JOHNSON COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A trial date of October 4 has been set for a man accused of trying to hire a hitman to kill a business associate and his family. WHO-TV reports 36-year-old Justin DeWitt of North Liberty faces charges of attempted murder and solicitation to commit murder. Police say he offered $1,000 as down payment to an undercover agent to carry out the murders – which included a man, his wife, and their two children — ages four and two. COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA (IRN) – An Iowa casino supervisor, dealer and patron are charged with conspiring to cheat at roulette and split thousands of dollars in illicit winnings. KTEV reports the trio carried out the scheme at the Horseshoe Casino in Council Bluffs. They allegedly split between $20,000 and $30,000 in earnings. The conspiracy involved moving and adding additional chips to winning numbers, accepting late bets and placing additional wagers for guests. DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – A pair of Davenport teenagers have been charged with first degree murder and intimidation with a dangerous weapon in connection with the June 26 shooting death of 15-year-old Ayana Culbreath at a backyard party. WQAD-TV reports Davenport Police charged 17-year-old Trevor Owens and 14-year-old Kamario Hill. PLAINFIELD, IA (IRN) – Authorities are looking for a missing 76-year-old woman with dementia who was last seen on Tuesday. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that Cloris Mehmen wandered away from her home near Plainfield Tuesday. More than 100 people helped authorities search roads, ditches and fields around Mehmen’s home, but they didn’t find her. Mehmen has wandered off before, but she was found quickly in the past. VAN METER, IA (IRN) – Some residents of Van Meter woke up Wednesday morning to find the tires of their vehicles had been slashed, according to KCCI-TV. Vandals slashed five tires at one residence, and three at another. All four tires on the police department’s Humvee were also slashed overnight. Van Meter police have possible witnesses, but no arrests have been made. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Iowa City police say one suspect is in custody after a shooting close to Mercer Park. KCRG-TV reports officers took one person into custody. No one has reported any injuries. MONTICELLO, IA (IRN) – Straight line winds Tuesday night uprooted more than 40 trees at the Monticello Jellystone Park campground. KWWL-TV reports 12 campers and two cars were damaged, but nobody was injured. Owner Chip Smith says “Scared me to death. You know, I worked in prisons for 16 years, I’ve been through 4 riots, and I’ve never been so scared as I was last night.” Some of the trees lost were over 100 years old. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) The University of Iowa is renaming its restrooms to include all genders, according to KGAN-TV. The signs will say “single use restroom,” and additional language says anyone can use the restroom regardless of gender identity. All of the signs for the restrooms should be completed by the end of fall.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – A federal appeals court upheld jail sentences today for two egg industry executives whose Iowa-based company caused a nationwide salmonella outbreak in 2010. KGAN-TV reports the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals backed three-month jail sentences issued last year to Austin “Jack” DeCoster and son Peter DeCoster. Investigators argued the DeCosters knew their Iowa egg facilities were at risk for salmonella contamination before the outbreak that sickened up to 56,000 people. KEOTA, IA (IRN) – The likely cause of the Keota High School gymnasium fire is fireworks, according to KCII-Radio. On Monday, July 4th, some time before 6 a.m. the roof of the gym caught fire, and before fire fighters could put it out, a 15 by 20 foot hole had been created by the flames. The roof of the gym was made up of a mostly rubber material. There were no injuries reported. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – Two children are recovering after being bitten by a pit bull in Waterloo Tuesday night, according to KWWL-TV. A young girl and boy, who did not know each other, were bitten in separate incidents by the same dog around the same time. The boy was bitten on the ankle while riding a bike, while the girl was walking home with a friend when attacked. Animal control took a grey pit bull into custody. MAHASKA COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A two-year-old girl is dead in Mahaska County after being found in a family pond, according to the Oskaloosa News. CPR was performed on scene before medical personnel arrived. The child was taken to the hospital where she was pronounced dead. The name of the child has not been released. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Three people were killed in a wrong-way crash Tuesday morning on I-380 near Cedar Rapids. KCRG-TV reports 21-year-old Jordan Dietrich of Victor was driving south in the northbound lanes at a high rate of speed. He hit a vehicle driven by 22-year-old Furaha Nyabitanga of Iowa City. Nyabitanga’s passenger, 26-year-old Djumapili Shabani of Cedar Rapids, also died in the crash. The patrol says it’s too early to tell if alcohol played a role. BLAIRSBURG, IA (IRN) – During the thunderstorms which moved through early this morning a fire was reported at a house near the Hamilton County town of Blairsburg, according to WHO-TV. The fire started in the garage, and destroyed the garage, a shed, and four vehicles, before spreading to the house. No one was injured, and the cause is unknown. One resident of the house said they heard a loud pop, then the garage was on fire. MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – A regional airline jet on its way from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to Chicago made an emergency landing in northern Iowa yesterday because of smoke inside the cockpit. KCCI-TV reports the American Eagle jet made an unplanned stop at the Mason City Airport around 1 p.m. Tuesday. 45 passengers and three crew members left the plane safely following the landing.

