Saturday, June 15, 2019

STORY COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A man accused of killing a former ISU golfer pleaded guilty Friday. Story County Attorney Jessica Reynolds tweeted that Collin Richards pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the September 17 death of Celia Barquín Arozamena. Richards’ plea carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – An innocent bystander was the victim of a deadly crash that happened when a suspect tried to run from police in eastern Iowa Thursday. An Iowa State Patrol crash report says police tried to pull over 19-year-old Angel Ochoa because of an active warrant. Ochoa fled and ran a red light slamming into a car driven by 48-year-old Lori Letts. Letts was pronounced dead at the scene.

ALTOONA, IA (IRN) – A suspicious person tried to grab a 13-year-old boy on a trail in Altoona Thursday. KCCI-TV reports a juvenile was skateboarding with his friends when a man came off the trail and came behind him and grabbed him in a bear hug. The boy reported having a rubber-gloved hand placed over his mouth. He used his skateboard as a weapon and was able to get away.

TORONTO, IA (IRN) – The state of Iowa can lay claim to a pair of new NBA champions.
Two members of the Toronto Raptors’ coaching staff with Iowa ties were among those celebrating the franchise’s first championship Thursday night following a 114-110 Game 6 victory over the Golden State Warriors. Nate Bjorkgren, of Storm Lake and later Buena Vista University, is an assistant on the coaching staff of Carroll native and UNI graduate Nick Nurse. Go Raptors!

Friday, June 14, 2019

ANKENY, IA (IRN) – Iowa State Patrol troopers are investigating the cause of a tanker truck fire on I-35 near Ankeny on Thursday. Troopers closed northbound lanes of the interstate for about 20 minutes. Between 50 and 100 gallons of diesel fuel leaked in the crash, and some of the fuel seeped into Fourmile Creek.

JASPER COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A man from the Jasper County town of Kellog died Thursday after being trapped in a grain bin, according to authorities. KCCI-TV reports David William “Bill” Hotger, 78, was flown by helicopter to a Des Moines Hospital where he died.

POLK COUNTY, A (IRN) – A motorcyclist hit speeds of more than 115 miles per hour while eluding the Iowa State Patrol Thursday morning in Des Moines. WHO-TV reports the pursuit began around 6:45 a.m. north of the East Mixmaster on I-35. An Iowa State Trooper tried to pull over the motorcyclist who was weaving in and out of traffic but they refused to stop. The chase was called off because of potential danger to the public, and the motorcyclist escaped.

DURANT, IA (IRN) – An unusual circumstance let a speeding drunken driver avoid a trip to jail after a recent arrest in the eastern Iowa town of Durant: the sheriff isn’t honoring arrests made there. KIMT-TV reports Cedar County Sheriff Warren Wethington says he can’t rely on the truthfulness of officers in the town of 1,800 people. Wethington has declared that his jail will not book any suspects whom they arrest for the foreseeable future. He has barred Durant officers from setting foot in the county law enforcement center and ordered his own deputies not to base any arrests on the observations of Durant officers.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – People could start legally betting on sporting events in Iowa as early as this fall. The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission says it would like to have rules finalized for sports betting before football season begins. Governor Reynolds signed sports betting into law in May.

Thursday, June 13, 2019

MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – An Illinois man who was camping near the town of Rock Falls in Cerro Gordo County has gone missing. KIMT-TV reports he had been doing some sub-contracting work in Mason City and staying at the campgrounds. Friends believe he may have fallen into the river, and that the Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s office hasn’t done enough to locate him.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A Waterloo woman who pled guilty to a drug charge in November was sentenced by a federal district judge on Monday. Marvita Roxanna Causey, 39, was sentenced to 37 months in prison. Causey gave her cousin and another woman what she thought was heroin. Later laboratory testing indicated that the heroin contained fentanyl, a powerful opioid. The cousin was found dead.

CORALVILLE, IA (IRN) – A Coralville man was taken into custody after a fender bender led to a fight with law enforcement. KGAN-TV reports 59-year-old Bryan Sheeley allegedly rear-ended a Johnson County Sheriff’s Deputy and another car. When the deputy identified herself, she noticed Sheeley was intoxicated, and he tried to flee. When she started to stop him, he attacked her. Tests showed his blood alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A Des Moines woman accused of tying her children up with phone cords received two years of probation. KCCI-TV reports Jessica Henderson, 38, entered Alford pleas on Wednesday to three counts of child endangerment. She maintains her innocence, saying a stranger did it while she was taking a shower.

AMES, IA (IRN) – A man stole a pride flag from an Ames church and lit on fire, according to WHO-TV. 30-year-old Adolfo Martinez faces multiple charges. The incident happened at Dangerous Curves Gentleman’s Club in Ames. Witnesses say he was holding the flag in one hand and spraying it with lighter fluid at the same time and caught another patron’s car tire on fire.

Wednesday, June 12, 2019

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The son of an Iowa civil rights attorney in the midst of a high-profile civil trial against a former governor has been arrested in the courtroom where his mother’s trial is taking place. KCCI-TV reports 50-year-old James Barton Conlin, of West Des Moines, was arrested during a break in the proceedings Monday and charged with interference with official acts. He was booked into the county jail and released within an hour. Conlin told courthouse officials he was testing the air after his mother complained it was making her ill.

IOWA (IRN) – The two front runners in the 2020 bid for the White House crisscrossed Iowa Tuesday. Biden said the president is ‘an existential threat to America,’ and that his behavior is ‘bizarre.’ Trump called Biden “Sleepy Joe,” and said he was “weak mentally.”

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Rep. Steve King, the Iowa Republican who was stripped of his congressional committee assignments earlier this year, was not allowed to fly aboard Air Force One on Tuesday as President Donald Trump traveled to Iowa. King, who represents the state’s 4th District, asked the White House to join the President’s entourage, but officials rejected the request, according to CNN. Republican Senator Joni Ernst joined Trump aboard Air Force One.

CEDAR FALLS, IA (IRN) – People in Cedar Falls are complaining that workers at city-owned cemeteries have been removing meaningful items used to honor the dead over the past few days. KWWL-TV reports visitors say city workers have also been throwing flags into dumpsters. The city has apologized.

IOWA (IRN) – Iowa leads the nation when it comes to the amount of waste its people and livestock generate. The Des Moines Register reports Christopher Jones, a UI research engineer, calculated that Iowa’s population — based on the waste from the state’s 3.2 million people and nearly 110 million chickens, pigs, turkeys and cattle — would be the equivalent of 168 million people.