DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – Three police officers and a boy’s mother coaxed the 7-year-old into jumping from a second-story window into their arms so he could escape a fire at their home in Dubuque. KCCI-TV reports the mother escaped down the front stairs Tuesday, but smoke prevented the boy from reaching the stairs. Three officers joined the mother below the window where the boy was standing. They persuaded him to push out the screen, drop his dog to one of the officers and jump into the waiting arms of his mother and the officers. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines police are investigating after receiving a report that a man shot himself in the leg near the Fairgrounds this morning. WHO-TV reports the man was taken from his home by ambulance. Police say the shooting was an accident. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A Waterloo woman is facing multiple charges after she poured gasoline on a woman and threatened to kill her and burn her children. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports 29-year-old Traynetta Ford had a plastic bottle filled with gasoline and dumped it on a woman inside a convenience store. Ford then went outside and poured gas on the woman’s SUV with three children inside. Ford then lit a cigarette lighter near the driver’s door, but the woman chased her away before the gas ignited. BOONE, IA (IRN) – A former Boone youth pastor has been charged for having inappropriate contact with a 16-year-old girl in his church. The Boone News Republican reports 47-year-old Joel Waltz turned himself into Story County Jail Monday. The victim said she first met Waltz when she was 11, and that he declared his love for her when she was 16, and that she met with him regularly until she was 18. Waltz resigned as youth pastor at Grace Community Church last March after the victim first came forward. MARION, IA (IRN) – Three people were able to escape safely from a house fire early this morning in Marion, according to KGAN-TV. One cat died from smoke inhalation. The cause of the fire is unknown. ELY, IA (IRN) – Women run the city of Ely in eastern Iowa. KCRG-TV reports women make up the entire city council, as well as run a number of businesses in downtown. City Administrator Denise Hoy says having an all-female city council makes Ely unique.

FORT DODGE, IA (IRN) – A former treasurer of the Webster County Democratic Central Committee is accused of stealing more than $10,000 from it. KCCI-TV reports 70-year-old Diana Petraline is charged with theft and fraudulent practices. A criminal complaint says Petraline made false entries in the committee’s financial records from 2010 through November 2015. DODGEVILLE, IA (IRN) – An man is dead after a car/tractor crash near the southeastern Iowa town of Dodgeville, according to KWWL-TV. 31-year-old Jeffrey Kirby of LeClaire stuck the rear of a tillage tool in the right lane while it was being pulled by a farm tractor. He wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. JOHNSON COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A “Civil Emergency” alert message sent to many cell phone users Monday was sent by accident. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said its dispatch center in Des Moines received multiple calls regarding an emergency alert saying, ” Civil Emergency in this area until 8:45 PM. Take Shelter Now Polk-County.” The message was sent in error from a dispatch center in eastern Iowa. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – An Iowa senator called for Chuck Palmer, the director of the Iowa Department of Human Services, to step down Monday after he failed to appear at an oversight hearing. KCCI-TV reports Senator Matt McCoy held the hearing Monday as part of an investigation into the starvation death of 16-year-old Natalie Finn, and no DHS officials showed up. McCoy says it’s a cover-up, and “I think Palmer is incompetent.” IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – A woman missing from a mental health facility has been found alive in a Johnson County farm field, according to KCRG-TV. A farmer called 911 and reported he had found a female in one of his fields. Authorities responded and identified her as 35-year-old Vanessa Jones, a missing Chatham Oaks resident. She was hospitalized for evaluation and treatment.

