Category: State News

OTTUMWA, IA (IRN) – An Ottumwa woman is out on bond after police said she threatened to blow up the Wapello County Attorney’s Office. Court documents state 30-year-old Sierra Smith made the threat on May 25 and was arrested Wednesday. She reportedly entered the lobby and started yelling at employees. Smith allegedly said “this place needs blown up and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.” She was charged with threat of incendiary or explosive device, a class D felony.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Two children were injured after a scooter they were on crossed into a busy street and hit a car in Cedar Rapids. The boys, ages 8 and 12, were riding the same scooter in an alley Wednesday afternoon. The scooter didn’t stop at a stop sign when it was hit by a car. The boys have life-threatening injuries.

ANKENY, IA (IRN) – An explosive device was found and explosions were heard in an Ankeny neighborhood near an elementary school. The device was homemade, and police asked neighborhood residents to be on the lookout for suspicious devices. An 8-year-old girl found the device while playing outside.

WEBSTER COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A Webster County man is in jail facing a long list of charges including child pornography. A citizen tipped off the Webster County Sheriff’s Office this week that 35-year-old Joseph Hardy of Barnum possessed child pornography, illegal drugs and weapons. Hardy is being held in the Webster County Jail.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa High School Athletic Association announced Thursday that the 2021 state baseball tournament will take place outside of Des Moines. The 2021 tournament will be held in two locations: Merchants Park in Carroll and the University of Iowa’s Duane Banks Field in Iowa City. Class 1A and 2A games will take place in Carroll. Class 3A and 4A games will be held in Iowa City. The IHSAA said it moved the tournament from Des Moines’ Principal Park due to conflicting dates with new Minor League Baseball schedules.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The drought is worsening in western and central Iowa. The National Drought Monitor reports on June 10th, that drought conditions have expanded out of northern Iowa and further into central Iowa, including the Des Moines Metro. The severe drought continues to expand in northwestern Iowa. Dry conditions are developing across southwest and southern Iowa.

VAN METER, IA (IRN) – Nine Iowa unclaimed veterans and two spouses will be laid to rest on June 18 at Iowa Veterans Cemetery in Van Meter. The group consists of Army, Navy and Marine Corps veterans whose bodies were unclaimed by family.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A 30-year-old woman was hurt after she was pushed out of a vehicle and onto a roadway Wednesday night in Cedar Rapids. Police are investigating.

DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – Dubuque county officials are concerned about low water levels in the Mississippi River. Low water levels cause problems with siltation, and makes it difficult for boaters to enter the river from existing boat ramps. Where boaters do enter, they run aground more often.

AMES, IA (IRN) – Iowa State Athletics announced they plan to allow full capacity for Iowa State football games this fall. Jack Trice seats 61,500 fans. Last season, they kept seating down to one-fourth capacity because of the pandemic. The first game of the season kicks off on Sept. 4 against the University of Northern Iowa.

IOWA (IRN) – Two Iowa colleges have been hit with lawsuits seeking tuition refunds after COVID-19 shutdowns. Wartburg and St. Ambrose join approximately 300 schools across the country facing similar lawsuits.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa traffic enforcement officials are cracking down on motorists speeding, driving while drunk or distracted by cellphones in an effort to slow the rising traffic fatality rate. Iowa State Patrol troopers have recently reported some of the most dangerous driving behaviors in the 85-year history of the patrol. Excessive speed and impaired driving skyrocketed last year, pushing traffic fatalities higher than the previous year even as the pandemic reduced road traffic volume by 12%.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Cedar Rapids police officers helped a woman last night until EMT’s arrived after they found her suffering from a gunshot wound. An investigation is underway.

LAS VEGAS, NV (IRN) – Republicans in the four early presidential nominating states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada on Tuesday jointly opposed a Democratic push in Nevada to make the Western state the first to hold a primary. The move comes as a bill that would push Nevada up from the third-in-line caucus state to the first-in-the-nation primary sits on the Nevada Democratic Governor’s desk.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Students taking in-person courses at Des Moines Area Community College will return to school today following a cybersecurity breach on campus, but online classes will remain canceled.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A cyberattack has kept students and teachers offline for four days at Des Moines Area Community College. DMACC classes are canceled again today, and now the FBI is investigating. Classes at DMACC have been canceled since security issues first popped up last Thursday. The school says it is working around the clock to restore normal operations. Until that happens, all six campuses are closed.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IRN) – A Des Moines man who participated in the Jan. 6th Capitol riots has asked to be released from a Washington D.C. jail. Doug Jensen, 41, faces multiple charges. Jensen’s attorney described him as languishing in a D.C. jail cell, locked down most of the time. Goodman feels deceived, recognizing that he bought into a pack of lies by Q-Anon about President Trump.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Former Vice President Mike Pence will be among the potential 2024 presidential candidates speaking at the Family Leadership Summit in Des Moines next month.

BENTON COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Four people were taken to the hospital after a UTV crash in Benton County. The driver of the UTV lost control and overturned at Patten’s Campground in Vinton. Ladonna Fairbanks, 60, of Vinton, was the driver. She was arrested and charged with OWI. The passengers hospitalized are all over 50 years old.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Fans of the Cedar Rapids Kernels minor league baseball team will be able to fill the stands at Veterans Memorial Stadium for the remainder of the 2021 season. The team made the announcement Monday, saying that it will open ticket sales up to 100% capacity. Seating had been restricted to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A man died at George Wyth State Park on Sunday. A 30-year-old man had gone into the water, went under and didn’t resurface. Waterloo Fire and Rescue deployed boats and divers to search for the man. His body was found and removed. An autopsy to determine the cause of death is being performed.

RAYMOND, IA (IRN) – A man from the Black Hawk County town of Raymond died early Sunday morning after accidentally shooting himself. First responders were able to get 36-year-old Brent Schaefer to a hospital, but he later died from his injuries.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa State Fair CEO Gary Slater hopes Iowans will get vaccinated before attending the fair in August. He says, “I would encourage everyone coming to the Iowa State Fair to get your vaccinations so that you are free and clear and no worries…everyone that does that helps out all events.”

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Stephen Ames won the Principal Charity Classic on Sunday for his second PGA Tour Champions title, taking advantage of Tim Herron’s final-round collapse. Seven strokes behind Herron entering the round, Ames shot a 5-under 67 for a one-stroke victory over fellow Canadian Mike Weir.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Three times a week, just outside the ROC Center in Cedar Rapids, you’ll find a group of people dancing together to the beat­. The group is called “Never Dream Less,” a name picked by the man who started the group, Derrick Perkins. Perkins says it’s a place where people learn dance moves, and it’s a place free of judgement, and full of positivity.