DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The head of the Iowa National Guard says nearly 1,700 positions have been opened up to women this year following a federal policy change. KCCI-TV reports Major General Timothy Orr told the Iowa General Assembly on Wednesday the spots became available after Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced in late 2015 that women in the U.S. armed forces may serve in any position, including combat roles. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The merger agreement between Des Moines-based Meredith Corporation and Media General won’t go through. WHO-TV reports Meredith announced Wednesday the two companies had agreed to terminate the binding merger agreement. The original merger deal had been announced in September and would have created the third largest owner of local TV stations in the country. ALBIA, IA (IRN) – A man reported missing in Albia has been found dead in a car at the bottom of a deep ravine. KCCI-TV reports the 1999 Buick Lesabre was on its top at the bottom of the ravine. 50-year-old Leslie Allan Hartly of rural Albia was found dead in the car. Hartly had been missing since last week. OSKALOOSA, IA (IRN) – More information is coming in about the death of former Hawkeye safety and NFL player Tyler Sash. WHO-TV reports Sash died at the age of 27 from accidental mixed drug toxicity. He was found in his Oskaloosa home on Sept. 8, 2015. We’ve now learned that Sash had an advanced degree of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (en-SEF-uh-lah-puh-thee), a degenerative brain disease caused by repeated trauma. It has been found in dozens of former NFL players. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Cedar Rapids emergency crews responded to the Eastern Iowa Airport to a report of a suspicious substance Tuesday night. KWWL-TV reports the unknown substance was found in a bag. Crews secured the area and followed hazmat procedures. Tests are being done, and according to the city, there is no threat to the public. NIAGARA FALLS, NY (IRN) – Neighbors in Niagara Falls, New York say they have had enough. According to the Niagara Gazette the University of Iowa fight song has been played from about 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. – every single night – for six months, from an empty commercial building downtown. On a quiet night, it can be heard from a block away. The whole song lasts less than a minute, but it’s played on a continuous loop from the open windows of the building. No lyrics, just the music.

OTTUMWA, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation has announced arrests have been made in a 2006 fire that killed two people. Twenty-eight-year-old Christopher Yenger, of Ottumwa, and 27-year-old Zachary Dye, of Council Bluffs, have each been charged with two counts of murder. A fire Yenger and Dye are accused of setting killed two people. CLERMONT, IA (IRN) – An eastern Iowa man has died after crashing his car into a business with a five-year-old girl in his back seat. WHO-TV reports it happened in Clermont Sunday night. Thirty-eight-year-old James Tacket died at the scene. The girl was taken to the hospital, but is expected to survive. Investigators believe alcohol may have played a role in the incident. MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – Mason City Community Schools were on lockdown Friday. The Mason City Globe Gazette reports the lockdown happened because the North Central Iowa Narcotics Task Force planned to serve a potentially high-risk search warrant near a school. Class time was not interrupted and students were not informed the buildings were in lockdown. The operation was conducted without incident. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – An Iowa City woman has been sentenced to 25 years in prison on child endangerment charges related to 2012 death of her son. The Iowa City Press Citizen reports 22-year-old Mireya Balderas entered an Alford plea to neglect of a dependent person and three counts of child endangerment resulting in bodily injury. Her 20-month-old son died of blunt force trauma. In an Alford plea, the defendant doesn’t admit guilt but acknowledges prosecutors have enough evidence to win a conviction. DUBUQUE COUNTY, IA (IRN) – The Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a burglary at a home in Graf. KWWL-TV reports the homeowner was home when 22-year-old Logan Ball broke in, saw the homeowner, ran and tried to get inside a car driven by 22-year-old Andrew Hochberger. The homeowner tackled Ball before he got to the car, and wrestled him to the ground. The two men got away, but deputies apprehended them quickly. They’re in jail. BETTENDORF, IA (IRN) – Bettendorf Police are searching for a lifted pickup truck, with large tires, that is the suspect vehicle in an alleged road rage hit-and-run. According to WQAD-TV injuries were reported when a Ford Windstar van was rammed and run off the road as it was eastbound on Interstate 80. The suspect vehicle didn’t stop after the collision. Police called it an incident of road rage. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Dirty dishes probably saved a Des Moines woman’s life. KCCI-TV reports a Des Moines Transit bus crashed into her living room Monday night. Janet Brown says “I was just sitting in the living room and got up to go into the kitchen to do my dishes and the whole house just shook.” The bus crashed into the corner of the home and came to rest inside the living room. The driver may have had a medical condition. Brown’s OK, as are her six cats.

