POLK COUNTY, IA (IRN) – An Iowa man will spend the rest of his life in prison for kidnapping and sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl. A Polk County jury convicted 65-year-old Michael D. Dunbar, of Saylor Township, of first-degree kidnapping and second-degree sexual abuse. He was sentenced to life in prison Friday. Dunbar offered the girl a ride while she was in a store and then waiting for a bus in Des Moines. He then drove her to a different location than her destination and assaulted her in the vehicle before she escaped. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A Dallas Center woman was sentenced to prison last week for stealing over $270,000 from the Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance program. The woman used the money for large purchases and posted videos about the purchases on TikTok. Jordyn Darion Culp, 28, stole over $273,000 from the program. She purchased a motorcycle, a motorhome, and a cargo trailer with the stolen funds. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Cedar Rapids Police say there are increasing reports of vehicles being broken into and items being stolen. They say lock your vehicles, don’t leave valuables in them, and pay attention to your surroundings. Thieves often target locations like gyms, store parking lots and places where cars sit for extended periods of time, but it’s also a problem at convenience stores. AMES, IA (IRN) – ISU has some fuzzy new animals at the university’s insect zoo. It just received a donation of 170 baby tarantulas. The spiders were confiscated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Officials suspect they were being trafficked by illegal pet traders.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – The man convicted of shooting a Linn County Sheriff’s Deputy while robbing a gas station could receive a harsher prison sentence for his comments in court. A jury convicted Stanley Donahue on 10 charges including attempted murder for shooting Deputy Will Halverson. While Donahue was leaving the court, he swore at the Deputy and the Deputy’s family. Donahue shot Deputy Halverson seven times while responding to an armed robbery at the Casey’s in Coggon in June of 2021. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Des Moines Police Department is investigating the death of a four-month-old boy. The child’s name has not been released by police. INDEPENDENCE, IA (IRN) – A Vinton man has been charged with kidnapping and domestic assault. On Wednesday, Independence Police responded to a report of a domestic disturbance at a Comfort Inn and Suites. Hotel staff reported that a female occupant approached the counter, appearing injured and in distress. Staff then say a male occupant, later identified as 42-year-old Matthew David Milligan, took the female back to their hotel room against her will. Law enforcement arrived and could hear the female inside the room in distress. Police breached the door and detained Milligan. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A record number of Des Moines Public School students don’t necessarily know where they are going after school. More than 1,070 are homeless, but the district says that number may only be scratching the surface of the real number of students who struggle to find a place to stay. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – The second of three spring snowmelt flood outlooks from the National Weather Service has been released, and it includes some significant changes. The outlook showed that the probability of flooding occurring on the Mississippi River has notably increased, pushing it into a much above-normal category. Some tributary rivers to the Mississippi showed a very slight increase in risk for flooding but maintained near-normal spring flood risk.

WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A woman was booked into the Polk County Jail Tuesday on a charge of dependant adult abuse for allegedly taking money from her mother’s checking account and not paying her nursing home bills. 64-year-old Pamela Young of West Des Moines allegedly withdrew over $7,300 from ATMs including those at Prairie Meadows Racetrack & Casino in Altoona. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – In a case that could provide context to Iowa’s Open Records Law, reporters and advocates for journalists argued before the Iowa Supreme Court that ignored requests by the Governor’s Office in the years following the COVID-19 Pandemic is the same as refusing to comply with Iowa law. Some of those requests went ignored by the Governor for 18 months. When they filed suit the Governor’s office began to comply. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – The city of Cedar Rapids has received over $24 million of Linn County Housing Awards for Multi and Single-Family Housing Programs. The Iowa Economic Development Authority provided 80 percent of its statewide funding to Linn County due to the level of derecho damage sustained in 2020. IOWA (IRN) – A Blizzard Warning, a Winter Storm Warning, or a Winter Weather Advisory cover approximately two-thirds of Iowa diagonally from the Southwestern corner of Iowa to Cedar Rapids. Southern Iowa through Southeastern Iowa are under no advisories as of this morning.

POLK COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A teenage suspect charged in a 2022 deadly shooting outside East High School in Des Moines is now sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. Romeo Perdomo is one of 10 teens accused in the shooting that killed 15-year-old Jose David Lopez. Perdomo apologized for what he called his “dumb mistake.” Deborha Perez, the dead boy’s mother said, “You say you’re sorry…it’s too late because I don’t get anything out of it. That’s not bringing my son back.” WASHINGTON, D.C. (IRN) – Third District Iowa congressman Republican Zach Nunn is demanding action after someone used stolen personal information to gain access to his military service records. Nunn said the U.S. Air Force informed him that a Democratic-linked research firm called ‘Due Diligence’ is responsible for the leak. Nunn says the firm claimed to be doing background checks for job or military evaluation, and the Air Force handed over personal information for eleven veterans including Nunn. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – House Democrats on Tuesday unveiled their proposal to legalize recreational marijuana in Iowa. The bill would also expunge non-violent, low-level marijuana convictions. The proposal calls for a 10% tax on marijuana, and the money would go to schools, mental health services, and public safety. IOWA (IRN) – Severe weather warnings cover the northern two-thirds of Iowa. Warnings include Blizzard, Ice Storm, Winter Storm, and a Winter Weather Advisory. The most southwestern and southeastern counties face a Hazardous Weather Outlook. Southcentral Iowa has no warnings. For now.

IOWA (IRN) – Another round of hazardous winter weather is approaching Iowa. Moderate to heavy snow and freezing rain are possible for north central Iowa starting Wednesday. A winter storm warning will be in effect Wednesday for far northern and western counties, with double digit snowfall totals possible for communities in far north Iowa. Central Iowa counties will be under a winter weather advisory on Wednesday. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A fire at 35th Street Antiques in Des Moines billowed smoke along Interstate 235 during rush hour Monday and destroyed most of the building. The building contained the antique shop, two apartments, and a cabinetry workshop. The section containing the cabinetry workshop was saved, but the fire destroyed everything else in the building. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A yellow dust covered cars, sidewalks, and properties in southwest Cedar Rapids on Monday morning. A spokesperson for Ingredion said glucose was released due to equipment failure and they will further evaluate the root cause of the issue while replacing the faulty equipment. Neighbors are angry, saying their eyes are watering and dogs are acting sick. WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa’s largest private employer will temporarily stop its employee discount. Employees will no longer receive a 10% discount at the store because of alleged fraud and abuse in the program. Officials say the program will be revamped and Hy-Vee has a goal to relaunch the benefit to employees by mid-April. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – There was a big mess to clean up after a semi rolled in Waterloo yesterday. The semi was hauling watermelons which spilled onto the highway. City workers used a skid loader to clean up the spilled watermelons. There is no word yet on what caused the accident or if there were any injuries. The driver, from Florida, was arrested for drunk driving.