NORTH LIBERTY, IA (IRN) – One person along with their three pets are dead after a fire in North Liberty. The cause is under investigation. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A Michigan man who was found with a large amount of marijuana in his vehicle in Dubuque County has taken a plea deal. Graham Musial was stopped for a traffic violation in 2019. A K9 detected substances in the car. Deputies found more than 146 pounds of marijuana and THC product inside. As part of the plea deal, Musial will serve 2 years of probation and have a 5-year prison sentence suspended. The street value of the drugs was between $250,000 to $300,000. IOWA (IRN) – Iowa schools are increasingly facing ransomware attacks. Recent attacks on schools include those in 2022 that hit the Cedar Rapids Community School District, the Glenwood Community School District, the Linn-Mar Community School District and the Davenport Community School District. Many schools haven’t disclosed details of their ransomware attacks, including how much ransom was paid. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – With the school year only at the midway point, Des Moines Public Schools have seen the number of students who are homeless increase in recent weeks. District officials at Iowa’s largest and most diverse school district identified 947 students who were homeless right before the winter break, which began on Dec. 22. That’s an increase from early December, when the number was 926.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A 16-year-old male was shot and killed by police after de-escalation efforts failed early Monday morning. Des Moines Police were called to a home to a report of a domestic dispute involving a weapon. When officers arrived they found the 16-year-old armed with a handgun. The apartment was also occupied by other family members. Officers began to de-escalate the situation. Several pleas were made for him to put the weapon down but the teenager raised the handgun in the direction of officers causing more than one officer to shoot at the teen, killing him. CEDAR RAPIDS (IRN) – A Cedar Rapids man is accused of using a replica pellet gun to threaten a man outside of the Kwik Star. Matthew Falco-Tirado is now charged with first-degree robbery, first-degree harassment, and two counts of assault while displaying a dangerous weapon. Falco-Tirado allegedly walked up to someone’s vehicle at 4 a.m. on Christmas morning, pulled out a replica pellet gun, threatened to kill a man inside, and pulled a minor girl out of the vehicle. IOWA (IRN) – Snowfall into Monday morning added another 2 to 3 inches to snow packs around much of Iowa. Temperatures dipped into the low single digits again overnight into Tuesday, but south winds are about to change things around quickly. Highs will climb into the 40s on Wednesday, with even a few 50-degree highs possible on Thursday. IOWA (IRN) – Average gasoline prices in Iowa have been holding steady, rising just one cent per gallon in the last week. Prices are now averaging $2.87 per gallon. Prices in Iowa are 40 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and stand 15 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.

FORT DODGE, IA (IRN) – A man was shot and killed in the early morning hours of Christmas Day in Fort Dodge. First responders tried to save 46-year-old Montreail Dungy’s life, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. ​​WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – An 18-year-old was shot in the back in Waterloo on Christmas Eve day. They went to the hospital with “non-life-threatening injuries.” WASHINGTON, D.C. (IRN) – Consumer banking giant Wells Fargo agreed to pay $3.7 billion to settle a laundry list of charges that it harmed consumers by charging illegal fees and interest on auto loans and mortgages, as well as incorrectly applying overdraft fees against savings and checking accounts. No executives went to jail. SPRINGVILLE, IA (IRN) – The director of a farm animal rescue in Springville says recovery from a fire won’t be able to begin until Tuesday because of the Christmas holiday. A fire Friday night damaged the farmhouse at Hercules Haven in Linn County. Director Alison Stone was sleeping in the home and says an electrical issue sparked the fire. Stone and her team evacuated animals with special needs that were in the home and all the animals got out safely. Hercules Haven is a farm sanctuary for abandoned or abused animals, mostly farm animals.

IOWA (IRN) – Dangerous wind chills continue today after a powerful winter storm on Friday. Gusts of up to 50 mph have created blizzard conditions. Many state rural roads are impassable, and Interstate 35 from Ames to Clear Lake has been closed. CEDAR FALLS, IA (IRN) Firefighters say blizzard winds fueled a fire that destroyed a home in Cedar Falls Friday morning. The homeowners were able to escape and ran to a neighbor’s house. They were later taken to a local hospital for smoke inhalation and minor injuries. The cause of the fire is unknown and the home is a total loss. CLIVE, IA (IRN) – A Clive police patrol car was involved in a crash Friday morning when an SUV hit a patch of ice on Interstate 35/80. The officer was in his car, responding to another vehicle that hit the median, and is expected to be OK. BOONE, IA (IRN) – A measure aimed at leveling the playing field for Iowa high schools with greater numbers of socioeconomically disadvantaged students has passed a vote by the member schools of the Iowa High School Athletic Association. The vote to amend the organization’s articles of incorporation about the classification of football teams passed with 80% approval from those voting. It only needed approval from 60% of the membership schools that participated in the vote.

IOWA (IRN) – A blizzard warning is in effect through Saturday for most of central Iowa north of Interstate 80. A winter storm warning is in effect through Saturday for many southern Iowa counties. IOWA (IRN) – The Iowa State Patrol has had a busy 24+ hours on Iowa highways responding to more than 200 crashes and a total of 402 motorist assists. Of the 207 crashes across the state on Iowa highways, the Iowa State Patrol says 195 led to property damage and the other 12 led to injuries. Those are the totals from Wednesday through Thursday at 5 p.m. The state patrol is reporting that no one has died from those crashes. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Firefighters responded to a fire at a mobile home park in Des Moines on Thursday. The Des Moines Fire Department says the fire was knocked down and there are no injuries. They believe the mobile home was vacant. DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – The National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium has announced the Delta in the National River Center is closed until further notice. The announcement came Thursday morning after staff noticed animals in distress. The exhibit appeared to have a malfunction in the life support system, causing gas embolisms in the animals. Five Cownose Rays, two Yellow Stingrays, and one Atlantic Stingray were lost. One Cownose Ray remains in stable condition.