AMES, IA (IRN) – Iowa State University President Steven Leath has been hired as the new president at Auburn University. The Auburn University Board of Trustees named Leath president this morning. Leath was hired as the 15th president of Iowa State in 2012. ISU officials have yet to comment on the announcement. BETTENDORF, IA (IRN) – A Bettendorf woman has died after being hit by a car. WQAD-TV reports 38-year-old Jessica Soteco was pronounced dead at the University of Iowa hospital. Police said Soteco was walking on the roadway about 9:00 p.m. when she was hit by a vehicle. The driver of the vehicle was not hurt during the accident. Bettendorf Police are investigating. MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – Four people escaped a house fire late Sunday night in Mason City, thanks to the help of another person helping pull them out of the burning building. KIMT-TV reports one of the residents heard a popping sound which alerted them to the fire, and officials say another man helped pull them out of the house. All five were taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A handwritten letter calling Muslims “vile” and “filthy” was delivered to the Islamic Center of Des Moines this weekend. KCCI-TV reports the letter was addressed to the “Children of Satan” and was signed by “Americans for a Better Way.” The note says that President Trump is “going to do to you Muslims what Hitler did to the Jews,” and that it “would be wise to pack your bags” and leave. The letter and surveillance camera footage will be turned over to the FBI. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Hospital Association estimates a Republican plan to replace the Affordable Care Act could leave up to 250,000 Iowans without health insurance. Others are concerned the change could destabilize the entire Medicaid system that serves poor and disabled people. The Congressional Budget Office estimates 24 million Americans will lose health care coverage over the next decade under the proposal. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Hy-Vee’s in Cedar Rapids and Muscatine are honoring local “superheroes”–veterans, active duty military, and first responders in an unusual way. KCRG-TV reports the grocery stores have set aside two parking spots to those who work to keep their communities and our country safe.

URBANDALE, IA (IRN) – Urbandale police have made an arrest in a pair of assaults involving fireworks. WHO-TV reports 19-year-old Nedzad Selimovic was charged with reckless use of explosives, assault, and assault causing injury. He is accused of driving by two different people in Urbandale and throwing fireworks at them. One of the victims required medical treatment. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – More than 60 soldiers returned to Iowa Saturday afternoon after nearly a year away from home. The Iowa National Guard unit flew into the Des Moines Airbase around 3 p.m. as hundreds of family members and friends eagerly awaited their arrival. The unit was away from home for 11 months. They started training in Fort Hood, Texas, before being deployed to Afghanistan. MILWAUKEE, IA (IRN) – The Iowa State men’s basketball team was down by 19 in the 2nd half against Purdue, but the Cyclones rallied and almost pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in NCAA history. But it wasn’t to be, as the Boilermakers hung on to win 80-76. Iowa State finishes with a 24-11 record. Purdue advances to the Sweet 16. ST LOUIS, MO (IRN) – Iowa wrestler Cory Clark earned his first NCAA championship with a 4-3 victory against former teammate Seth Gross in the 133-pound finals of the NCAA Wrestling Tournament. The Penn State Nittany Lions ran away with the tournament, with five champions. As a team, Iowa placed fourth.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – State officials have issued burn bans in four Iowa counties due to dry conditions. The Iowa Department of Public Safety’s State Fire Marshal issued the bans this week for Decatur in southern Iowa and Lee, Wapello and Muscatine counties in southeastern Iowa. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – One person is dead after being shot in the chest in Des Moines Friday afternoon, according to WOI-TV. Another victim was shot in the foot. Police believe the victims and the potential suspect knew each other, and the suspect is still at large. This was the ninth homicide of 2017 in Des Moines. IOWA (IRN) – Hospitals across Iowa are scrambling to fill nursing positions, with hundreds of openings in the Des Moines area alone, according to WHO-TV. Unity Point in Des Moines has 170 nursing positions open and St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids has 71. To make matters worse, 21% of Iowa’s aging nurses are eligible to retire, and registered nurses in Iowa make the least amount of money of nurses across the entire United States. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Republican Sen. Joni Ernst met with confrontational crowds in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids where she was repeatedly shouted down and booed. KCCI-TV reports Ernst drew laughter and booing when speaking about the Republican replacement for Obamacare, and faced shouts for suggesting climate change is natural. She drew applause when she said President Donald Trump should release his tax returns. DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – A Scott Community College student will be honored next month for winning a national award, according to WQAD-TV. At the age of 37 Megan Linzy found herself without a high school diploma, and holding several part-time jobs. Afraid her son Charles wouldn’t get his diploma, she challenged him that if he graduated, she’d go back to school to earn her GED. Both got their degrees at the same time. Megan is dyslexic, and has been named the National Outstanding Adult Learner of the Year. She wants to be a teacher.