Category: State News

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.

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.