Category: State News

CEDAR FALLS, IA (IRN) – The University of Northern Iowa Men’s Basketball game against Wartburg on Wednesday has been canceled due to multiple Wartburg players being unable to play. The University of Iowa has announced the game at Penn State scheduled for Thursday, December 30 has been canceled following positive COVID-19 test results within the Penn State Women’s Basketball program.

LINN COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A bicycle ride in rural Linn County ended in tragedy on Christmas Day. Police say the cyclist was hit by a Ford Escape, and the rider was pronounced dead at the scene.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – UnityPoint workers in Cedar Rapids have bared their hearts in an emotional plea for people to get vaccinated. The video shows workers begging for people to get vaccinated and to spread the importance of it to friends and family members. COVID has stretched workers thin, and they say they can’t go on like this.

USA (IRN) – Airlines canceled hundreds more flights Sunday, citing staffing problems tied to COVID-19, as the nation’s travel woes extended beyond Christmas, with no clear indication when normal schedules would resume. More than 700 flights were canceled.

MARION, IA (IRN) – A Marion man’s photo is now on boxes of the breakfast cereal Wheaties. Clarence Frett has been eating a bowl of Wheaties every morning for breakfast since he was in the Coast Guard in World War II. Wheaties is 100 years old. Clarence will turn 100 next month. Clarence’s daughter Renee sent an email to General Mills to see if she could get her dad’s face on a Wheaties box, and they came through.

DECORAH, IA (IRN) – Winneshiek Medical Center in Decorah is warning the communities they serve that there may not be enough beds for everyone who needs care because of the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in the region. The hospitals says 40% of their filled inpatient beds are occupied by COVID-positive patients, and they require more staff time than most other patients. Winneshiek Medical Center says 90% of its COVID patients are unvaccinated.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A man is facing federal drug charges after an incident in Des Moines last month where a 15-year-old boy was shot and killed. Police say 21-year-old Brent Dobberke is charged with possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Authorities believe two 15-year-olds attempted to rob Dobberke.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – The Men’s and Women’s U.S. National Curling Championship has been canceled due to COVID-19. The event was going to be held in Cedar Rapids in the first week of the new year.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Afghan refugees are coming to Iowa, and more than 500 could be calling Polk County home. The county has spent $44,000 to purchase 300 beds, and delivery of those beds has already begun.

CORALVILLE, IA (IRN) – The cancellation of one important college wrestling tournament may be leading to the spark that starts another. Just hours after Northwestern University announced the cancellation of the 2021 Midlands Championships because of Covid concerns, Think Iowa City president Josh Schamberger says Coralville’s Xtream Arena will now host the “Hawkeye Open” – a two-day open tournament for any post-high school wrestler (men and women) on January 1 and 2.

IOWA FALLS, IA (IRN) – The Iowa attorney general’s office says the deadly police-involved shooting of an armed stalking suspect in Iowa Falls was justified. On Dec. 8, officers saw Jared Risius ram a woman’s SUV in Iowa Falls. They saw Risius had a gun, and he wouldn’t comply with officers’ commands to drop his weapon. Iowa State Trooper Jeremy Schaffer fired the fatal shot at Risius when he got into the woman’s SUV and appeared to try and drive away. Officers said they felt Risius posed a risk to a nearby school and neighborhood.

WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A teenager facing charges in Polk County has managed to avoid capture since escaping from custody Monday night in northeast Iowa. 17-year-old Simon Agar managed to escape from juvenile custody in Waterloo. He’s charged with multiple crimes out of Johnston including attempted murder, going armed with intent, and willful injury.

IOWA (IRN) – The National Weather Service has confirmed 12 additional tornadoes from Dec. 15. This brings the total of tornadoes to 43. The events of Dec. 15 have been categorized as a derecho, which is the first recorded derecho in December in United States history.

RUDD, IA (IRN) – While the tornado that hit the northern Iowa town of Rudd caused considerable destruction, it could have been worse. The pole for the town’s only storm siren blew down as winds picked up. The trigger mechanism for the siren no longer worked correctly, and Tyler Hicks, a volunteer firefighter with the Rudd Fire Department, had to hold the button down and ride out the storm outside to keep the siren working. He says he’s no hero. He was just doing his job.

MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – An Iowa school board has upheld the decision to drop the “Mohawk” name and mascot. In November, the Mason City School Board voted to end use of the Mohawk nickname after the Meskwaki Nation in Iowa and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Council of Akwesasne, New York, objected to the mascot. The topic was put on the agenda for the Monday night meeting in response to a presentation by members of the Facebook group, “Mason City Mohawk Save the Name.” But the board held firm with its decision. Around 20 people spoke at the meeting, and they were about evenly split in supporting or opposing the decision to change mascots.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – An Iowa man charged earlier for his participation in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol was arraigned Tuesday on a new federal indictment that includes a felony count that could carry up to 20 years in prison. Leo Christopher Kelly, 36, of Cedar Rapids, who has been free on pretrial release, appeared via video for his arraignment. He says he’s not guilty.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Lawmakers in Iowa say that the time has come for the state to reform its marijuana laws. Democratic State Senators Joe Bolkcom, Janet Petersen and Sarah Trone-Garriott say they will propose an amendment to the state Constitution that would legalize the sale of marijuana for adults 21 and older. Bolkom adds, “It’s time for Iowa voters to have a direct voice in creating a new system that regulates marijuana, like alcohol, for adult use. In 2020, more than 4,300 Iowans were convicted of marijuana possession, and Iowa taxpayers are on the hook for tens of millions of dollars annually for this failure.”

ALTOONA, IA (IRN) – Palace Entertainment announced Tuesday it would be acquiring Adventureland Resort in Altoona. Adventureland has been owned and operated by the Krantz family since 1974, containing more than 100 rides, shows and attractions.

AMES, IA (IRN) – Designers at Iowa State University are about to start making houses by printing them with a giant 3-D printing machine. Once it’s set up on a job site, the machine slowly builds up structures, layer by layer. The plan is to use the 3D house printer to build an entire neighborhood in Hamburg, Iowa — a town devastated by flooding in 2019.

IOWA (IRN) – Iowa teachers are fed up with the increasing number of violent fights at school. According to the Iowa Department of Education, 650 students were expelled or removed from school due to fights that caused injuries in the 2020-2021 school year. Mike Beranek, president of the Iowa State Education Association, says teachers are overwhelmed from breaking up fights and also getting hurt themselves.

IOWA (IRN) – Hospitals in Iowa remain strained due to COVID-19 hospitalizations. There are 788 COVID-19 patients hospitalized throughout the state on Monday, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health. Industry experts say health care workers are quitting the medical field due to burnout, and hospitals in Iowa face worker shortages.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – After the murders of two staff and hostage-taking at the Anamosa State Penitentiary, the Iowa Department of Corrections contracted an evaluation to be done in an effort to improve the safety and security of its facilities. Key findings in the report show massive overcrowding at the state’s prison facilities. The report also found high numbers of staff shortages.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The price tag for a new Des Moines International Airport terminal is climbing, and now metro cities are being asked to kick in more money. The airport terminal is set to open its doors about four years from now. However, the airport has only raised about half of the $575 million it needs.

AMES, IA (IRN) – Cyclone great Breece Hall is going pro, and that’s not all. On Monday, he confirmed he will skip this year’s bowl game as he gets ready for the NFL Draft, where he is projected to be one of the first running backs taken. He’s making the trip to Orlando with his team, but he won’t play. Iowa State and Clemson will face off on Dec. 29 in Orlando at the Cheez-It Bowl.