Category: State News

ONAWA, IA (IRN) – A Sioux City man has been sentenced to 54 years in prison for running over his friend and firing shots at the victim’s girlfriend on an Iowa interstate last December. Jayme Powell, 40, ran over Richard Polak, of Omaha, while he rode his motorcycle on Interstate 29 after the two had a fight earlier that night in Sioux City. Prior to hitting Polak, Powell shot at Polak’s girlfriend who was driving with a baby in her vehicle.

MARION COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Iowa DNR conservation officers responded to a fatal hunting incident on Saturday near Lake Red Rock in Marion County. The incident happened at the Red Rock Wildlife Management Area on the south of Lake Red Rock, north of Knoxville. A hunter was fatally struck during a deer drive by a round believed to be fired from a member of a large hunting party.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Law enforcement officials are investigating an incident involving multiple gunshots being fired on Sunday morning in Iowa City. At around 1:30 a.m., the University of Iowa Department of Public Safety issued a Hawk Alert for a report of multiple shots that were fired near the Old Capitol parking ramp.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN (IRN) – No. 2 Michigan grabbed an early 14-0 lead and never looked back, dominating No. 13 Iowa 42-3 Saturday night to win the Big Ten Championship. The win denies the Hawkeyes a spot at the Rose Bowl and ensures the Wolverines one of the four spots in the College Football Playoff.

DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – Five people, including one juvenile, were taken into custody Friday afternoon following a short vehicle chase in Davenport, which was initiated after police located a man with a warrant for Escaping the Iowa Department of Corrections. Two had outstanding warrants.

CARLISLE, IA (IRN) – A court date is set for a Carlisle teen charged with felony assault for knocking out a player of an opposing team. Seventeen-year-old Carter Prenosil was caught on video hitting Ty Dittmer twice after Nevada basketball played in Carlisle on Tuesday. Dittmer was knocked unconscious. Prenosil is scheduled to appear at Warren County Courthouse on Jan. 3. He was released from jail on a $10,000 bond.

MILLS COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A train derailed in Mills County, Iowa Friday morning sending two people to the hospital. The patients’ injuries are minor. The scene is south of Pacific Junction near Keg Creek Lake. There’s no word on what may have led to the derailment.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Hawkeyes take on Michigan in the Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis today. The game is at 7:00 pm on Fox.

FAIRFIELD, IA (IRN) – An Iowa judge will not reduce the $1 million bond for two teens accused of killing Fairfield Spanish teacher Nohema Graber. Willard Miller and Jeremy Goodale, both 16, are charged with first-degree murder. Both suspects wanted their $1 million bonds reduced. Prosecutors believe the suspects are too dangerous to be let out of jail, indicating both are charged with a “brutal murder.” On Nov. 23, lawyers representing Goodale and Miller argued for a reduced bond, citing their age and lack of criminal history.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA (IRN) – Police in western Iowa have arrested a high school math teacher accused of writing and planting notes threatening gun violence at the school. Katrina Phelan, 37, of Council Bluffs, turned herself in to police on Wednesday after an arrest warrant charging her with three counts of making terroristic threats were issued for her. All of the notes were either found by students in Phelan’s classroom or by Phelan herself in other parts of the school.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – One person was injured in a shooting Thursday evening in Des Moines. The shooting occurred at the Maingate Bar and Grill on East Grand Avenue. One person was transported to a local hospital.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Police are investigating a shooting near a grocery store in Cedar Rapids on Thursday night. Officers received a call about gunshots in the area of Jim’s Foods.
A victim walked into a hospital with a non-life threatening gunshot wound a short time later.

​​OSCEOLA, IA (IRN) – A mayoral election ultimately decided by a name drawn out of a candy dish is now being disputed by the incumbent. Current Osceola mayor Thomas Kedley tied with challenger Matt Stoll in the November election. Stoll’s name was picked from the candy dish to settle the tie, but Kelley claims the election should be challenged because of voter fraud.

IOWA (IRN) – The Iowa State Patrol pulled over a total of 3,695 people over the Thanksgiving weekend. Nearly 3,000 of those were for speeding, and 20 drivers were reportedly under the influence. There were 38 collisions, and five people were injured. There were no deaths.

WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A jury convicted a Waterloo woman of two counts of first-degree murder for the 2018 arson deaths of another woman and her 9-year-old son. Denise Susanna O’Brien, 45, was convicted Tuesday. O’Brien started a fire on the home’s back steps because she was angry that her boyfriend had spent the night with another woman in the house. Shortly before the fire was reported, O’Brien texted her boyfriend saying, “Karma comin 4 u i hope it hurts.”

ARLINGTON, IA (IRN) – Authorities in Arlington and Fayette County are looking for 14-year-old Walker Scott Richardson, who is missing. Walker is high-functioning autistic and was last seen yesterday.

​​CARLISLE, IA (IRN) – A Carlisle High School basketball player is facing felony charges after a violent incident at the end of Tuesday’s Carlisle-Nevada game caught on video. 17-year-old Carter Prenosil, a senior on Carlisle’s basketball team, knocked out a Nevada player with a punch to the head as the two teams lined up to shake hands after the game. Prenosil faces a felony charge of willful injury.

SPIRIT LAKE, IA (IRN) – A transgender student at Spirit Lake High School has been ordered to stop using the men’s restroom or face possible disciplinary action. The student says he won’t comply, because he has the right to be treated the same as every other male student.

AMES, IA (IRN) – Iowa State University Athletic Director Jamie Pollard told Cyclone fans in a letter Tuesday that he was recently diagnosed with cancer. Pollard wrote that he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. He said he struggled with the idea of sharing the diagnosis publicly but wanted to do so to be as transparent as possible. Pollard missed a public appearance last week while undergoing surgery. He was similarly transparent when he underwent open-heart surgery in 2015.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – 62-year-old David John Costello has been charged with arson in the first degree for a home explosion that occurred in Monticello in November. The Monticello Police Department said Costello set off an explosion in his basement while police tried to talk to him. A deputy was injured in the explosion, but is back to work.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Attorney General’s Office said it has wrapped up a six-year project to address untested sexual assault evidence kits throughout the state. The Iowa Sexual Assault Kit Initiative project was created to address the issue of 4,275 untested kits. The project tested more than 1,600 sexual assault kits, which resulted in four criminal charges and two convictions.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A shooting on Des Moines’ southeast side caused an elementary school to go on a lockdown Tuesday. Police were called to the area of Lovejoy Elementary School around 1:30 p.m. on reports of shots fired. Police determined that two groups of people had been shooting at each other and found multiple shell casings on the ground. No victims have been found.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – The University of Iowa is starting a new midwifery program. As many rural hospitals have quit delivering babies, the program would help fill a health service gap in the state. Students can start enrolling in the program in the fall of 2022.