Author: Iowa Radio News

DES MOINES COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A southeast Iowa woman is behind bars following an armed robbery investigation, according to KTVO-TV. Detectives from the Des Moines County Sheriff’s Office arrested 20-year-old Abigail Lynn Boyd Monday at her home in Burlington. Boyd was charged for her involvement in an armed robbery in Mediapolis on March 30.

BUCHANAN COUNTY, IA (IRN) – The Iowa State Patrol is investigating a fatal crash in Buchanan County. KCRG-TV reports the crash happened Monday just west of Independence. One vehicle didn’t stop at a stop sign and crashed into another. The driver of the vehicle that didn’t stop was killed. No names have been released.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Dakota Access officials trying to span a pipeline across Iowa may have hit another snag, according to the Cedar Rapids Gazette. The Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist has received a claim that a historically significant site falls along the proposed path of the pipeline. Iowa State Archaeologist John Doershuk says if the claim is found to be valid, it could force pipeline officials to change course.

ALTOONA, IA (IRN) – The FBI is investigating bomb threats made at schools across the country Monday, four of which were in Iowa. KCCI-TV reports the calls could have come from a computer or phone app. No bombs were found, but the threats forced evacuations at Altoona Elementary, Valley High in West Des Moines, Excelsior Elementary in Marion and Tate Alternative High School in Iowa City. Schools in eight states as well as 26 schools in the United Kingdom received similar threats.

CLINTON, IA (IRN) – A middle school special education teacher in Clinton has been accused of having sexual contact with a 15-year-old student, according to WQAD-TV. 40-year-old Christopher Nielsen is charged with felony third-degree sexual abuse.

WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – Two people were shot in the leg in Waterloo, according to KWWL-TV. Police say the victims are a teenage boy and a woman. The two victims were hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries. A neighbor said she heard 4 or 5 shots fired and then the teenage boy screaming he had been hit. No one has been arrested.

FARMINGTON, IA (IRN) – A Farmington high school that’s closing its doors has given college scholarships to its students. The Hawk Eye reports that Harmony High School’s graduating class of 21 students each received a $2,900 scholarship at the graduation ceremony Sunday. Juniors and sophomores will receive more than $2,400 to attend community college when they complete high school. Scholarship funds came from alumni bequests.

DENMARK, IA (IRN) – A southeast Iowa man has died after jumping from a moving car. The Fort Madison Daily Democrat reports 32-year-old Drake Knotts, of Wever, was a passenger in the car Saturday morning when he started arguing with the driver. Knotts unfastened his seatbelt and jumped from the moving vehicle. He was pronounced dead at a Fort Madison hospital.

DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – A suspected drunk driver in Dubuque caused several thousand dollars worth of damage when he collided with a gate outside Prescott School late Sunday night, according to KDTH radio. Police said 35-year-old Derrick Davis was driving a minivan when he failed to make a turn, collided with a gate, a brick wall, and an electric transformer near the school’s playground. He faces multiple charges.

CLINTON, IA (IRN) – One person has died after falling from a cliff at Eagle Point Park in Clinton, according to WQAD-TV. The victim was spotted from the cliff in the park and was pronounced dead at the scene. The victim’s identity has not been released.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines police are investigating a shooting that injured one person Sunday. WHO-TV reports someone fired shots from a vehicle, and one person was struck as well as a nearby house. The victim was taken to Mercy in a van carrying several other people. Police held the people inside the van at gunpoint until they could be detained. They say it was only to take them in as witnesses. The victim is expected to survive.

JASPER COUNTY, IA (IRN) – One person was killed in an accident involving two tractor-trailers along Interstate 80 in Jasper County on Sunday. The Iowa State Patrol says a tractor-trailer driven by 55-year-old Richard Kahyaouglu (KYE-oh-glue) of Perrysburg struck another tractor-trailer that was parked on the shoulder of the interstate. Kahyaouglu was killed in the crash. The driver of the other vehicle was not injured.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Landowners have filed two lawsuits in northwest Iowa in an attempt to block construction of a $3.8 billion oil pipeline. The Des Moines Register reports the landowners are trying to keep the pipeline company from being able to use eminent domain powers to secure access to their land. Houston-based Dakota Access wants to build the pipeline from North Dakota across Iowa to a storage facility in Illinois.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – The University of Iowa College of Law graduated one of its smallest classes in recent memory — about 100 students. KCRG-TV reports that’s half of what it was four years ago. Low enrollment at law schools is a national trend. It’s the result of fewer jobs for attorneys and high tuition during a downturn in the economy. U.S. News & World Report ranks Iowa’s law school 20th in the nation.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – An 8-year-old Des Moines girl is selling lemonade to help pay her medical bills, according to KCCI-TV. Zaraya Blunt was diagnosed with leukemia in March and heads back to Blank Children’s Hospital this morning for her third round of chemotherapy. Zaraya says “after I take medicine, I feel sleepy, but then I wake up and start feeling better and better and better.” Her prognosis is good.

SIOUX CITY, IA (IRN) – A Sioux City woman has pled guilty to intentionally hitting two pedestrians with her pickup while she was drunk behind the wheel. The Sioux City Journal reports that 32-year-old Kayla Decora pled guilty to third-offense operating while intoxicated, a felony, and two counts of misdemeanor aggravated assault. Decora will receive a five-year suspended prison sentence and be placed on probation for two years while she receives inpatient substance abuse treatment.

