Category: State News

SPIRIT LAKE, IA (IRN) – The Iowa State Patrol says a Minnesota woman and her 1-year-old baby died in a crash in northwestern Iowa that also injured four others, including the woman’s two other children. The crash happened late Saturday morning at an intersection northeast of Spirit Lake. A patrol investigation found that an eastbound car driven by 29-year-old Mariah Nelson, of Jackson, Minnesota, ran a stop sign and collided with a southbound pickup truck driven by 63-year-old Allen Weinzetl, also of Jackson, Minnesota.

FORT DODGE, IA (IRN) – Fort Dodge police responded to a shots fired call at the Brass Monkey bar around 1 a.m. Sunday. Police arrived on scene and located a man outside of the bar that witnesses say fired the shots. Inside the Brass Monkey bar officers found two victims with gunshot wounds. A 30-year-old man was shot in the shoulder and a 26-year-old woman was shot in the neck.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – An 18-year-old Des Moines man was shot and killed in Des Moines early Sunday morning. Police were called to the scene around 4 a.m. and arrived to find one person shot in a car. The victim was taken to a local hospital where he was later pronounced dead. A second person was also shot in the incident.

DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – One man with six active warrants was arrested after ramming his car into two Dubuque County Sheriff’s cars on Friday. Authorities identified the individual as Matthew Birch while he was driving. When Dubuque authorities tried to stop Birch, he rammed two Sheriff’s office vehicles. Birch was taken into custody after being tasered by a Dubuque Deputy. Police searched his car and found over a half pound of methamphetamine and $40,000 cash.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – The United Auto Workers and John Deere & Co. have reached an agreement that includes “modest modifications” over the most recent rejected contract offer. As a result, the UAW will present the offer from Deere for ratification and for a vote next week.

SIOUX CITY, IA (IRN) – A judge has sentenced a South Carolina man to 50 years in prison for the 2020 stabbing death of his mother in Sioux City. 32-year-old Paul Belk, of Beaufort, South Carolina stabbed his mother, Lisa Belk, 16 times with two knives and a pair of scissors while they were in an apartment on April 14, 2020. He had arrived in Sioux City the day before.

STORY COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Authorities in Story County are investigating a series of suspicious fires. Officials say multiple fires broke out very close to each other early Saturday morning.

LUBBOCK, TX (IRN) – Jonathan Garibay kicked a 62-yard field goal as time expired, lifting Texas Tech to a 41-38 victory over Iowa State on Saturday after the Red Raiders squandered a 17-point lead in the second half. Garibay sprinted across the field with his helmet off as fans stormed the field to celebrate the walk-off win after the longest field goal in the FBS this season, surpassing a 60-yarder by Oregon’s Everett Hayes last week.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Alex Padilla threw for two touchdowns and ran for another in his first career start, and No. 19 Iowa withstood three fourth-quarter comeback attempts to beat Minnesota 27-22 on Saturday.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – New information has been released about the crash that killed an Iowa State Patrol trooper last month. Trooper Ted Benda died on Oct. 20, six days after a serious accident north of Postville while responding to a call in Clayton County. Officials say Benda swerved to avoid a deer, lost control and flipped his patrol car into the ditch.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Students at Iowa City West High School say they called off a protest Friday because of the potential threat of violence. The protest was in response to two racist social media posts made by students over the weekend. One of the posts included a student appearing in blackface. The other was making a threat of racially motivated violence using an racial slur.

POLK COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A combination of COVID-19 cases, day care problems and unfilled positions forced Saydel High School to cancel classes Friday. The district said other Saydel schools held classes as scheduled. There is no word yet if these problems will affect high school classes on Monday.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – The United Auto Workers and John Deere & Co. have reached an agreement that includes “modest modifications” over the most recent rejected contract offer.
As a result, the UAW will present the offer from Deere for ratification and for a vote next week.

OTTUMWA, IA (IRN) – Ottumwa police have made an arrest in a stabbing death that happened Thursday. Officers were called to a home and found a man with multiple stab wounds in an alley behind the home. He was later identified as 55-year-old Gerald William Sapp. Sapp was a guest at the home and was working on a vehicle in the alley when the stabbing occurred. Witnesses identified the assailant, 42-year-old Douglas Raymond Spurgeon, and police found him hiding in a closet.

GRUNDY CENTER, IA (IRN) – The man arrested and charged with shooting and killing Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Jim Smith is asking for his trial to be moved away from Grundy County. Michael Lang is charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder stemming from an April 9 standoff that lasted several hours in Grundy Center. Lang allegedly shot and killed Sgt. Smith after Smith and a tactical team entered his home.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A man wanted in connection with a brutal assault was taken into custody Thursday. Police say 40-year-old Antonio Hardaway and two other suspects offered a woman a ride home from a bar in Des Moines in May. The woman told police she was assaulted and left unconscious in a wooded area. She suffered multiple injuries, including facial fractures.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Police say a 15-year-old boy who was killed in Des Moines was attempting to rob the 21-year-old man who shot him. Another 15-year-old boy who also was involved in the attempted robbery has been charged with one count of first-degree robbery. The teenager who died was armed with a handgun and the other teenager was armed with a knife.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA (IRN) – Steve Swisher celebrated Veterans Day on Thursday as a civilian for the first time since the Ford administration. On Wednesday Swisher celebrated the end of his military career, stepping down as the longest serving member of the Iowa National Guard. Swisher enlisted in Council Bluffs in 1976. 44 years, seven months and 18 days later his career came to an end — retiring with the rank of Warrant Officer.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A man serving a 25-year prison sentence for conspiracy to commit theft by rigging computers to win jackpots for himself, friends and family is suing the state of Iowa, claiming he was pressured four years ago to plead guilty to crimes he did not commit. Eddie Tipton filed documents starting the lawsuit from prison in Clarinda. He wants the court to halt all restitution he’s been ordered to pay until a trial is held, during which he said he will present documents and other evidence to persuade the court to reverse his sentence.

QUASQUETON, IA (IRN) – The Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office have identified the man whose body was found in the Wapsipinicon River on Tuesday. 80-year old Michael Wheeler’s body was pulled from the Wapsi near the town of Quasqueton after being spotted by a fisherman. The cause of death has not been determined.

IOWA (IRN) – Mariannette Miller-Meeks, the current Republican Congresswoman for Iowa’s 2nd District, announced Wednesday that based on redistricting, she would move to the newly-drawn District 1 for the 2022 election. She won her 2020 race by just six votes against Democrat Rita Hart. The move will likely avoid a faceoff against current District 3 rep Cindy Axne.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Economists say the earlier the better if you want to check everything off your list this holiday, which goes from anything to electronics to apparel. Even before the turkey hits your table, economists say now is the time to start checking items off your Christmas list. Shopping centers and businesses have already started to see an influx of customers getting a head start.

CEDAR FALLS, IA (IRN) – Wednesday night, SpaceX carried out the launch of the Crew-3 mission to the International Space Station, and an Iowa native was one of the four astronauts heading to space. Astronaut Raja Chari grew up in Cedar Falls. Chari graduated from Waterloo Columbus High School in 1995 before he earned a bachelor’s degree in Astronautical Engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado.