Category: State News

WOODWARD, IA (IRN) – The former business manager at Woodward-Granger Community Schools who improperly paid herself more than $212,000 received a suspended prison sentence Friday, placing her on probation. The Des Moines Register reports Melissa Lee Lantz, 35, wrote payroll checks to herself using an electronic signature from the school board president.

FOREST CITY, IA (IRN) – A man accused of shooting at a school bus with a pellet gun was sentenced to probation Friday. Martin Sherman Tindall, 33, entered an Alford plea to intimidation with a dangerous weapon. Police say he fired a high-power air rifle at a Forest City school bus shattering one of the rear windows. No one was hurt, but the pellet was found in a student’s hair. An Alford plea means Tindall did not admit guilt but conceded he could be found guilty at trial.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – About a dozen residents of a southside Des Moines apartment building were displaced Sunday night after a fire broke out on the third floor. KCCI-TV reports there were no injuries.

SIOUX CITY, IA (IRN) – A Sioux City manufacturing plant is closing and roughly forty jobs will be eliminated. The Sioux City Journal reports that Prince Hydraulics employees were told Friday to pack their belongings and leave, with no prior notice. They were told the work would move to other locations. Prince Hydraulics has been operating in Sioux City since 1941.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The longest-running kennel club in Iowa let all breeds of dogs strut their stuff this weekend. WHO-TV reports the 77-year-old Central Iowa Kennel Club held its annual all-breed dog show at the state fairgrounds. Over 900 different dogs representing 150 different breeds competed.

WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A man arrested following a standoff Friday had only recently been out of jail after shooting a Cedar Rapids police officer in the face in 1998. KWWL-TV reports Mitchell Langel was taken into custody Friday after police responded to a call from a woman reporting an assault. Langel was recently released from prison on probation.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines police charged a man Friday with attempted murder in connection with a shooting at an East Village bar. KCCI-TV reports 28-year-old Des Moines resident Mario Duprie Hutchinson is charged with attempted murder. He shot another man in the face. The victim is expected to recover.

POLK COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Friday Last snow created headaches on Iowa roads. In a weather-related crash, an Iowa State Patrol car was struck by another vehicle on Interstate 80 east of Mitchellville. There were no injuries.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – A Clinton firefighter, injured during an explosion at a Clinton ADM facility, is improving. Firefighter Adam Cain was seriously hurt when a blast rocked the property while he worked to knock down flames in an ADM silo, January 5. Another Clinton firefighter, Lt. Eric Hosette, was killed during the explosion. His body was laid to rest last week.

MUSCATINE, IA (IRN) – An eastern Iowa man who tried to organize the killings of witnesses from behind bars so they couldn’t testify against him has been sentenced to 50 years in prison. The Muscatine Journal reports that 38-year-old old Justin Lee DeWitt was sentenced Friday for three counts of attempted murder. While he was incarcerated, Dewitt tried to coordinate the murders of three witnesses so they couldn’t testify. Dewitt spoke twice to someone he thought had a connection to a contract killer, but the contact was really an undercover officer.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A major winter storm battered much of the state Friday into this morning, causing road conditions to deteriorate and making travel nearly impossible. Officials with the National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for almost all of Iowa.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Snow is going to take a back seat to the brutally cold temperatures moving in. The City of Des Moines has opened up several warming shelters. The designated areas include Southridge and Merle Hay malls, six public libraries, Central Iowa Shelter and Services, and the Bethel Mission.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa swore in Gov. Kim Reynolds Friday for her first elected term as Iowa governor — the first woman elected to that position. Sen. Charles Grassley and newly elected members of Congress Abby Finkenauer and Cindy Axne came from Washington to attend the inauguration. After Reynolds was sworn in, she delivered an inaugural address focused on the image of her beloved state as “one big small town.”

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – One man is in critical condition in an overnight shooting at an East Village bar in Des Moines. KCCI-TV reports police were called to the Lime Lounge on Grand Avenue just after midnight. Police say this is the second time this month they’ve been called to the bar for a shooting.

MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – It was a scary situation Thursday night as a private plane had to make an emergency landing at the Mason City Municipal Airport. KIMT-TV reports first responders arrived at the airport for a plane that was having engine trouble. The plane was able to land safely.

OMAHA, NE (IRN) – A monthly survey of rural bankers in parts of 10 Plains and Western states says banks are growing increasingly concerned about farm loan defaults in 2019. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says the economy is being threatened by tariffs, trade tensions, weak commodity prices and the partial federal government shutdown.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A proposal making its way through the Iowa statehouse would allow visitors to bring a loaded firearm on school grounds if they are dropping off or picking up their children. The weapon would have to stay in the vehicle.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – A University of Iowa student is making the most of a traumatic experience by starting her own business. KCRG-TV reports Erica Cole lost one of her legs in a car crash. While insurance would only pay for a basic prosthetic leg, Erica got the idea to make something to go over it, constructing a stained-glass cover. She says, “it changed the conversation of what happened to me from, ‘Oh my gosh,’ to “That’s really cool and I love your style.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IRN) – U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne will serve on the House Agriculture Committee, making her the lone Iowa representative to do so this year. Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the committee appointments in a news release Wednesday night. Axne’s appointment comes after House Republicans removed Rep. Steve King from his House committees, including agriculture, on Monday over comments King made about white nationalism and white supremacy.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A girl was shot in Cedar Rapids Wednesday evening. KGAN-TV reports officers responded to a report of shots fired and found a juvenile female with a single gunshot wound to the abdomen in an alley. She was taken to the hospital and the extent of her injuries is unknown.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A 40-year-old man constructed a potentially deadly device while dining at a downtown Des Moines sushi restaurant because he didn’t think bomb threats were being taken seriously. KCCI-TV reports Ivory Washington made a legitimate improvised explosive device that resembled a homemade hand grenade Tuesday evening at Akebono in Des Moines. When no one called police, he did. He’s in jail.

ALTOONA, IA (IRN) – Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino is betting on sports betting. It’s not legal yet, but Prairie Meadows announced a deal with U.K.-based William Hill to be its sports book operator. Construction is underway on a facility to accommodate it. Now it’s up to the Iowa Legislature.

LUBBOCK, TX (IRN) – After two disappointing losses, the Cyclones men’s basketball team rebounded with an impressive road win at #8 Texas Tech, 68-64. Marial Shayok led Iowa State with 20 points. Iowa State beat then #5 Kansas earlier this season.