State News

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Saturday, September 17, 2022

NORWALK, IA (IRN) – A suspicious death at a Norwalk apartment early Thursday morning has been ruled a homicide. It’s the first homicide investigation for Norwalk police in over two decades. Officials say 31-year-old Karisa Shendelman was found dead with multiple stab wounds after midnight Thursday. Officers have arrested a man on outstanding unrelated charges. Neighbors say that the woman and the man arrested were dating each other. CENTERVILLE, IA (IRN) – A police officer in southern Iowa has been fired. The Centerville police chief says Officer Jacob Downs was let go yesterday for sending an explicit video while on duty. Downs also had a sexual relationship with at least one person with “a notorious reputation in the community for criminal behavior.” DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – A man is in custody more than four years after investigators say he used a card skimmer to steal thousands of dollars. Ionel Iancu, 54, of Glendale, Arizona, is in custody in Dubuque County. He’s charged with “ongoing criminal conduct.” Investigators say he was part of a team of people who stole credit card information at a bank ATM in Dubuque in 2018. HUDSON, IA (IRN) – A dozen teachers from the same small Eastern Iowa school have been diagnosed with breast cancer in less than a decade. It’s leading to questions about whether there is something in the building or environment that’s causing cancer. The Hudson School District employs around 130 people in Black Hawk County.


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Friday, September 16, 2022

BETTENDORF, IA (IRN) – Bettendorf-based restaurant chain Happy Joe’s Pizza has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. ANDREW, IA (IRN) – A man in the Jackson County town of Andrew was taken into custody after he pointed a handgun at a sheriff’s deputy on Tuesday. Deputies were responding to a call about a man having a mental health crisis. The man’s wife called from a locked bathroom, expressing fear for herself and the man. Deputies said the man had a knife and had cut his own neck and was making suicidal comments. DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – 53-year-old man rear-ended a Western Dubuque school bus Wednesday. The bus driver had parked the vehicle about three feet off the roadway to check the bus. Deputies said the 53-year-old driver lost control of his van and rear-ended the bus, which did not have any students on board. The driver of the van was hospitalized and charged with distracted driving. JOHNSTON, IA (IRN) – A new bridge is now open on the Trestle to Trestle Trail in Johnston after an ice jam tore the old one in half in 2019. A crowd of cyclists, runners, and walkers showed up for the ribbon cutting and to take their first trip over the bridge. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – People can now vote on which name they think would fit best for the giraffe calf that was born at Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines last week. Staff with the zoo selected a few favorite options, and now it’s time for the public to vote on the final decision. The choices are: Mosi – meaning ‘first born’ Bakari – meaning ‘hopeful, promising’ Ikemba (Kemba) – meaning ‘strength of a nation,’ ‘power of the people,’ ‘full of faith’ Tajiri – meaning ‘hope, confidence, wealthy’ Go to the zoo’s website to vote.


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Thursday, September 15, 2022

NORWALK, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation is helping Norwalk police with a death investigation. The death happened just after midnight Thursday. Authorities have not released any other information. They said there is no danger to the public. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) Donations are pouring in to help a 17-year-old sex trafficking victim who was ordered by a court to pay $150,000 to the family of a man she stabbed to death after he raped her. A GoFundMe campaign set up for Pieper Lewis has already raised more than $200,000 just one day after the restitution order was handed down. Lewis pleaded guilty in the June 2020 killing of 37-year-old Zachary Brooks. Lewis was 15 when she stabbed Brooks more than 30 times in a Des Moines apartment. The GoFundMe page was set up by a former teacher of Lewis. IOWA FALLS, IA (IRN) – A trio of retired Marines, called The Long Road, are walking to raise awareness of those missing and killed in action. They are walking from Boston to Newport, Oregon, along historic Highway 20. They are taking “the long road,” because their effort to bring the remains of those lost back to the United States will not be easy, and will take time. They were in Iowa Falls yesterday. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A Des Moines auto accessories maker is preparing for a wave of hiring next year to fill increasing orders in connection with General Motors’ new electric vans. Dee Zee announced Tuesday it plans to hire about 160 new employees next year.


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Wednesday, September 14, 2022

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IRN) – Kyle Young, a Redfield man who pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer during the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, faces up to eight years in prison. Federal prosecutors want Young to spend 86 months, or a little more than seven years. His defense team disagrees and says he should spend no more than two years for his guilty plea. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – An Iowa teen who says she stabbed and killed a man who trafficked and raped her received a deferred judgment of five years probation.17-year-old Pieper Lewis pled guilty to killing Zachary Brooks two years ago in Des Moines. DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – A Rock Island man is being held without bond after police say he stabbed a man multiple times and forced a woman to get inside a pickup truck on Tuesday. Corey Aaron Strang, 31, faces multiple charges. BOONE COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A Boone County sheriff’s deputy has resigned amid an investigation into the death of a K9 officer. Sgt. Dallas Wingate, the dog’s handler, resigned on September 8. The K-9’s name was Bear. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa’s attorney general is joining attorney generals in 18 other states, calling for more consumer protection during car sales. Tom Miller said the Federal Trade Commission needs to do more to prevent surprise fees, unneeded add-on products, and confusing disclosures during financing. Miller’s office said it received 516 auto-related complaints last year. That’s the highest number of complaints of any group their office received.


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Tuesday, September 13, 2022

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The city of Des Moines will buy the old Nationwide Insurance building and parking garage on Locust Street. The proposed $40 million deal was approved during last night’s city council meeting. It will allow the city to put most of its employees under one roof. The overall goal of the move is to attract more workers to the downtown area. The entire process could take a couple of years to complete. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A Cedar Rapids man has been arrested after allegedly breaking into his ex-girlfriend’s residence and trying to kill another man. Police say Phillip Horak unlawfully entered a residence and demanded to know where a male subject was. He then threw a large object at the victim who was asleep. Horak jumped on the victim and attempted to kill him with a knife and his fists. The victim sustained injuries and lacerations to the wrists, face, and back of the head. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines police are investigating several weekend crimes on Court Avenue. In 48 hours, there were two stabbings, a shooting and a car chase, all stemming from fights in the Court Avenue district. IOWA (IRN) – Farmers moved another week towards harvest in Iowa, but the crop conditions are moving in the wrong direction. According to the weekly USDA crop report, Iowa corn and soybean conditions were downgraded in the last week. Just 63% of each crop is currently rated good to excellent by the USDA. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – The University of Iowa is tied with Yale as the No. 2 university in the country for writing, according to the latest rankings from U.S. News & World Report. Iowa is the only public university in the top 10, behind No. 1 Brown University.