PELLA, IA (IRN) – A Pella man was arrested on a Clayton County warrant in connection to an attempted murder. The Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation reports 24-year-old Brandon Thoma is charged with attempt to commit murder in relation to an incident at an Elkader home. Thoma broke into the house after the victim’s husband left for work, and assaulted a woman by striking and kicking her repeatedly. The victim was later found by her husband when he returned from work. OELWEIN, IA (IRN) – Leaders in Oelwein will announce Tuesday night an expansion at East Penn Manufacturing. KGAN-TV reports the Oelwein Chamber and Area Development says the project will cost $70-million dollars and will bring 315 new jobs to eastern Iowa. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A man is in custody on a first-degree murder charge for fatally stabbing a resident at a motel near Cedar Rapids. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports 47-year-old Michael Lehman was arrested Monday morning at the Ced-Rel Motel where the fatal stabbing occurred. He is accused of stabbing 23-year-old Jimmi-Jon Lee Lint, of Mount Auburn. Both men were staying at the motel. Lehman is one of 20 registered sex offenders who live at the motel. SAC CITY, IA (IRN) – An 18-year-old is scheduled to be sentenced next month for the crash deaths of two teenage girls in northwest Iowa. The Sioux City Journal reports that Trevor Feauto, of Clarksville, pled guilty on Monday to two counts of felony vehicular homicide. Feauto was driving drunk when his pickup crashed into a car near the town of Breda. Sixteen-year-olds Bailey Jacobsen and Lindsey Quirk were killed. Both were Wall Lake residents. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – There have been two influenza-related deaths in Iowa so far this flu season. The Iowa Department of Public Health announced Monday that two middle-aged men from central Iowa have died. Iowa is among the top three states with the highest influenza activity. The other two states are Oregon and Rhode Island. BLACK HAWK COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A Raymond man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison after his involvement in a fatal crash killing a 20-year-old, according to KWWL-TV. Joshua Dunt pled guilty to vehicular homicide and driving under the influence of drugs. Dunt collided head on with Warren VanWie’s car. VanWie left behind a large family, a fiance, and a seven-month-old daughter. DES MOINES (IRN) – A growing number of purchases in China are now coming from Iowa. The Iowa Department of Economic Development reports this past September, representatives from China and Iowa signed an agreement for the state to supply China with millions of dollars worth of soybeans and other products. China is Iowa’s fourth largest export market, purchasing more than $946 million worth of goods. So far this year, Iowa exports to China have risen by 63%. ALTOONA, IA (IRN) – An Altoona woman who has been legally blind since birth can now see for the first time, thanks to a new high-tech tool. KCCI-TV reports 45-year-old Mindi McDonald can now see thanks to a technology called Esight. The $15,000 technology uses a high-definition camera to capture and display real time video. Thanks to Esight, McDonald was able to see her husband and children clearly for the first time.

DES MOINES (IRN) – Iowa Governor Terry Branstad on Monday called for caution in admitting Syrian war refugees into the state following a series of deadly terrorist attacks in Paris. The Des Moines Register reports Branstad said he does not know whether the state has the power to block the resettlement of refugees, but he urged greater cooperation between state and federal authorities to ensure terrorists are not admitted into the country. DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – Four people have been displaced by a house fire Monday morning in Dubuque, and a dog is unaccounted for, according to the Dubuque Herald Tribune. One resident escaped the fire by climbing out a second-story window. Most of the fire was concentrated in the home’s attic. The cause is under investigation. MUSCATINE, IA (IRN) – Two men were injured when a motorcycle and a car collided in a Muscatine intersection Sunday. WQAD-TV reports a 39-year-old man on his Yamaha motorcycle was headed east when he collided with a 62-year-old man driving a Hyundai. Both men were hospitalized. OTTUMWA, IA (IRN) – An elderly couple had to seek shelter somewhere other than their home after a fire in Ottumwa on Sunday. KTVO-TV reports when crews arrived on scene they found smoke coming from the windows and door of the front of the house. Crews were able to extinguish the fire quickly, and there’s heavy smoke damage throughout the home. No cause of the fire has been identified. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Two people have died and one person was seriously injured following a two-car crash in Des Moines Sunday. KCCI-TV reports a driver and passenger were heading northbound and turning into a QuikTrip when the car collided with another heading southbound. The driver and passenger were killed. The driver of the other car was seriously injured. MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – A car hit a house and rolled onto its side Sunday afternoon in Mason City, and police are looking for the driver. KIMT-TV reports the incident began when a car was speeding on a residential street and the driver lost control and hit a home.  Two people, a male and female, were in the car. The male fled on foot, while the female, Brittnie Roggeman, was cited with public intoxication. The male is still being sought. AMES, IA (IRN) – Iowa State University is trying to find whoever is responsible for vandalizing the statue of the school’s first African American student on campus, according to WHO-TV. The statue is a tribute to George Washington Carver who attended Iowa State in 1891. The statue was vandalized with shaving cream. Carver became a world-renowned scientist. DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – Dogs from across the country competed at the DockDogs World Championship in Dubuque over the weekend. KWWL-TV reports it’s where canines jump from a dock into a pool to get a toy target. More than 500 athletic dogs competed for the top spot in the long jump, high jump and speed retrieve divisions. Nearly 3,000 people attended. It’s the 5th year the competition has been held in Dubuque.

WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Four people were taken to local hospitals after a single-vehicle crash on I-235 westbound in West Des Moines Saturday. KCCI-TV reports a vehicle lost control near Valley West Drive. There were ‘multiple ejections’ in the crash, however, there were no fatalities at the scene. The conditions of the four injured are unknown. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – A University of Iowa Dentistry professor who filed a discrimination complaint against the school has agreed to a $166,000 settlement, according to The Cedar Rapids Gazette. Andrew Lidral, a professor in the Department of Orthodontics, filed the charge with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission in July 2014. Details of the complaint have not been made public, and the settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing by the university. RICKARDSVILLE, IA (IRN) – Firefighters are trying to determine the cause of a house fire near Rickardsville in Dubuque County on Saturday, according to KWWL-TV. The homeowner says the fire likely started in a bedroom. He wasn’t at home when the fire started, but says it may have been electrical. The home is a total loss. No one was injured, including two puppies inside the home. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Wrestling history was made Saturday at Kinnick Stadium. And along with the record-smashing attendance of 42,287 — more than doubling the previous NCAA dual mark of nearly 16,000 set by Penn State in 2013 — the record will show the final score: No. 4 Iowa 18, No. 1 Oklahoma State 16.  Later that day at Kinnick in football the eighth-ranked Hawkeyes defeated Minnesota 40-35 and became the first Iowa football team to start a season 10-0.  

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – After the horrific Paris attacks that left more than 100 dead Friday, Saturday’s Democratic presidential debate to be held at Drake University in Des Moines will change its tone, now focusing on America’s role in the war on terror.  KCCI-TV reports Drake University political science professor Rachel Caufield says questions for candidates are being rewritten. ALBIA, IA (IRN) – A Friday afternoon bomb scare at an Albia school resulted in the evacuation of hundreds of students, according to KTVO-TV. A bomb threat was called in to Lincoln Center Middle School at 11:09 a.m. The school’s staff evacuated students to a nearby church. Officers swept the building and did not find any signs of explosives. The call was traced, and charges are pending against the caller. The threat is related to an ongoing domestic dispute. FORT DODGE, IA (IRN) – A 17-year-old boy from Manson was charged Friday in connection with an armed robbery at a gas station in Fort Dodge. KCCI-TV reports the robber displayed a handgun, demanded money, and left with an undisclosed amount of cash. The juvenile has been charged with second-degree robbery. DECORAH, IA (IRN) – The Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office is losing its K-9 service dog. KIMT-TV reports a terminal medical condition is forcing Ricky, a Belgian Malinois, into immediate retirement.  Ricky has worked for seven years as a drug-detection and tracking dog. The Sheriff’s Office says the estimated cost of getting a new dog is between $15,000 and $20,000 and they have not made a decision on the future of the K-9 program. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – It’s the biggest day ever at Kinnick Stadium. Grapple on the Gridiron, an attempted record-breaking wrestling match, and a Hawkeye football game are both taking place at Kinnick, on the same day. The highest attendance for an NCAA wrestling dual is 15,996, set at Penn State in 2013. Grapple on the Gridiron will crush the record, with over 35,000 tickets already sold. In football the 9-0 Hawkeyes will take on the 4-5 Golden Gophers of Minnesota.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A Des Moines woman woke early Friday to the sound of loud banging on her glass patio door. KCCI-TV reports she was walking into her living room when the door shattered. Three men, one armed with a pistol, walked through the broken door. “Where is he?” asked one of the men. The woman sat down on her couch as the three men searched the home before they left. DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – Dubuque is the “drunkest city” in Iowa, according to the financial news and opinion company 24/7 Wall Street. The Dubuque Telegraph Herald reports the rankings were compiled using data from a University of Wisconsin report. Nearly 31 percent of adults in the Dubuque metropolitan area reported binge or heavy drinking in the past 30 days. Dubuque’s rate is the second-highest in the U.S. among metro areas, behind only El Paso, Texas. WASHINGTON, DC (IRN) – Harrisvaccines, the vaccine developer based in Ames, is selling itself to pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co., according to the Des Moines Register. The purchase, which the firms expect to close this year, comes as Harrisvaccines recently announced it will supply a vaccine to the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help prevent poultry from getting the deadly bird flu virus that battered Iowa and 14 other states this year. ELKADER, IA (IRN) – A top Clayton County official will meet with an investigator from the Iowa Attorney General’s Office to discuss concerns about the county auditor’s continued absence. The Dubuque Tribune Herald reports Gary Bowden, chairman of the county supervisors, said he and the investigator will discuss the performance of Auditor Dennis Freitag, who largely has been out of the office since the end of June. Freitag is caring for his terminally ill wife. MARTENSDALE, IA (IRN) – The Martensdale – St. Mary School District is apologizing to parents for sending students home on school buses during Wednesday’s tornado warning. WHO-TV reports Superintendent Tom Wood says he did not see any warning for tornado threats until after the buses left on their routes. Wood apologized for frustrated and concerned parents but said the time frame of the storm made decision making tough. He adds “We made the best decision we could with the information we had at the time.” CEDAR FALLS, IA (IRN) – A University of Northern Iowa student was found dead in his dorm room, according to KWWL-TV. On Thursday UNI Police and medical personnel found the body of Kyle Raarup inside his room on campus.  Raarup was a sophomore from Wyoming, Minnesota.  No foul play is suspected and the investigation is ongoing. This is the second student death on campus this semester. LUCAS COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A combine and car collided on Highway 34 near Russell in Lucas County around 6 p.m. Thursday night, according to KCCI-TV. Russell Fire Department officials said three people in the car were treated for minor injuries. The cause of the crash is unknown. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – The Cedar Rapids School District is embarking on a new effort for some of its students–the homeless ones. KCRG-TV reports the district will work with the non-profit Neighborhood Transportation Service beginning Monday. The service will be picking up children at homeless shelters and motels among other locations. There are approximately 620 homeless students in the district.