Category: State News

ANKENY – A total of 15 children were injured when a vehicle left the pickup line and struck them at St. Luke’s Catholic School in Ankeny on Tuesday. WHO-13 reports nine of those were transported by ambulance and six others were taken by their families to Des Moines-area hospitals. Seven remained hospitalized as of late Wednesday night. Ankeny police say a vehicle jumped the curb outside of the school and struck a group of students ages seven to 11. An investigation is ongoing.

CEDAR RAPIDS – A Chicago felon was convicted of several theft crimes in relation to a scheme involving the use of fake U.S. Treasury checks at eastern Iowa financial institutions. KCRG-TV reports 34-year-old Tryone Harris was convicted on five counts of theft of government property, and additional identity theft and money laundering charges. In 2023, Harris is accused of trafficking five stolen U.S. Treasury checks valued at more than $300,000.

DES MOINES – The Animal Rescue League of Iowa is urging lawmakers to advance a bill that would make animal torture a felony on the first offense. KCCI-TV reports the Iowa House passed a measure unanimously, but it is now listed under unfinished business at the Iowa State House. The Iowa Senate would need to schedule the measure for discussion or debate. The state ranks 45th out of 50th for animal protection laws, according to the Animal Legal Defense Fund.

ANKENY – Nine children were injured after being struck by a vehicle at a private school in Ankeny on Tuesday. WHO-13 reports that a vehicle jumped the curb and hit multiple students in a pickup line after school. Several nearby agencies responded and that the driver is cooperating with police. The Ankeny Police Department said it initially did not appear to be an intentional act.

DES MOINES – A bill aiming to address the state’s Medicaid shortfall passed through to the governor’s desk on Tuesday. Iowa Capital Dispatch reports House File 2739 passed 26-19 in the Iowa Senate, which would retroactively increase taxes on health maintenance organizations for a nine month period this year and moves approximately $350 million from the state’s taxpayer relief fund to make up for revenue loss. Iowa’s Medicaid program is expected to face a $90.6 million deficit. Opponents have argued the bill would increase health care premiums.

WEST DES MOINES – A former West Des Moines teacher was sentenced to 25 years in prison for pleading guilty to assaulting a teenage girl. KCCI-TV reports Danny Hoyt picked up a 13-year-old from Knoxville, forced her to wear a blindfold before driving her to a rural Warren County home and sexually assaulting her. He was placed on administrative leave following the arrest last spring.

DES MOINES — The name of the victim involved in a deadly shooting last week in Des Moines was released Monday morning. WHO-13 reports that the Des Moines Police Department identified William Lee St. Peter Jr. as the man that was shot to death in the early morning hours of March 19th. Police said that St. Peter was shot in the head during a drug deal last Thursday. 18-year old Juan Hernandez-Sarceno has been charged with first-degree murder in the case, and is being held in the Polk County Jail on a $1 million cash bond. A preliminary hearing for Hernandez-Sarceno is scheduled for March 30th. The investigation into the shooting is ongoing.

POCAHONTAS — Two teenagers have been arrested following an armed robbery in Pocahontas on Saturday. KTIV reports that the Pocahontas Police Department received a call about a young male that was armed with a handgun and threatening a person near the Pocahontas Elementary School at around 3:30 pm Saturday. Witnesses identified two people in connection to the crime, a 16-year-old from Humboldt and 18-year-old Gideon Ayafa of Pocahontas. The victim, who isn’t being identified, told police that he was robbed at gunpoint by the two suspects and was then assaulted. Authorities have arrested both suspects. Ayafa is being held in the Pocahontas County Jail, while the 16-year-old is being held in the juvenile detention center in Cherokee.

BETTENDORF — Scott County officials report that no one was hurt after a train and semi-trailer crashed on Monday afternoon. KWQC reports that the Scott County Sheriff’s Department was notified about a collision between a semi-trailer and train at a Bettendorf intersection just before 3 pm. Officials learned that the semi-trailer was crossing the railroad tracks just south of Great River Road when the back of the trailer on the driver’s side was hit. Officials said that the semi-driver, 70-year-old Jonathan Turnage, and railroad personnel were not injured in the accident. Turnage was cited for failure to properly stop at a railroad crossing.

DES MOINES – Funerals were held on Saturday for two Iowa soldiers killed in the conflict with Iran. WHO-13 reports Sgt. Declan Coady and Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien were laid to rest this weekend after arriving in Des Moines to a procession on Thursday. Both were killed on March 1st in a drone attack while serving in Kuwait.

DES MOINES – Friday served as another legislative funnel for lawmakers as they hit the home stretch of the 2026 Iowa Legislative Session. The Des Moines Register reports that two key priorities remain without a resolution as it relates to property tax relief and eminent domain restrictions. Both remain alive, as do any budgetary issues. Several measures won’t be revisited this session due to the self-imposed deadline. Lawmakers are attempting to wrap up business by April 21st, the last day for per diem expenses.

IOWA – Record high temperatures were shattered across the state on Saturday, as summer-like heat settled in for most Iowans. According to the National Weather Service, the afternoon highs in the upper 80s and lower 90s broke both the previous daily high record for March 21st, set in Des Moines, Waterloo, Ottumwa, and Mason City in 1938, and the warmest day in March on record, previously set in 1986. This was also the earlier 90-degree day in the state’s capital by seven days, which was 3/29/1986. More seasonable conditions return this week.

DES MOINES— Governor Kim Reynolds has ordered flags to remain at half-staff in honor of Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien and Sgt. Declan Coady until sunset today. Their funerals and interment will be held earlier in the day. The two Iowa soldiers with the U.S. Army Reserve 103rd Sustainment Command were killed in action in Kuwait on March 1st.

IOWA – A large portion of the state is under a Red Flag Warning for burns today as temperatures climb into the up 80s. According to the National Weather Service, record highs are possible across the state as an unusually warm air mass moves through. The previous record in Des Moines is 86 degrees, set in 1938.

IOWA – Two of the three Division I men’s basketball teams competing in March Madness advanced to the round of 32 on Friday. Iowa held off Clemson 67-61 while the Iowa State Cyclones trounced Tennessee State 108-74, and UNI fell 79-53. The Hawkeyes now take on 1-seed Florida on Sunday at 6:10 p.m. and ISU will take on Kentucky at 1:45 Sunday afternoon.