EAGLE GROVE, IA (IRN) – Four businesses in downtown Eagle Grove were damaged by a fire Friday, according to the Fort Dodge Messenger. No one was hurt in the blaze but four firefighters were checked at the scene for possible heat exhaustion. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – Nine public parks in Dubuque are now pesticide free, according to KCRG-TV. The group Dubuque Poison Free Parks started an initiative earlier this year, asking the city to stop using pesticides. Advocates say not using pesticides will make the parks healthier for people using them.

NEWTON, IA (IRN) – When Rebecca Gibson walks across the Newton High School stage today, she’ll be a high school graduate and her class valedictorian, according to WHO-TV. In three weeks she will also graduate from DMACC. She’ll have a high school diploma and an associate’s degree – all at the age of 16. She is supposed to be a sophomore. Rebecca wants to be a marine biologist.

BETTENDORF, IA (IRN) – Major water damage has forced the Bettendorf Public Library to close, according to WQAD-TV. Repairs on a second-floor bathroom caused the leak. Workers were updating the bathroom Friday when a water pipe broke. The second floor was damaged, along with a section of the first floor that had been newly remodeled. The cost to repair damages is approximately $1 million. The library will be closed for at least three months.

HUMBOLDT COUNTY, IA (IRN) – One person was killed and another injured after a rollover crash involving a tractor in rural Humboldt County. The Iowa State Patrol says 37-year-old Thomas Griffin, of Waterloo, tried to pass a car when he was struck head-on by a tractor driven by 37-year-old Aaron Orwig. The collision caused Orwig’s tractor to rollover. He suffered minor injuries. Griffin was killed in the crash.

ANKENY, IA (IRN) – An Ankeny woman was arrested Sunday after she allegedly left her 4-year-old child in a car for a half hour. KCCI-TV reports that 37-year-old Rebecca Rife was charged with child endangerment. A witness watched for 30 minutes as the child was sticking her body out partially-down windows of a parked car outside the Goodwill. When police arrived, they found Rife at the nearby Dollar Tree.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – One person was taken to the hospital after an explosion at an apartment building in Cedar Rapids on Friday, according to KCRG-TV. The fire department found the 46-year-old victim after arriving at the scene. The Cedar Rapids bomb squad and ATF officials were called in to investigate. The cause of the explosion is under investigation.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The stork will soon visit the Blank Park Zoo. The Des Moines Register reports Ayana and Kiano, the zoo’s rare eastern black rhinos, are expecting a baby. Ayana’s pregnancy is the first confirmed fertilization among the eastern black rhino zoo population in two years. Des Moines’ rhinos are two of just 46 eastern black rhinos in North American zoos. Only six of those 46 rhinos are breeding females.

WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A Waterloo man may spend the next 50 years in jail for killing his girlfriend and dumping her body in rural Linn County. KGAN-TV reports Shawn Hogan was sentenced today in the murder of Crystal Gaffney nearly two years ago. He admitted to beating Gaffney with a hammer and stabbing her in the head with a screwdriver. Her body was found on a rural road in Walker. Hogan is eligible for parole in 2051.

DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – A Davenport woman is dead after she crashed into the back of a semi on I-80 in Cedar Rapids, according to WQAD-TV. A semi-tractor trailer was stopped and had just started moving again eastbound on I-80 when a Cadillac CTS ran into the back of it. 28-year-old Nicole Van Hamme from Davenport was pronounced dead at the scene. The semi driver was not hurt.

FORT MYERS, FL (IRN) – A Mason City woman was killed in a Florida car crash this week, according to KIMT-TV. A Fort Myers man reportedly rear-ended Kristin Lee’s vehicle and caused a seven vehicle pileup. Shortly after the wreck, her car burst into flames, and she perished in the fire.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Cedar Rapids Police have arrested a suspect involved in a disturbance and high speed chase before barricading himself in an apartment this morning. KCRG-TV reports 22-year-old Christopher McGee stole items from a woman, including a safe. He displayed a handgun during the theft. Police found him in a vehicle in an alley behind her residence, and the chase ensued. He’s in jail.

WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A recreational biplane crashed into a hill Thursday evening after it tried to make an emergency landing in West Des Moines shortly after it left the Des Moines Airport. KCCI-TV reports that the front end of the aircraft was destroyed. A 65-year-old man was flying the plane while his 30-year-old son was a passenger. They are expected to recover.

DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – Federal prosecutors have charged a Dubuque woman with harboring a fugitive and obstruction of justice, according to KCRG-TV. Prosecutors say Vivian Rochelle Weakley harbored and concealed Antwain Spratt. Federal authorities wanted Spratt in connection with a heroin distribution investigation. Prosecutors said Weakly also lied to a U.S. Marshal, telling him she did not know Spratt or where he was located.

WEST BRANCH, IA (IRN) – 19 children were on board a West Branch school bus when it crashed into a semi yesterday, according to KWWL-TV. The bus driver, Amber Stubbs of West Branch, hit the back of the semi. Only minor injuries were reported in the crash.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Two central Iowa cities are among the fastest-growing in the country. WHO-TV reports Ankeny ranked number three, with 6.5% growth. Des Moines earned the 104th spot. The fastest growing town in the U.S? Georgetown, Texas.