoman for the Iowa Board of Regents has filed a lawsuit alleging the termination of her employment was motivated by age and gender discrimination. KCRG-TV reports Sheila Koppin says her duties were absorbed by two male employees, including one hired at a salary $24,000 higher than what she earned in her 29th year. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – The Iowa City City Council voted Tuesday night to change its open container ordinance to allow drinking beer and wine in the streets and sidewalks of downtown Iowa City during special events. It would allow patrons to move between restaurants with an open container. Downtown businesses support the change.

MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – A trip to Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa resulted in more criminal charges for a 26-year-old Mason City man. KIMT-TV reports King James, already in the Cerro Gordo County Jail after domestic assault charges, is now facing three additional serious misdemeanor charges of Assault on Persons in Certain Occupations. He spit on a pair of nurses and a doctor while at a medical appointment. COLFAX, IA (IRN) – An Altoona man has been accused of stealing gravel from Jasper County. Court records say 52-year-old Theodore “Ted” Duvall is charged with theft. Duvall allegedly used a backhoe to load a dump truck at a county stockpile in Colfax and then took the gravel to a private residence. The gravel taken was estimated at more than 100 tons and valued at more than $2,500. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – New abortion restrictions are headed to Governor Branstad, according to WHO-TV. The Senate gave final approval to the bill Tuesday night, requiring a 3-day waiting period to get the procedure and banning most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The only exception is if the mother’s health is in danger. Women who became pregnant through rape or incest will be required to carry the baby to term. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A Waterloo homeowner has been fined thousands of dollars because her home has been declared a chronic nuisance, according to KWWL-TV. Police have been called to the home over 50 times recently for multiple shootings, weapon violations, noise complaints, and suspicious activity. Officers have received threats from people at the home that they will sexually assault the officers’ wives. Police are charging $50 per officer hour for each visit. MADISON COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A West Des Moines teen has been charged with setting the covered Cedar Bridge in Madison County on fire, according to KCCI-TV. A tip led to 17-year-old Alexander Hoff’s arrest. On his Instagram account, Hoff recently posted cryptic messages, including a photo of the bridge with the caption “The hardest part of life is knowing which bridges to burn, and which to cross.” GRUNDY COUNTY, IA (IRN) – People have reported seeing a bear in Grundy, Butler and Tama counties in recent days, according to KCRG-TV. Experts says it’s likely the same male bear, searching for two things: females and food. The DNR says black bears aren’t known for being overly aggressive or destructive, but don’t recommend taking a selfie with him.

WAPELLO, IA (IRN) – A semi-truck hit a moped in Wapello Monday night and a teenager died. KCII Radio reports 15-year-old Sierra Jane Bowdre failed to yield upon entering a highway and was struck by the semi. The semi was driven by 57-year-old Steven Lutman of Colfax, Illinois. Bowdre died at the scene. TRIPOLI, IA (IRN) – The Bremer County Sheriff says two 10-year-old boys fought off an abduction attempt with a hockey stick. The incident was reported Monday morning in Tripoli. Two 10-year-old boys told deputies they were approached by a man who offered to help them collect cans. The boys said he grabbed one of them and then let the boy go after the other hit him with a hockey stick. URBANDALE, IA (IRN) – An Urbandale man was arrested Monday on child pornography and sexual exploitation charges. KCCI-TV reports 28-year-old Justin Chugg has been charged with sexual exploitation of a minor and nine charges of possession of child pornography. Authorities received a tip from Skype that Chugg was viewing child pornography. A detective then traced the IP address to Chugg’s computer in his parents’ Urbandale home. MARSHALLTOWN, IA (IRN) – A man died during a work accident at Emerson Electric in Marshalltown last week. KCRG-TV reports Craig Petersen was a 17-year employee. Investigators are looking into the cause of death. MADISON COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Police in Madison County are searching for an arsonist who torched the Cedar Bridge this weekend. WHO-TV reports the original Cedar Bridge was destroyed by an arsonist in 2002 and replaced in 2003. Last night stakeholders met and decided to rebuild the bridge again. Officials say an engineer is working to calculate how much the project will cost. In 2003, it was a hefty half million dollars to rebuild. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A bill allowing Iowa’s craft liquor distillers to mix cocktails at their manufacturing facilities was passed at the legislature Monday, with both Democrats and Republicans praising the bill as a good step for economic development. The Des Moines Register reports distillers say the legislation puts them on a level playing field with Iowa’s craft breweries and wineries, which already are able to open tasting rooms where patrons can buy a glass of beer or wine made on-site.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Gov. Terry Branstad signed two bills into law today toughening the state’s ban on texting while driving. The first bill makes it a primary offense, so police will be able to pull you over if they see you writing, sending or reading from your smartphone. The other will allow police to add the charge of reckless driving to a vehicular homicide charge if the driver was found to be using a cell phone at the time of the crash. The two new laws will take effect July 1. CAMANCHE, IA (IRN) – The Clinton County Attorney’s Office has declared that no criminal charges will be filed in regards to a fatal shooting in Camanche in February. KWQC-TV reports no charges will be filed against the person who shot and killed 25-year-old Nicholas Jordan Luskey because the shooter was acting in self-defense. JOHNSTON, IA (IRN) – An arrest has been made in connection to a Saturday night homicide in Johnston. Police were dispatched to an apartment complex on reports of gunshots. 34-year-old Agnes Yarlee has been identified as the gunshot victim. 38-year-old Abraham Roberts was taken into custody at the Canadian border in International Falls, Minnesota, attempting to cross into Canada. Yarlee and Roberts lived together and had children. The kids are safe. URBANDALE, IA (IRN) – Authorities have recovered the body of a man found in a large pond in front of a business in Urbandale. KCCI-TV reports two men went swimming, but one did not return to shore. Efforts to recover the body were hampered by the pond’s large size and murky conditions. The men were out-of-state workers and guests at a nearby hotel. It’s unclear whether alcohol played a factor in the drowning, and police are investigating. The temperature of the water at the time was approximately 54 degrees. DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – A body was found in a ditch on the outskirts of Dubuque Sunday morning, according to KWWL-TV. After investigating, police say it appears a 64-year-old man passed away of natural causes while riding his bicycle. GRUNDY COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A bear cub was spotted in Grundy County over the weekend, according to KCRG-TV. The Grundy County Sheriff’s Office said a cub was spotted by motorists in a ditch near Highway 20’s Wellsburg exit. It was running along the fence line and heading south when last seen.