WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – Democrat Ras (RASS) Smith announced Tuesday he is suspending his campaign for Iowa governor. Smith currently represents Iowa House District 62 at the statehouse, which covers the northern part of Waterloo. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Thursday marks one year since the attack on the U.S. Capitol. On Tuesday, an Iowa man and his son pleaded guilty to felony charges related to their roles on Jan. 6. Daryl Johnson, of St. Ansgar, and his son Daniel, of Minnesota, entered their pleas Tuesday. Each faces five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The two entered the Capitol through a broken window and rushed law enforcement officers. BATTLE CREEK, IA (IRN) – A northwest Iowa man was killed Monday following a crash south of Battle Creek, Iowa. The driver of a car was eluding an Ida County deputy when he lost control going around a turn. The car then struck a tree and rolled several times before coming to a stop. David Downing, 47, of Oto, Iowa, was pronounced dead at the scene. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Two former Go Cedar Rapids executives are facing federal charges regarding the 2018 music event NewBo Evolve featuring concerts by Maroon 5 and Kelly Clarkson. The two allegedly executed a scheme to defraud a Cedar Rapids bank in connection to loans for NewBo Evolve. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa lawmakers head back to the Statehouse in less than a week and tax cuts are at the top of their agenda. Republicans, who hold legislative majorities and control the Governor’s Office, have repeatedly promised further tax cuts next year.

CHEROKEE, IA (IRN) – Another Iowa county is a Second Amendment Sanctuary. The Cherokee County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution Monday morning. Proponents say it means law enforcement there can’t enforce future laws the county believes violate the Second Amendment. Critics note that Federal laws supersede county resolutions and state laws. Cherokee County is now the 31st Iowa county to do it. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A woman was sentenced Monday to two life sentences for starting a fire that killed a 9-year-old boy and his mother in Waterloo. Denise Susanna O’Brien, 45, was upset that her boyfriend was staying in a house with another woman. The boyfriend and the other woman escaped but the two victims were found dead in an upstairs bedroom. Evidence showed O’Brien intended to trap everyone inside when she set fires at the front and back doors of the home. BOONE COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A man wanted in the brutal assault of a woman in Des Moines in November has been captured. 25-year-old Ricardo Jeremiah Carroll was wanted in a brutal assault that lasted for several hours when a woman was “intentionally punched, kicked, choked, and burned,” according to police. Carroll was arrested on a domestic violence charge in Boone County Saturday. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – State public health data released Monday shows Iowa is beginning the new year with a large surge in coronavirus cases. The Department of Public Health posted 17,773 confirmed positive tests in the past seven days. That rate of about 2,500 cases a day almost doubles the daily average during December. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – When outgoing Iowa Cubs chairman and owner Michael Gartner gathered the team’s 23 full-time employees last week, he told them he was handing out new business cards. What he handed out instead were bonus checks to the tune of $600,000. Everyone got a check — $2,000 for every year they had been employed. The longest-tenured employee received a check for $70,000.

DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) Schools in Davenport surprised parents Monday with an announcement that classes had been canceled because there weren’t enough drivers to run school bus routes. The Davenport Community School District informed parents early Monday that classes were canceled because of a school bus driver shortage. All Saints Catholic School and Trinity Lutheran School also announced closures Monday because of the shortage. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A federal appeals court has ruled that Tyson Foods can’t claim it was operating under the direction of the federal government when it tried to keep its processing plants open as the coronavirus spread rapidly within them during the early days of the pandemic. That means a lawsuit filed by several families of four workers who died after contracting COVID-19 while working at Tyson’s plant in Waterloo will be heard in state court. The families allege that Tyson’s actions contributed to the deaths. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Flights all over the nation have been canceled due to weather and COVID-19 concerns. The Des Moines airport has reported multiple canceled flights Sunday. Flights coming into Iowa from, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Denver and Chicago were canceled. Many Iowans who had traveled to Orlando for last week’s bowl games also had their flights back home canceled. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Iowa’s three-time NCAA wrestling champion Spencer Lee has announced that he will not finish this current season with the Hawkeyes. After two torn ACL’s, Lee has decided to undergo season-ending knee surgery. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Sophomore Caitlin Clark set a record for the University of Iowa’s women’s basketball team. In the Hawkeye’s game against Evansville, Clark pulled off a never-before-seen type of performance. In a 93-56 win over the Purple Aces in Iowa City, Clark almost outscored Evansville herself with a career-high 44 points.

MARSHALL COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A Des Moines man is dead after he crashed into a creek in Marshall County on New Year’s Eve. Bazirake Kariya, 30, was driving on Highway 330 in Marshall County Friday when his vehicle crashed into a creek. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – One person is dead after they became trapped by flames in a house fire in Waterloo. It happened around 7:30am Saturday. One other inside the home managed to escape and alerted first responders to the other person inside, but the home was fully engulfed in flames. ORLANDO, FL (IRN) – Kentucky’s DeAndre Square intercepted Spencer Petras in the final minute, giving #22 Kentucky a wild 20-17 Citrus Bowl win over #15 Iowa Saturday in Orlando. The Hawkeyes (10-4) had been driving down with a chance to tie the game or win it with a touchdown. Instead, the Hawkeyes were forced to watch Kentucky celebrate on the field at Camping World Stadium. AMES, IA (IRN) – The No. 8 Iowa State men’s basketball team suffered its first loss of its remarkable season Saturday, losing at home to No. 1 Baylor, 77-72. ISU falls to 12-1, while Baylor improves to 13-0.

NORTH LIBERTY, IA (IRN) – The North Liberty Fire Department is investigating after a garage partially collapsed, injuring one person. Crews were sent to the scene for a report of an explosion with injuries. Firefighters found a partially collapsed detached garage with pieces of the garage scattered in the yard. MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – A wanted Mason City man was taken into custody early Friday following a vehicle and foot pursuit that ended with a truck in a creek. Cody Dakin, 26, was wanted on four failure to appear warrants in Cerro Gordo and Worth counties. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Christine Grant, a pioneer in the fight for gender equity in athletics and former University of Iowa women’s athletic director, died Friday at age 85. Grant, a native of Scotland, played and coached field hockey in her native country and in Canada before coming to the University of Iowa where she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in physical education. In 1973, Grant became Iowa’s first women’s athletic director. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A Cedar Rapids woman has become a Tik Tok sensation with more than 11 million likes and nearly half a million followers. In 2021 Amy Strauch began a year-long project of crocheting a temperature blanket, where each row coordinates with the average temperature of Cedar Rapids that day.