DOWS, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation announced Thursday that it is assisting the Wright County Sheriff’s Office in a homicide investigation. DCI officials said deputies were called to a residence in Dows for an unattended death Tuesday. First responders found an unresponsive man later identified as Mario Salvador Lopez. His death is being investigated as a homicide. CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Yesterday the Iowa Department of Public Health announced that an 81-year-old woman with underlying conditions is the first influenza-related death to occur during the 2021-2022 season. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Des Moines Police Department is investigating a shooting on the east side that left four people injured Wednesday night. All suffered minor injuries. MOLINE, IL (IRN) – John Deere executives say the company won’t return to the bargaining table with striking workers because it won’t offer a better contract than one they rejected that included immediate 10% raises. Pressure on the union to reach a settlement will mount the longer workers go without pay. The disputed contract would cover more than 10,000 Deere workers at 12 facilities in Iowa, Illinois and Kansas. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Neal Smith, a World War II bomber pilot who became a successful lawyer before representing Iowa for 36 years in Congress, has died. Smith was first elected in 1958 and remained until 1995, a tenure that made him Iowa’s long-serving U.S. House member. Smith was known as a quiet but effective leader whose greatest accomplishments revolved around the approval of federal funding for dams and reservoirs that safeguarded cities from flooding and created much-used lakes for recreation. He was 101-years-old.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowans broke the record for participation in local elections on Tuesday. In 2019, roughly 358,000 Iowans voted in local elections. On Tuesday, 425,000 cast their ballot, and officials are still waiting on numbers from two counties. This is only the second time city and school elections have been held on the same day. The first time that happened was in 2019, where we saw voter turnout go up 156% in school elections. IOWA (IRN) – UAW workers have voted down a second proposed contract from John Deere, putting 10,000 workers back on strike. Picketing was halted on Tuesday as union members voted on the new contract. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A former Dubuque private school administrator and principal who stole at least $250,000 over the last ten years pleaded guilty to wire fraud on Monday in federal court in Cedar Rapids. Todd Wessels, 49, served as the Curriculum and Technology Director for the Holy Ghost Catholic School and before 2016, was also the principal. Wessels used district funds to make personal purchases on school credit cards. ​​CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Legalized casino gambling could still come to Linn County after voters decided to extend its approval on Tuesday. While the county has no casinos, roughly 55% of voters voted yes on a referendum that allowed excursion gambling boats or gambling structure activities to continue. Approximately 45% voted no. AMES, IA (IRN) – Deer across Iowa are contracting coronavirus, and experts have said it’s spreading like wildfire. Experts at Iowa State University said nearly 80% of deer in their sample tested positive for coronavirus. The good news is that it can’t be passed to humans from animals.

CARLISLE, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says hazmat crews spent most of Monday cleaning up materials that spilled into the Middle River after a train went off the tracks near Carlisle. The train derailment happened Friday night. The Iowa DNR says 20 rail cars spilled lumber, salt, 30,000 gallons of corn syrup and polyethylene pellets. One car went down the riverbank, leaking polyethylene pellets into the river. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Workers on a construction site in Cedar Rapids found the body of a man yesterday. Police say it appears to be an unattended death. OELWEIN, IA (IRN) Two have been arrested in connection to a shots fired incident near Oelwein on October 16th. An investigation concluded there was a party with multiple people and a fight broke out when shots were fired. No injuries were reported. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Yesterday was the deadline for workers at all three Des Moines hospitals to be vaccinated or get fired. In August, UnityPoint, MercyOne and Broadlawns announced they expected all employees to be vaccinated, unless they had a medical or religious exemption. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Former Vice President Mike Pence spoke to a crowd of hundreds of students and others at the Iowa Memorial Union on the University of Iowa campus yesterday. The event was the first in the Young America’s Foundation’s campus lecture series titled the Preserving American Liberty and Freedom series. It promotes conservative voices and brings them to college campuses across the country.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A man is in critical condition after he was struck by a car during a hit-and-run crash last night in Des Moines. Authorities found the injured man lying in the street. DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – An Illinois man has been arrested on suspicion of fatally shooting a man outside a Davenport strip club earlier this month. Lance Johnson, 28, of Rock Island, Illinois, was arrested Thursday by Rock Island police in the shooting death of Samuel Wires, 35, of Davenport. DALLAS CENTER, IA (IRN) – A family in Dallas Center lost their home Sunday after a massive fire burned it to the ground. At least 10 fire departments helped put out the flames, hauling water for miles to the rural area. No one was injured. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Some pharmacies across Iowa are shortening their hours because they are short on staff. There is a lack of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians all around the state, according to Renae Chesnut, the dean of Drake University College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences. She cites burnout due to the pandemic as the source of the shortage. MOLINE, IL (IRN) – The United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers (UAW) announced Saturday it reached a tentative agreement with John Deere. UAW said the John Deere bargaining team reached a tentative agreement, but the strike will continue while they finish the process of verifying the agreement.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – One person was hurt in a shooting incident in Cedar Rapids on Saturday night. An adult male who had been shot was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of what officials described as non-life-threatening injuries. Police said they took a juvenile suspect into custody after gathering evidence at the scene. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Some pharmacies across Iowa are shortening their hours because they are short on staff. There is a lack of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians all around the state right now, according to Renae Chesnut, the dean of Drake University College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences. She cites burnout due to the pandemic as the source of the shortage. MOLINE, IL (IRN) – The United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers (UAW) announced Saturday it reached a tentative agreement with John Deere. UAW said the John Deere bargaining team reached a tentative agreement, but the strike will continue while they finish the process of verifying the agreement. IOWA (IRN) – West Virginia beat No. 22 Iowa State 38-31 in college football Saturday, and Wisconsin beat No. 9 Iowa 27-7.