Category: State News

AMES, IA (IRN) – Ames Police arrested a nurse practitioner after a monthslong investigation into alleged sexual exploitation of minor patients. Carl Markley, 44, was arrested at the North Grand Mall on Friday. Police also executed search warrants at his home and businesses. Police found a clock and a pen with hidden cameras, as well as sexually explicit pictures of minors that police said were likely taken with the hidden cameras.

LITTLETON, IA (IRN) – Kayakers had to be rescued from the Wapsipinicon River near Littleton Friday night. Four people had been kayaking on the river when some of the kayaks began to take on water, and two of the people ended up in the water. One person was able to make it to shore. Emergency crews responded and the three remaining people were located after an hour and were safely returned to shore. No injuries were reported.

DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – The battle against Mother Nature is underway for some river cities in eastern Iowa. The Mississippi River is expected to crest on Monday, but high water already covers streets in the Quad Cities. Davenport is bracing for a top-6 flood crest.

OSKALOOSA, IA (IRN) – A cat fight is playing out in Oskaloosa. The city is evicting a half-dozen feral felines from Edmundson Park, but a group of caretakers is trying to make sure the cats keep their home. Christy Smith has been feeding the cats for 12 years and said they are well-known around town. Smith says,”There’s people that get their McDonald’s and bring it out here to eat because they want to see the cats.”

IOWA (IRN) – Iowa farmers will begin paying a fee this summer on corn, soybean and other grain sales to replenish a state fund that helps cover grower losses if local elevators and feed businesses file for bankruptcy. The board that oversees the Iowa Grain Indemnity Fund reinstated a quarter-penny per bushel fee on corn, soybeans and other grain sold in Iowa, after three elevators filed for bankruptcy in the past two years, nearly depleting the fund. It’s the first time the fee has been triggered in 34 years, the Iowa Department of Agriculture said.

COGGON, IA (IRN) – The Hawkeye Area Council Boy Scouts of America sold Camp Waubeek near Coggon, IA for $1 million at an auction on Thursday. A judge ruled that the national Boy Scouts of America would pay almost $2.5 billion in compensation to more than 84,000 sexual abuse survivors. Each council across the United States will help the national organization pay back that figure.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – An American doctor who lived in Sudan but traveled to work with Mercy Iowa City several times a year was killed during ongoing violence in the country. Leaders with Mercy Iowa City confirmed Dr. Bushra Sulieman’s death on Thursday. Dr. Sulieman practiced at Mercy Iowa City’s Gastroenterology Clinic and performed surgeries at Mercy Iowa City Hospital. He was stabbed to death while taking his father to dialysis. He was in Sudan with his wife and two of his four children, caring for his parents and teaching medicine.

MARSHALLTOWN, IA (IRN) – Three people were displaced after a fire destroyed their home in Marshalltown Thursday. The fire was reported by a neighbor who was mowing his lawn. When firefighters arrived they found the attached garage of the single story home engulfed in flames. No one was hurt.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – An outside group backing a potential 2024 bid for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is scaling up its efforts in Iowa. The Never Back Down political action committee confirms they’ve hired Tyler Campbell as their Iowa state director and Ryan Koopmans as an advisor. Campbell founded and works for FIN strategies, a Des Moines-based political strategy firm. Koopmans runs a legal and consulting group and was Gov. Kim Reynolds’ chief of staff in 2018.

DUBQUUE, IA (IRN) – The first road closure has been announced for Dubuque due to flooding, with the crest expected to reach around 24.5 feet by Friday. So far, flooding has mostly been limited to recreation areas along the Mississippi River, but as water rises, roads are beginning to be covered with water.

FORT DODGE, IA (IRN) – Two men charged in a Fort Dodge man’s death have pleaded not guilty. Forty-six-year-old Montreail Dungy was shot and killed early Christmas morning last year. Thirty-one-year-old Lakendrick Mosley and 27-year-old Darwin Green of Fort Dodge were arrested last month.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Senate unanimously passed a school discipline bill on Wednesday. The bill is part of a bipartisan effort to come up with a policy that would protect teachers and students at school.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – John Pappajohn, who along with his wife Mary created an amazing legacy of business success and later a dedication to public art, passed away on Saturday at the age of 94. Pappajohn amassed a fortune as a venture capitalist and reinvested most of that fortune in his home state, establishing the sculpture park in downtown Des Moines and gifting millions to his alma mater, the University of Iowa.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Arthur Flowers, the Cedar Rapids man accused of killing Emily Leonard in 2022, has been found guilty of voluntary manslaughter by a jury. 62-year-old Flowers was accused of killing 22-year-old Leonard in April 2022. Police found Leonard in the bathroom of Flowers’ house after Flowers called 911, saying that she had died of a drug overdose. Upon investigation, officers found that he actually killed her with a metal rod.

NEVADA, IA (IRN) – Officials have identified the victims in a deadly townhome fire that happened Saturday. Lawrence Scott died in the fire. Other victims are Angel Scott and Timothy Scott. Both are in critical but stable condition. Several other families were displaced.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A Des Moines man is accused of shooting and killing his neighbor’s dog. Ryan Krietzinger, 46, was arrested by Des Moines police on Monday on one count of animal abuse. Police say that earlier this month, Krietzinger shot the dog, an 11-pound Coton de Tulear, while it was on the deck in a Beaverdale backyard. Police say Krietzinger told them the dog had tried attacking his dog earlier that day. Jean Riley, the dead dog’s owner, says Buddy barked at Krietzinger’s hunting dog, but no attack took place.

PLEASANT VALLEY TOWNSHIP, IA (IRN) – Flooding is making its presence felt across the Quad Cities and some areas are being hit harder than others. A neighborhood in Pleasant Valley got the news Sunday night that their gas would be turned off starting Monday to combat rising flood waters. Residents are unhappy. MidAmerican says it’s protocol.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – The Cedar Rapids Fire Department said four cats were rescued after a home caught on fire on Tuesday morning. The home was a complete loss, and no one was injured.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Iowa police announced Monday that the body recovered from the Iowa River on Saturday is that of 20-year-old Cristian Martinez. Martinez was reported missing on April 15. He was last seen around 1:00 a.m. outside an Iowa City bar. His body was found in the Iowa River.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Student organizers, protesters and Democratic lawmakers marched around the Capitol rotunda Monday, chanting: “No more silence, end gun violence,” and “Protect kids, not guns.” Speakers urged Republican lawmakers to reject House File 654, a bill that would allow Iowans to keep guns in their locked cars in the parking lots of schools, city and county buildings, state universities and prisons.

TRURO, IA (IRN) – Some people in the Interstate 35 Community School District are calling for their superintendent to be fired. Parents attended Monday night’s school board meeting to address the board with concerns over how Superintendent Sharon Dentlinger handled a threat of a shooting at the high school that occurred on April 3.

EASTERN IOWA (IRN) – On Monday, Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a disaster proclamation for flooding along the Mississippi River. Currently, the river levels are threatening Iowa communities. The river is expected to reach major flood stage this week. The declaration is for all ten counties along the Mississippi River.