WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A man has been arrested after police said he shot a woman in the leg in Waterloo early Friday morning. 33-year-old Demario Latrell Rucker shot the victim during an argument. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – On a 34-15 vote, Senate lawmakers passed a plan Thursday to increase public education funding by 3%. The proposal would send an additional $106.8 million to Iowa public schools next year. The House is set to take up public school funding next week. Democrats say it’s well below the rate of inflation. CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – A Cedar Rapids man has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with a cold case from 2016. Christopher Johnson, 49, is accused of killing Donald Preston in December 2016. Preston’s body was located in a field southwest of Fort Dodge on December 26, 2016. Investigators said he died after being shot in the head and abdomen. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – At Wednesday’s media availability at the University of Iowa, Hawkeye head football coach Kirk Ferentz says he will not make changes to the staff, despite the team’s lackluster offensive effort this year. Kirk Ferentz’s son, Brian, is the Offensive Coordinator. The Hawkeyes ranked next to last in the country in total team offense this past season. The year before, Iowa ranked in the bottom ten. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Caitlin Clark scored 42 points and Monika Czinano had 28 as No. 6 Iowa defeated No. 8 Maryland 96-82 on Thursday night in Iowa City. Clark, who entered second in the nation in scoring at 27.1 points per game, was 13 of 19 from the field, including 6 for 11 on 3-pointers. She also had seven rebounds and eight assists.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – One of the top vocalists in country music is set to perform in Des Moines this summer. Chris Stapleton has added a show at Wells Fargo Arena to his tour. The Kentucky-born musician will take the stage on June 22. Stapleton is an eight-time Grammy award winner and was most recently named CMA Male Vocalist of the Year for the sixth time. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Republicans at the Iowa Statehouse are resurrecting a plan that would require school districts to provide parents with a list of all instructional materials that their child will use in each class throughout the school year. Democrats say it’s a waste of time and money and will require schools to hire additional non-instructional staff. URBANDALE, IA (IRN) – An Urbandale man is accused of stalking his ex-wife after GPS devices were found in her vehicle. Cameron Herriott, 32, is being held in the Polk County Jail on charges of stalking-unauthorized use of GPS, third-degree burglary, and violating a protective order. URBANDALE, IA (IRN) – Glen Oaks Alzheimer’s Special Care Center in Urbandale is facing a $10,000 fine for mistakenly pronouncing one of its residents dead. A funeral director came to pick up the woman, saw no signs of life, zipped her up in a cloth bag, and dropped her body off at the Ankeny Funeral Home and Crematory. A funeral home employee unzipped the bag and saw the woman’s chest moving. Then the woman in the bag gasped for air. EMS responded, and they were able to record a pulse and breathing, but there was no eye movement and no verbal response. The woman died less than two days later with her family at her side. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Raptors women’s team is getting ready to kick off its first-ever indoor home game. The team is the first indoor semi-pro women’s soccer team in the state.

POLK COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A college bus carrying multiple passengers flipped on its side Wednesday along Highway 163 in Polk County. The bus belonging to Iowa Wesleyan University was carrying 10 passengers. Five people were transported to a hospital and most of the injuries are minor. None of the injuries are considered life-threatening. The cause of the crash remains under investigation. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A proposed plan limiting how schools and teachers can talk to students about gender identity in Iowa was moved forward in the House Education Committee. House File 9 is a Republican-backed bill prohibiting school districts from “facilitating any accommodation that is intended to affirm a student’s gender identity if that gender identity is different than the sex listed on the student’s official birth certificate.” The bill also prohibits school leaders from withholding information from parents on a student’s gender identity or sexual orientation. Critics say it will require teachers to “out” students. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – A Russian hacking group called “KillNet” has claimed to have taken down the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics website, along with the websites of dozens of other hospitals nationwide. UIHC has acknowledged its website is down Tuesday afternoon, and its IT staff is investigating the cause. It’s unclear if any of the attacks would hamper hospital operations or expose patient data. CEDAR FALLS, IA (IRN) – Cedar Falls police arrested a Denver man after he told several residents that he was an undercover cop with the Waterloo police department. Mitchil Thuesen, 21, was taken into custody and charged with impersonating a Public Official. OTTUMWA, IA (IRN) – The owners of a long-time Ottumwa business are getting ready to close the doors. O’Hara Hardware is closing after 83 years in business. The owners say they plan to retire and thank their customers for decades of support. The business will close later this year.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A Des Moines man who faked his own death to avoid a child pornography charge has been sentenced. Jacob Greer was charged in 2016. While he was on bond, he cut off his ankle monitor and disappeared, leaving behind a suicide note. Investigators found no sign of his body. After nearly six years on the run, U.S. Marshals arrested him in Spanaway, Washington. Marshals believe Greer spent all of those years hiding out in abandoned cabins and living off the land. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Sentencing will take place in April for a man who is now convicted of arson and five counts of attempted murder for an incident in Iowa City in June 2021. At the trial, prosecutors said 34-year-old Ishmael Carter poured lighter fluid under the door of a home in Iowa City and then lit it. Five people were able to escape the home safely. ST. ANSGAR, IA (IRN) – An Iowa man convicted for his role in the Jan. 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol is now accused of secretly recording women. Daryl Johnson, of St. Ansgar, was one of the first Iowans sentenced in the Capitol attacks. New court records show Johnson used his cellphone to take video of female patrons of a tanning salon in Clear Lake without their knowledge. Johnson is charged with invasion of privacy and interference with official acts. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The 50th-anniversary ride is expected to be RAGBRAI’s biggest, but one particular day with a planned route from Ames to Des Moines could be the largest bicycle parade ever. The current record is 48,615 set in Italy on July 11, 2000. RAGBRAI ride director Matt Phippen estimates 100,000 people could ride the 50-mile route from Ames to Des Moines.

IOWA (IRN) – New data from Iowa Workforce Development is showing the state ended 2022 on a strong note. Iowa’s unemployment rate stayed at 3.1 percent in December. That’s down from 3.9 percent the year before, with the national unemployment rate at 3.5 percent in December. Several industries saw significant growth over the past year. Manufacturing had 7,600 jobs created throughout 2022. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines Police and Des Moines firefighters spent part of Sunday investigating a report of someone in the Des Moines River near the University Avenue Bridge. Firefighters got into the freezing cold water to search. Clothing was found on the ice, but no one was located. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – After a rough 2022 midterm election season, the Iowa Democratic Party elected Rita Hart as the new chair on Saturday. Hart was a state senator and ran as lieutenant governor, with Fred Hubbell headlining the ticket in the gubernatorial election in 2018. Most recently, Hart challenged Mariannette Miller-Meeks in 2020 for Iowa’s 2nd congressional district. She lost that election by six votes. ANAMOSA, IA (IRN) – After nearly 22 years in Anamosa, the National Motorcycle Museum announced that it will close in September and auction off much of its collection. The decision to close came after several years of struggling to cover the cost of wages and utilities and because of low visitation. IOWA (IRN) – The route for the 2023 edition of the Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa or RAGBRAI are out. RAGBRAI is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and the route loosely replicates the original one. The route starts in Sioux City on July 22 and ends in Davenport on July 29. The 2023 route is 500 miles long and includes 16,549 feet of climb.