WELLSBURG, IA (IRN) – Four Amish family members are dead after the 15-passenger van they were in rolled several times Friday morning. It happened on Highway 20 just north of Wellsburg during icy road conditions. One adult and three children under the age of five died and several others were injured. No one in the vehicle was wearing a seat belt or in a car seat. They had hired a driver to take them from their home in Delhi to Missouri to visit family. COLFAX, IA (IRN) – An Iowa principal was treated on Friday after she was assaulted by a student. Alex Lancaster is the principal of Colfax-Mingo Junior-Senior High School. The assault was witnessed by multiple students in the school’s gym. UNIVERSITY PARK, PA (IRN) – The second-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team won four matches and led 14-9 through six matches, but top-ranked Penn State claimed the final four matches to post a 23-14 dual victory on Friday night in front of 15,998 fans at the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park Pennsylvania. Iowa is 12-1 overall, 5-1 in Big Ten action. IOWA (IRN) – A Winter Storm Warning and Winter Weather Advisory have been issued for northern Iowa today. The warning and advisory will last through 9 PM on tonight. A band of heavy snow is expected to move across northern Iowa bringing a light, fluffy snow through the day on Saturday.

GRUNDY COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A crash in northern Iowa Friday morning has left three people dead, and others injured. According to the Iowa State Patrol, at 6:49 a.m., the 15-passenger van was headed westbound on Highway 20 north of Wellsburg in Grundy County. A total of 13 people were traveling in the van. The driver lost control of the van on the slick road, went into the median, rolled several times, and came to rest in the eastbound lanes. Authorities do not have an exact number of how many people were hurt. The injured people were taken to hospitals in Waterloo and Grundy Center. PALO ALTO COUNTY, IA (IRN) – An investigation is underway after a child who was found unresponsive in an Emmetsburg home last week passed away this Tuesday. An autopsy has been conducted to determine the child’s cause of death. The DCI is continuing to investigate the incident. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A Des Moines teenager who admitted to killing a man she says repeatedly raped her will accept a plea deal for escaping the women’s center she was sentenced to. Pieper Lewis was 15 when she was arrested for the stabbing death of Zachary Brooks in 2020. MARENGO, IA (IRN) – The Marengo police say that a plant explosion in December will likely be ruled accidental. The explosion injured a dozen workers and temporarily forced hundreds of people out of their homes. The DNR tried to inspect the facility earlier this week, but they were turned away. The plant’s owners have until Monday to provide the DNR with a list of chemicals and substances that are in the building and also provide a plan to properly clean up the site. The Iowa Attorney General’s Office is suing the company after it failed to comply with a previous DNR order. IOWA (IRN) – Sonic Drive-In says it hopes to open up to 10 new locations spreading from Des Moines to Davenport in the near future. While the fast food chain couldn’t confirm when the restaurants would open, it said it’s currently looking for the right real estate for ten or more locations.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The days of needing to be 18 to serve alcohol may be coming to an end in Iowa. A bill in the state legislature would eliminate the age requirement to serve in restaurants and bars as well as sell alcohol in stores. Right now, anyone can take an alcohol order but an adult must physically serve the drink or ring up the sale in a store.The bill’s sponsor, Rep. John Wills, R-Spirit Lake, said the current age limit makes it hard on restaurants and bars that are dealing with a labor shortage. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – After six hours of deliberations, a Linn County jury has found a Cedar Rapids man guilty of killing his parents and sister in 2021. Alex Jackson, 22, was found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder on Wednesday. He’ll receive a mandatory sentence of life in prison on March 3. ALTOONA, IA (IRN) – Iowa OSHA is investigating after a contractor died in an accident at Adventureland amusement park in Altoona. 20-year-old Zachary Alesky said he was carrying a steel beam when he slipped on ice, and the beam came down and crushed his chest. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – One person was seriously injured when a building exploded on the northeast side of Des Moines Wednesday evening. The explosion and fire was at Metro Motors. One man was rescued from the burning building and transported to a nearby hospital. The victim sustained serious burns and is in critical condition. The cause of the explosion and fire is still under investigation. CEDAR FALLS, IA (IRN) – A 39-year-old man from Cedar Falls was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty in a bank fraud scheme. Nolan Otto Dewall was a manager and shareholder at a Black Hawk County grain cooperative and a part owner of a trucking company in Dike. In May of 2018, DeWall started a “check-kiting” scheme in which he transferred large amounts of funds by check between the grain cooperative and trucking company. The checks were designed to falsely and temporarily inflate the balances of the accounts to benefit the grain cooperative, which was in financial distress. When the check-kiting scheme collapsed, the trucking company’s account was left with a negative $247,000 balance.

DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – Five people were evacuated from a Dubuque structure fire on Tuesday. The Dubuque Fire Department responded to a fire at a three-story residence. Upon arrival, fire crews deployed a hose line to the third floor. Fire crews evacuated five people from the first two floors. Upon investigation, no operational smoke detectors were found. Officials believe that the cause of the fire was accidental. There were no injuries. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa’s new Republican Attorney General Brenna Bird has joined 19 other states in a lawsuit against the Biden Administration’s new immigration policies. The Texas-led lawsuit challenges the Department of Homeland Security’s new program, which is expected to accept 30,000 migrants per month from Venezuela, Nicaragua, Haiti, and Cuba who have family or other pre-existing ties to the U.S. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Firearms Coalition – a gun rights group – is again calling on state education officials to arm more staff members in schools to protect from the threat of an armed intruder. The statement came in the wake of a shooting Monday afternoon at an education center in Des Moines that killed two students and injured the center’s founder. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Former Iowa governor Terry Branstad has been named the new president of the World Food Prize. Branstad served as governor of Iowa from 1983 to 1999 and was elected again to serve between 2011 and 2017. The Republican left the governor’s office during his last term to become the U.S. Ambassador to China, a role he served in until 2020. AMES, IA (IRN) – Jaren Holmes had 23 points and 7 assists as the No. 12 ISU Men’s basketball team took down No. 5 KSU 80-76 Tuesday night at a sold-out Hilton Coliseum. The win moves ISU (15-4, 6-2) into a three-way tie for first place in the Big 12 with KSU and Texas.

GRIMES, IA (IRN) – A Clive mother discovered burns on her toddler’s body and now she wants to know what happened to her at day care. She believes her daughter may have been burned by bleach at the Yellow Brick Road Day Care in Grimes. Sophia Ewing says her 1-and-a-half-year-old daughter Zi’Airah is recovering from burns on her bottom. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – In the early hours of Tuesday morning, state lawmakers approved Gov. Reynolds’ plan to use taxpayer money to pay private school tuition. The bill passed with a 55-45 vote in the Iowa House and a 31-18 vote in the Iowa Senate. Reynolds is expected to sign the bill into law this afternoon. Once fully phased in, the plan will cost the state more than $340 million annually. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Police have arrested 18-year-old Preston Walls, of West Des Moines, in connection to a deadly shooting at Starts Right Here, a Des Moines outreach center. Walls is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder, and one count of criminal gang participation. Two others are in custody. WEBSTER COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A former Webster County choir teacher was sentenced to two years probation for sending inappropriate texts to a student. Brandon Louis worked at Southeast Valley High School in Gowrie. In 2020, several students accused him of sexual misconduct. In 2022, he pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation by a school employee. COLUMBUS, OH (IRN) – Caitlin Clark scored a game-high 28 points and Monika Czinano added 22 as No. 10 Iowa defeated No. 2 Ohio State 83-72, giving the Buckeyes their first loss of the season. The Hawkeyes (16-4, 8-1 Big Ten) kept Ohio State scoreless for more than 2 1/2 minutes in the fourth quarter, allowing Iowa to command a 13-point advantage with 3:11 remaining. Ohio State (19-1, 8-1) gave it one more try and went 4 of 9 from the field in the final three minutes, but the Hawkeyes made all eight attempts at the free throw line to seal the win.