DES MOINES (IRN) – Law enforcement and gun dealers say they are seeing a rise in gun sales and applications for carry permits in Iowa. The Des Moines Register reports that the National Instant Criminal Background Check System says Iowa had nearly 26,000 firearm background checks conducted in December 2015, more than in any other month last year. The Polk County Sheriff’s Department says it saw about 1,000 more gun carry permit applications than usual last month. WHITING, IA (IRN) – A Louisiana man has been killed in a snowmobile accident in western Iowa. KWWL-TV reports David Daigle, of Baton Rouge, struck an irrigation pivot as he tried to cut across a farm field near Whiting. Daigle was pronounced dead at Mercy Medical Center in Sioux City. OSKALOOSA, IA (IRN) – A Mahaska County man is dead after he crashed into a stalled vehicle on Highway 92 west of Oskaloosa, according to the Iowa State Patrol. Saturday evening an SUV became disabled and stopped in the eastbound lane, where the occupants exited. Sixty-two-year-old Georgie Crews then struck the rear of the SUV with his pickup, pushing it into another vehicle. Crews was not wearing a seatbelt and died at the scene. DES MOINES (IRN) – Des Moines police are investigating the first homicide of the year. On Sunday officers responded to a home on a welfare check and found the body of 71-year-old Norma Jean McNeeley inside the home. The investigation continues. JOHNSON COUNTY, IA (IRN) – One person is dead and another injured following a crash Sunday, according to Iowa State Patrol. A car was traveling eastbound in Johnson County in the third lane of I-80. A second car driven by 20-year-old Kaitlyn Richards of Coralville then rear ended the first car pushing it out of it’s lane into a semi. The name of the deceased, a 54-year-old from Swisher, has not been released. DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – Dubuque library officials have rejected a $6 million offer to buy one of their two paintings by renowned Iowa artist Grant Wood. KCRG-TV reports trustees of the Carnegie-Stout Public Library say they have no intention of selling either painting by Wood, who is best known for his “American Gothic” painting. Official say the paintings are a source of pride for the community. The paintings were acquired in the 1930s for a total of $1,150 with money left to the library for purchasing art.

RICEVILLE, IA (IRN) – A former northern Iowa vocal teacher and coach who pled guilty to possessing child pornography has been sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison. The Mason City Globe Gazette reports that 27-year-old Adam Haacke, of Riceville, was sentenced Friday to 11 years and three months. He wasn’t a teacher in the district at the time of his arrest. NEWTON, IA (IRN) – An escaped inmate from the Newton Correctional Center has been apprehended, according to KCCI-TV. 28-year-old Edward Nathaniel Shorter failed to return to the minimum security release center Saturday. Shorter is serving a 20-year-sentence on drug charges. DES MOINES (IRN) – The RAGBRAI route for 2016 has been announced, and it will take riders through beautiful southern Iowa. The Des Moines Register reports this year’s ride begins July 23 in Glenwood and ends July 30 in Muscatine. Overnight towns are Shenandoah, Creston, Leon, Centerville, Ottumwa, and Washington. PLEASANT HILL, IA (IRN) – The Pleasant Hill Public Library is encouraging children younger than 5-years-old to read 1,000 books before they start kindergarten, according to WHO-TV. John Lerdal, director of the Library, said the goal isn’t as daunting as it might sound. He says if parents read just one book per night to a young child, they’ll make it.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Two Des Moines Public School employees were fired last month after a school bus aide allegedly physically abused a special-needs student. KCCI-TV reports the district alleges Ruby Taylor, a 20-year-veteran with the district, “made abusive physical contact with a student” and “used excessive force in dealing with the student.” The bus driver was fired for not stepping in and stopping Taylor. CRESTON (IA) (IRN) – A man accused of killing two people in Union County pled guilty to both first-degree murder charges and was sentenced Friday morning. WOI-TV reports 37-year-old Jerry Ray Dillinger was arrested in December and charged with two counts of murder. The body of his former sister-in-law and girlfriend, Loretta Dillinger, was found in a farm pond. Unidentified skeletal remains buried behind a home nearby were also found. He’ll serve two consecutive life sentences. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Police have made an arrest in connection with a bomb threat at West High School in Iowa City earlier this week. KCRG-TV reports the threat led to the busing of more than 2,000 students from the high school. Around the same time, police were called to investigate an armed bank robbery across town. Officers arrested 30-year-old Clifton Brinkmeyer in connection to the robbery. After police looked at his phone records, he’s now also charged with calling in the bomb threat. MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – Authorities say about 50 to 100 people in the Mason City area have had their mail stolen over the past couple of months. KIMT-TV reports the thefts started around Christmas, including incoming and outgoing mail. Residents in Mason City, Clear Lake, Manly, Lake Mills and Northwood have all been victimized. AMES, IA (IRN) A tent caught fire early Friday morning as die-hard Cyclone fans are spending their weekend camping outside at Hilton Coliseum. KCCI-TV reports they’re already in line for Monday night’s big game against Kansas. A propane heater caused the fire. Everyone is OK, at least physically.