AMES, IA (IRN) – A 21-year-old Iowa State University student suffered serious injuries when he jumped off the roof of the Delta Delta Delta sorority house in Ames, according to KCCI-TV. Officers were called out to the house on a report of a man on the roof. When they went up the fire escape, they heard a noise and it was the man hitting the ground. Matthew Beth of Ames, was taken by air ambulance to Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines and is in critical condition. Police believe he was drunk. KEOTA, IA (IRN) – The roof of the Keota High School gymnasium caught fire on the fourth of July, according to KCII-Radio. The fire created a 15 by 20 foot hole in the rubber roof of the gymnasium. The cause of the fire in under investigation. AMES, IA (IRN) – Ames police say there has been a run of vehicle vandalism in their city. KCCI-TV reports 18 vehicles parked on the street or in driveways were hit. Residents woke up Monday to their cars damaged. Most of the vehicles had tires slashed but broken mirrors and keyed cars were also reported. NORTH ENGLISH, IA (IRN) – A fire destroyed a building in North English Monday and caused heavy smoke damage to the pharmacy next door. KCRG-TV reports the building was engulfed when firefighters arrived. The cause is under investigation. No one was hurt, but some pets were lost. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa DNR reports that more than 700 vessels containing more than 2,200 boaters were contacted as part of Operation Dry Water last weekend. The operation was part of a drunken boating crackdown. 227 citations or warnings were issued, with most of the citations for not having the proper safety equipment onboard. 10 boating while intoxicated arrests were made. One-third of all boating fatalities nationally involve alcohol. TRUMPLANDIA, EARTH (IRN) – Iowa Senator Joni Ernst is reportedly being considered as a potential running mate to Donald Trump. Trump tweeted that he is meeting with her today. It’s unclear if Ernst is interested in the position. PLANET JUPITER (IRN) – A little piece of Iowa landed on Jupiter yesterday, according to KCCI-TV. The solar-powered Juno spacecraft is on the final leg of a five-year, 1.8 billion-mile trip to the largest planet in our solar system. An instrument onboard the probe was designed and built at the University of Iowa. The “Waves” instrument will analyze Jupiter’s auroras, which are about 1,000 times more intense than Earth’s Northern Lights.

DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – One man is in the hospital after an early morning shooting in Davenport, according to WQAD-TV. Investigators determined the man had been in an argument prior to the shooting. Shell casings were recovered at the scene. No arrests have been made. MT. VERNON, IA (IRN) – A 21-year-old Mt. Vernon man is in the hospital with serious injuries after an ATV crash. KCRG-TV reports John Philipp lost control of the ATV, hit a fence, causing it to roll over and pin him to the ground. First responders took him by helicopter to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. PLEASANT HILL, IA (IRN) – Police are investigating a string of 13 car burglaries that happened overnight in Pleasant Hill Thursday, according to WOI-TV. In every case the cars were left unlocked. Individuals are walking through the community, and trying car doors and if the car is found to be open, then they rummage through the vehicle. Police say lock your car, and don’t leave anything valuable in it. GREELEY, IA (IRN) – An eastern Iowa woman is dead after an incident with a homemade cannon Saturday night in Greeley, according to KGAN-TV. The victim, 55-year-old Lori Heims, of Edgewood, was with friends in the backyard of a home, when they loaded and fired a homemade cannon. When the cannon fired, the rear portion of the barrel blew out, sending fragments flying. One of the fragments hit Heims in the head, causing the deadly injury. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – One person was killed Sunday in a single-vehicle crash just after 2:30 a.m. in Des Moines. KCCI-TV reports 24-year-old Dawood Nega and 23-year-old Bill Saywonson crashed into a traffic signal pole after Nega lost control. They were pulled from the car by witnesses just before it caught fire. Nega was hospitalized and Saywonson died on the scene. Coincidentally, one of the men who pulled them from the fiery crash was a friend. CERRO GORDO CO., IA (IRN) – One person was taken to the hospital after an ATV rollover in Cerro Gordo County. KIMT-TV reports 40-year-old Brian Fessler was driving the ATV with two passengers, ages 9 and 12. The Polaris rolled while going up a steep hill. The two minors were not hurt, but Fessler was hospitalized. MARSHALLTOWN, IA (IRN) – A World War II Navy veteran celebrated his 95th birthday in Marshalltown yesterday, according to WHO-TV. Joe Simms was born just hours before the fourth of July in 1921. Simms is still active. At his party he danced and sang — things his family says he’s done his entire life. His words of wisdom for us? “The most important thing is love. If you’ve never had love, you’ve missed everything,” he said. “Life is too hard not to love each other.”

FORT MADISON, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Department of Public Safety has released the identity of the man shot and killed by police during a Wednesday bank robbery. The individual killed in the bank robbery at the Fort Madison Bank and Trust Co. has been identified as 37-year-old Lafayette Evans of Nashville, Tennessee. Evans died from a single gunshot wound to the chest. MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – Authorities are offering a $250 reward for the return of two guns stolen from a Mason City police vehicle late last month. The Mason City Globe Gazette reports that Crime Stoppers of North Central Iowa announced the reward Friday. The department seeks the return of a semi-automatic M16 rifle and a 12-gauge shotgun. Police have fingerprint evidence that may be related to the theft. COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA (IRN) – A boating crash Friday night caused a vessel to sink to the bottom of the Missouri River near Council Bluffs, according to KETV. Two people were rescued from the water by people in a third boat. Those rescued were not wearing life jackets, and alcohol was not a factor in the collision. The DNR is investigating. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Police have arrested a Des Moines man suspected of robbing of a taxi driver. The Des Moines Register reports that 34-year-old Landon Paul Dawson is charged with second-degree robbery. The cab driver says he picked up Dawson from a casino around 3:30 a.m. Friday, who said he had “hit it big” and wanted change for a $100 bill for a tip. The driver says when he pulled out $50, Dawson grabbed the money and ran, leaving his ID behind.