Category: State News

IOWA (IRN) – Republican political leaders in Iowa are weighing in after a New York Grand Jury voted to indict former President Donald Trump, saying it is a sham and politically motivated. Trump will face criminal charges over hush money payments allegedly made to an adult film actress. Trump is expected to turn himself into police next week. This is the first time in American history that a current or former president will face criminal charges.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Police have made an arrest after they say a man started a fire at the Polk County Courthouse late Wednesday night. Nathan Warm, 35, is charged with third-degree arson. Warm allegedly set a small fire near a basement entrance and smoke entered the building. There was minor damage to the exterior of the building.

IOWA (IRN) – Strong southerly winds have rapidly led to an increase in temperatures and moisture ahead of a deepening area of low pressure that will bring havoc to the state today. Hazards over the next 24 to 36 hours include severe storms, strong winds, and even some snow.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – The University of Iowa has canceled a planned free watch party on Friday for the women’s national semifinal basketball game. Officials say the threat of severe weather has canceled the watch party, as damaging winds, large hail, and tornadoes are possible for the area. This is the Hawk’s first Final Four trip since 1993 and the first for Head Coach Lisa Bluder.

IOWA (IRN) – Rising temperatures bring in a chance for storms late tonight, mainly along the northern edge of the state. Those storms could bring in some isolated, large hail. The most impactful day for storms will be Friday, when we see chances for strong to severe storms to fire up midday and continue eastward into the afternoon.

FAIRFIELD, IA (IRN) – One of the Iowa teens accused of murdering a Fairfield High School Spanish teacher may testify against the other. Jeremy Goodale and Willard Miller both face first-degree murder charges in the 2021 slaying of 66-year-old Nohema Graber. Goodale is now listed as a state witness. Graber’s body was found in a Fairfield park Nov. 3, 2021, hidden under a tarp, wheelbarrow and railroad ties. She had been beaten to death with a baseball bat. Miller and Goodale were 16 at the time.

UNION COUNTY AND ADAMS COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Landowners in Union County and neighboring Adams County are petitioning their county supervisors for restrictions on building wind turbines. A sustainable energy developer recently contacted landowners requesting access to their properties to build new turbines. But many property owners say the developer wants to build the turbines too close to homes.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Employees at a downtown Iowa City Starbucks have become the first in Iowa to start forming a union, part of a growing trend for Starbucks nationwide. Starbucks officials were in Congress this week as part of an investigation into their allegedly illegal efforts to bust unions.

DALLAS, TX (IRN) – Caitlin Clark is the best women’s basketball player in the country. On Wednesday, the University of Iowa star point guard was named the 2023 Naismith Women’s Player of the Year. Clark is third in the nation in scoring at 27.3 points per game and leads the nation in assists with 8.6 per game. She also averages 7.3 rebounds per game. On Sunday she became the first player in NCAA Tournament history – men’s or women’s – to record a 40-point triple-double.

URBANDALE, IA (IRN) – Former Vice President Mike Pence delivered a speech to supporters in Urbandale Wednesday. Many Republicans believe Pence is mulling a run for president in 2024, but he hasn’t formally announced his candidacy. Meanwhile, it was reported on Tuesday that Pence must testify to a grand jury about conversations he had with former President Donald Trump leading up to the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – An arrest has been made after police were called to an apartment in downtown Des Moines on a report of a stabbing Tuesday morning. An adult male was stabbed in the chest. He is currently hospitalized but is expected to survive. The suspect in the stabbing, 27-year-old Charleshia Murry, is the victim’s cousin.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Cedar Rapids Washington High School is now offering new gender-neutral privacy restrooms. All students may use the restroom, but the school issues a key to unlock them. The school district did not say this is in response to, but happens to coincide with the ‘Bathroom Bill’ Reynolds signed into law last week. The bill effectively states that transgender students are not allowed to use a public school restroom in Iowa that does not align with the gender they were assigned at birth.

MOUNT PLEASANT, IA (IRN) – Iowa Wesleyan University in Mount Pleasant will close in May after providing education opportunities in southeast Iowa since 1842. The U.S. Department of Agriculture will take ownership of the campus when the university closes on May 31.The nearly 850 students will be able to finish their degree programs through agreements with several other colleges.

DYERSVILLE, IA (IRN) – The Cedar Rapids Kernels, known as the Bunnies for Tuesday night, lost 7-2 in the first-ever minor league Field of Dreams Game at MLB’s special field in Dyersville. The Quad Cities River Bandits, who went by the Davenport Blue Sox for the night, scored five runs in the first 3 innings and never looked back. “Best day of my life,” Blue Sox pitcher Chandler Champlain said after the game. Champlain allowed two earned runs on six hits in 6 1/3 innings.

GRUNDY CENTER, IA (IRN) – The Grundy Center Spartans are the 2022-23 recipient of the National Football Foundation’s Hatchell Cup and are recognized as the top academic-performing team in the U.S. The award is given for excellence in the classroom, on the field, and in the community. Grundy Center had a perfect record this past football season, including a Class A championship. Of the 43 players on the team, 40 made Honor Roll, and 14 had a perfect 4.0 GPA in the first trimester of the year.

ROCK RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A Rock Rapids man is in custody in South Dakota on Monday, accused of the murder of his mother at her home in Iowa last week. Nathaniel Kassel, 41, was arrested in Flandreau, South Dakota on Friday and charged with First Degree Murder for the death of his mother, Jody Duskin.

OTTUMWA, IA (IRN) – An Ottumwa man will avoid prison after shooting his wife with a crossbow. A judge suspended George Dennison’s 10-year prison sentence and gave him 5 years probation. Police say Dennison shot his wife while she slept following an argument last August. The bolt struck his wife in the hand, narrowly missing her head. She sustained minor injuries and was treated and released from the hospital.

JOHNSON COUNTY, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources wants to know who’s responsible for illegally dumping 13 coyote carcasses in a Johnson County ditch. The carcasses were found Saturday.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – The University of Iowa is hosting a free watch party on Friday for the women’s national semifinal basketball game. The Hawks will play number 1 seed South Carolina. This is the Hawk’s first Final Four trip since 1993.

NORWALK, IA (IRN) – A Norwalk woman accused of killing her newborn has pleaded not guilty. Police say 25-year-old Megan Staude gave birth to the baby boy inside a rundown house and left him in a box without care for days. Investigators believe her father, 64-year-old Rodney Staude, put the child in a trash bag alive and left him to die in a ditch. The suspects each face first-degree murder charges and are in jail on $1 million bond.

PLEASANT HILL, IA (IRN) – A man was arrested Friday night for allegedly hitting a child with his car as the child was getting off a school bus that afternoon. The child was transported to a nearby hospital with injuries. The extent of the child’s injuries and their condition is unknown. The man had fled the scene and faces multiple charges.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A partisan agenda this legislative session doesn’t appear to be impacting the support enjoyed by Governor Kim Reynolds. The latest Des Moines Register Iowa Poll finds the Governor’s approval rating at 50%. That’s down only slightly from October.

SEATTLE, WA (IRN) – For the first time in 30 years, the Hawkeyes are headed to the Final Four. Iowa led by as many as 22 points in the fourth quarter and blasted Louisville 97-83 in the Regional Final Sunday. All-American Caitlin Clark had a historic night, notching the first 40-point triple-double in NCAA Tournament history. Clark dazzled the nation with 41 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists. Iowa will face either South Carolina or Maryland Friday night in Dallas.