State News

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Monday, May 7, 2022

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (KRN) – Nearly two dozen workers were taken to local hospitals after elevated levels of carbon monoxide were found inside the offices and warehouse of NFI Interactive Logistics in Cedar Rapids. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Protesters gathered Friday night in downtown Des Moines to rally over abortion rights and the treatment of historically oppressed communities in the U.S. The organizers said they wanted to speak out in the wake of the leaked Supreme Court draft indicating an end to Roe v. Wade. WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Hy-Vee laid off an additional 57 people from the company’s West Des Moines-based corporate offices on Friday. Since March, the company has steadily cut positions across several marketing, communications and technology departments including from its “Helpful Smiles Technology” center in Grimes. In the last several weeks the company reduced more than 415 positions from its corporate offices. LOUISVILLE, KY (IRN) – A racehorse with an Iowa tie is a favorite to win the Kentucky Derby today. Mo Donegal is owned by Jerry Crawford, CEO of Donegal Racing. FanDuel reports Mo Donegal currently has 10-1 odds to win the Kentucky Derby today.


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Friday, May 6, 2022

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IRN) – A Redfield man who faced the most serious charges of any Iowan in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the United States Capitol has pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer that day. Kyle Young pleaded guilty to assaulting police officer Michael Fanone on the steps of the Capitol on Jan. 6. He will be sentenced in August and faces up to eight years in jail. ADEL (IRN) – An eighth Iowan was arrested this week for allegedly ALSO participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. Chad Heathcote, 41, of Adel was charged Tuesday in D.C. District Court with two offenses: entering and remaining in a restricted building with intent to impede or disrupt an official proceeding and disorderly or disruptive conduct. More than 750 people in 48 states have been charged with participating in the Jan. 6 riot that left five people dead. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Cedar Rapids Police have made an arrest in relation to a fatal vehicle accident that occurred Thursday afternoon. Cedar Rapids Police and Firefighters were dispatched to I-380 and Highway 30 for a report of a black SUV that had collided with a motorcycle. The motorcyclist was thrown from the motorcycle and died. The driver of the SUV was uninjured. 39-year-old Carlos Garcia has been charged with Vehicular Homicide and OWI. ANKENY, IA (IRN) – About 100 students at Northview Middle School in Ankeny walked out of class Thursday. They say they want to speak out about human rights that could be in danger because of the possible decision to overturn Roe v Wade by the Supreme Court. EARTH (IRN) – After six months in orbit, Iowa astronaut Raja Chari is home. Chari is commander of the SpaceX Crew-3 mission and he and three other astronauts left the International Space Station yesterday. He’s a Cedar Falls native.


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Thursday, May 5, 2022

RUNNELLS, IA (IRN) – A Runnells man is accused of terrorizing his ex-wife’s divorce lawyer. Lukas Schroeder faces one count of first-degree stalking and two counts of first-degree harassment. Court records show he harassed the lawyers via email for four months. Schroeder allegedly sent the attorney death threats. One of the emails said, “Don’t make me put a hit out on ya with my friends, you’ll be very sorry.” Schroeder is being held in the Dallas County Jail. STORY COUNTY, IA (IRN) – An Ames man was found guilty of murder Tuesday by a jury in Story County. Richard Fleck, 34, was convicted of first-degree murder in the killing of his girlfriend, 37-year-old Ranea Bell. Fleck killed Bell at her Ames apartment in February of 2021. A first-degree murder conviction carries a mandatory life sentence in Iowa. WILLIAMSBURG, IA (IRN) – The Williamsburg Fire Department responded to a report of a structure fire yesterday. On arrival, firefighters found a barn fully engulfed and partially collapsed. Crews made sure the fire was contained to the barn, which was already a total loss, and that nearby structures were protected. No injuries were reported. AMES, IA (IRN) – Iowa State University has suspended a campus hockey club over allegations of hazing. The university said in a statement Wednesday that it’s investigating the hazing allegations and other concerns related to the Men’s Cyclone Hockey Club. The club is part of recreation services, not ISU athletics. DALLAS COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A trail camera has captured video of a mountain lion living in northeastern Dallas County. It was taken May 1st by the same camera that snapped multiple shots of a similarly-sized mountain lion back in February.


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Wednesday, May 4, 2022

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – One person died in a house fire in Des Moines this morning. It happened around 5:30 a.m. near Sleepy Hollow Sports Park on the east side of the city. Neighbors reported the fire. Arriving rescue crews used thermal imaging to find someone inside the home. They then pulled them out but rescue attempts at the scene were unsuccessful, and that person has died. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – If the Supreme Court of the United States reverses Roe v. Wade, as a leaked document from the court indicates, abortion would not become illegal in Iowa immediately. A woman’s right to have an abortion, which is federally protected in the 1973 decision, is also protected in the Iowa Consitution after an Iowa Supreme Court case from 2018. The right to have an abortion in Iowa could disappear if the Iowa Supreme Court reverses its decision or if the state constitution is amended. Republicans are working on a constitutional amendment, which would eventually require a state-wide election. OTTUMWA, IA (IRN) – Police say Jaime Aguilar of Ottumwa shot Tyler Vandivier in the stomach yesterday morning at an apartment complex. Vandivier was hospitalized. Aguilar is charged with attempted murder and has been booked into the Wapello County Jail. SIOUX CITY, IA (IRN) – A man who was accused of evading law enforcement for nearly a decade in Mexico was sentenced to prison on Thursday. Jose Sandoval, 39, of Webster City, was sentenced after he pleaded guilty in November 2013 to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine in central Iowa. Sandoval then fled the United States to live in Mexico. In 2021, Sandoval turned himself in at the U.S. – Mexico border. BREMER COUNTY, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Department of Agriculture has confirmed a new case of the bird flu in Bremer County. This brings the number of detections in Iowa up to 19.


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Tuesday, May 3, 2022

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – The U.S. Marshals Office says it arrested 40 people four weeks into “Operation Washout,” an effort between federal, state, and local agencies to arrest violent fugitives and sex offenders in Black Hawk County. More than half of those arrested are involved in organized crime or a criminal gang. 13 firearms were seized and more than 900 grams of drugs were confiscated. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Cedar Rapids Police and Fire Crews were able rescue a man who was being swept away by a fast current in the Cedar River on Monday. Fire crews tossed ropes over the sides of the bridges, which the man initially grabbed; but he wasn’t able to keep holding on due to the strong current. A crew in a boat was able to pull him to safety. He was taken to a local hospital for evaluation. IOWA, IRN (IRN) – The 2022 growing season in Iowa hasn’t got off to a good start. According to the weekly crop report released by the USDA on Monday, just nine-percent of Iowa’s expected corn crop has been planted so far. That’s 11 days slower than last year. Just four-percent of the state’s soybean crop has been planted, and that’s 9 days behind last year. MARSHALLTOWN, IA (IRN) – A professional wrestling themed bar in Marshalltown body slammed the competition on Monday as they were named the home of the Best Burger in Iowa in 2022 by the Iowa Beef Industry Council. ‘The Flying Elbow’ makes its smash burger out of a mix of chuck, brisket and short rib as well as locally raised Wagyu beef.