Category: State News

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A juvenile has died after jumping out of a moving vehicle during a chase by law enforcement in Linn County Monday night. The driver and the passenger attempted to jump out of the moving vehicle on Highway 150. The driver was run over by the moving vehicle and died at the scene. The passenger was taken into custody nearby. The moving vehicle struck an occupied house. No one inside the home was injured.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – One of the major meat processing companies in Iowa suffered a cyberattack over the weekend. JBS USA confirms the attack hit some of its North American and Australian IT systems Sunday. The company suspended all systems that were affected. JBS has processing plants in Marshalltown, Ottumwa and Council Bluffs.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Nearly 4.4 million trees were lost during the derecho in August. About 15% or nearly 669,000 trees were just in Cedar Rapids alone. Foresters believe it will take 30 to 60 years to make a full recovery.

STUART, IA (IRN) – MidAmerican Energy is investigating an incident where one of its workers got stuck in a blade of a wind turbine. It happened at the Arbor Hill Wind Farm, southeast of Stuart, late Sunday night. The company confirms emergency crews were able to get the worker out safely.

IOWA (IRN) – COVID-19-related hospitalizations in Iowa continue to decrease, now dipping below 100 for the first time in more than a year.

MONTEZUMA, IA (IRN) – Day three in the search for a missing Montezuma boy brought in help by the hundreds. Ten-year-old Xavior Harrelson has been missing since Thursday. Saturday, almost 100 officers looked around the boy’s home and a nearby lake. Sunday, the search broadened, and five hundred volunteers and responders showed up to help cover ground.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A Des Moines man working at a metro hospital was arrested after allegedly raping a patient. Tracey Hooks, 48, is being held in the Polk County Jail charged with third-degree sex abuse. Hooks was working at Broadlawns Medical Center in Des Moines in September 2020 when he allegedly raped a female patient. He was arrested on Friday.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A Cedar Rapids man has been charged with multiple offenses including OWI, child endangerment, and failure to yield to an emergency vehicle. Benjamin Moore, 27, refused to stop at a traffic stop and drove away at a high speed. The deputy followed the car but ended the pursuit when he believed the driver was intoxicated and had a child with him. The deputy then saw Moore’s car in a field after it had lost control and was disabled. Moore is in jail, and the five-year-old child was returned to their mother.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A man is in jail after wielding a machete and lighting an apartment on fire in Des Moines. The call came in as a domestic dispute. No one was injured.

MURRAY, IA (IRN) – A third teen from the Clarke County town of Murray is now dead after a pickup truck with four teens inside was struck by a train while trying to cross a railroad crossing. All four went to school in the Murray Community School District.

FAYETTE COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Three people were killed, including a 9-year-old, and another child was injured in a car crash in Fayette County on Friday. Officials say a 2010 Chevy Impala was traveling northbound on Highway 150 when it crossed the center line and collided head-on with a semi-truck heading southbound.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A Des Moines man has been found guilty of killing his wife and dismembering her body in an attempt to conceal her death. On Friday, a Polk County Jury found 32-year-old Datron Simmons guilty of second-degree murder.

POWESHIEK COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Search efforts for a missing 10-year-old boy from Poweshiek County continued on Saturday by law enforcement and first responders and a public search is scheduled on Sunday. Xavior Harrelson was reported missing on Thursday, May 27.

DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – Cristhian Bahena Rivera was convicted of first-degree murder Friday, nearly three years after Mollie Tibbetts disappeared while jogging near her Brooklyn, Iowa, home. Tibbetts, a 20-year-old University of Iowa student, went out for a run on Wednesday, July 18, 2018, and disappeared. The search for her drew national attention and kicked off a month long manhunt, which ended when Bahena Rivera, a Mexican national who is now 26, allegedly led investigators to the rural cornfield where they found her remains.

BLACK HAWK COUNTY, IA (IRN) – One person was killed in a crash Friday evening in rural Black Hawk County. Evelyn Rogers, 71, of Denver, Iowa, pulled out in front of a van and was ejected from her vehicle after being struck by the van. She wasn’t wearing a seatbelt.

MURRAY, IA (IRN) – People living in the Clarke County town Murray are still coming to grips with the loss of two young lives. Thursday afternoon, a pickup truck with four teens inside was struck by a train while trying to cross a railroad crossing. A 14 and 15-year-old lost their lives. The 16-year-old driver and another 15-year-old passenger were taken by helicopter to a Des Moines hospital. All four went to school in the Murray Community School District.

CRESTON, IA (IRN) – Three people were injured in an explosion and resulting fire Friday at a Creston apartment building. Two of the three injured were flown to area hospitals. Fire officials believe the explosion was caused by a resident smoking while operating a medical oxygen tank. Firefighters helped residents escape the fire through exits and windows.

DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – Cristhian Bahena Rivera was convicted of first-degree murder Friday, nearly three years after Mollie Tibbetts disappeared while jogging near her Brooklyn, Iowa, home. Tibbetts, a 20-year-old University of Iowa student, went out for a run on Wednesday, July 18, 2018, and disappeared. The search for her drew national attention and kicked off a month long manhunt, which ended when Bahena Rivera, a Mexican national who is now 26, allegedly led investigators to the rural cornfield where they found her remains.

CLARKE COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Two people are dead after a train hit a vehicle on Thursday in Rural Clarke County. Four juveniles were in the vehicle at the time, and two are dead. The driver of the vehicle and another passenger were transported by helicopter to a local hospital suffering from life-threatening injuries. The train crossing had gate arms, flashing lights and bells.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – State Auditor Rob Sand says he is not planning to run for U.S. Senate or Congress in 2022, but is considering running for governor of Iowa. Sand says he will likely make an announcement by Labor Day about whether he plans to run for governor or seek re-election for his current office.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Former Iowa Rep. Abby Finkenauer reportedly has her sights set on Sen. Chuck Grassley’s seat. Finkenauer, a Democrat, served one term as representative for Iowa’s 1st District. She was voted out by current Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson in November. 87-year-old Chuck Grassley has not yet announced if he will run for an eighth term.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Thursday morning, showers and thunderstorms rolled through eastern Iowa, bringing yet another day with measurable rainfall in Cedar Rapids. This brings the streak of consecutive days with at least 0.01 inches of rain to 14. The old record was 11 days, accomplished both in March of 1990 and August of 2007.

VINTON, IA (IRN) – Vinton has a new glow-in-the-dark trail. It stretches two miles through the city, and is the longest glow-in-the dark trail in the country. By day, the two mile stretch looks like a regular path, except for the 3,000 pounds of glow stones scattered along it. The glow stones run on solar power, and after only 15 minutes of charge, can light the path for 15 hours.