Category: State News

POLK COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A Polk County Sheriff’s Deputy was injured in a crash Friday after another driver went through a stop sign and t-boned the deputy’s patrol vehicle. The deputy and the other driver suffered minor injuries and were taken to the hospital for treatment. Charges are pending.

MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – A man involved in a fatal crash is pleading guilty to homicide by vehicle by reckless driving in Cerro Gordo County. KIMT-TV reports Thomas John Parcher, 29 of Marble Rock, was driving in December 2017, when he went off the road and rolled several times. A passenger, Tonya Martin, 50 of Rockwell, was thrown from the vehicle and died at the scene. Parcher was tested and found to have a blood alcohol content of .136 after the crash.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – The Cedar Rapids Police Department is making a push to have the cameras on Interstate 380 issue tickets to speeders again. The I-380 Automated Traffic Enforcement cameras continue to monitor traffic patterns, but they have been not issuing tickets in Cedar Rapids since April 2017.

IOWA (IRN) – Data shows more farmers in Iowa are struggling to make ends meet, leading to a significant spike in farms declaring bankruptcy. According to numbers from the Iowa Farm Bureau, just five years ago in 2013, only four farms declared Chapter 12 bankruptcy. In 2017, the total number of bankruptcies climbed to 18 — the highest total since 2001.

PROMISE CITY, IA (IRN) – A Promise City man has avoided spending the rest of his life in prison for running a drug ring. KTVO-TV reports TImothy McClain was sentenced to nine years in a federal prison. A search warrant of McClain’s Promise yielded $225,000 in cash and nearly 200 grams of meth. In his plea deal, McClain acknowledged he was part of a multi-state drug ring. He admitted that in early 2017 he had come into possession of nearly four pounds of meth.

URBANDALE, IA (IRN) – An Urbandale school worker died Thursday after she was struck by a car in a crosswalk in front of the high school, according to KCCI-TV. Dawn Ipson, a member of the nutrition services team at the school, was crossing the street when she was hit.

MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – A railroad officer shot someone in Mason City Thursday. KIMT-TV reports one person was taken to the hospital with a gunshot wound. The Union Pacific employed officer is reported safe. The DCI and Union Pacific are investigating.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Transportation Security Administration intercepted the 11th firearm at the Des Moines International Airport so far this year. Staff discovered a loaded Smith & Wesson Wednesday during an X-ray screening of a passenger’s carry-on bag. The gun reportedly had five rounds in it. Charges are pending.

FAIRFIELD, IA (IRN) – A Canadian woman is thankful to be alive after spending more than three days stranded in her car when it became stuck in the mud on a rural Iowa road. The Des Moines Register reports Terry Harnish, 72, of Hubbards, Nova Scotia, was visiting friends on Thanksgiving when she took a wrong turn onto a dirt road outside Fairfield and became stuck. She was rescued Sunday after her car was discovered by a group of snowmobilers. She said, “I was a bit concerned. I knew my angels and God would save me, but I’m glad those boys came along.”

URBANDALE, IA (IRN) – One person was transported to the hospital this morning after being struck by a vehicle near Urbandale High School. KCCI-TV reports Urbandale police were called to the school just before 7 a.m. Police at the scene called the accident “serious,” and said the driver involved in the accident is cooperating.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A 20-year-old man convicted of stabbing and killing another man during a drug robbery will spend 20 years in prison. KCRG-TV reports Darius Alexander admitted he killed 18-year-old Christopher Arteberry during an attempt to steal marijuana.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Learfield Sports has suspended Iowa play-by-play broadcaster Gary Dolphin for two games for negative comments directed at Hawkeyes guard Maishe Dailey that inadvertently made it to the air during a commercial break on Tuesday. Dolphin, who has broadcast Hawkeyes games for over 20 years, will miss Friday’s game against No. 22 Wisconsin and Monday’s game at No. 9 Michigan State. Dolphin apologized.

DALLAS, TX (IRN) – The Big 12 has named ISU football coach Matt Campbell its Co-Coach of the Year. Under Campbell, ISU has had another record-setting season. ISU’s six Big 12 wins were the most conference wins in school history. The team is bowl eligible for the second-straight season, and are ranked No. 24 in the Associated Press poll.

DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – A 1978 gold Krugerrand was dropped in a Salvation Army kettle at Sam’s Club in Dubuque yesterday, according to KWWL-TV. The coin was discovered while sorting money. It’s worth just over $1,200.

IOWA COUNTY, IA (IRN) – One person was killed Wednesday morning in a rollover crash in Iowa County. The Iowa State Patrol reports the driver, who has yet to be identified, was heading east on Interstate 80 and took the exit for the Amana Colonies just before 3 a.m. The driver didn’t stop at a stop sign and vaulted over a creek, hit the ground and rolled. The vehicle then burst into flames.

MARSHALLTOWN, IA (IRN) – A traffic stop nearly resulted in an explosive situation in Marshalltown yesterday. KCCI-TV reports 48-year-old Timothy Kluck is charged with possessing and making bombs. Marshalltown police pulled Kluck over for having a suspended license and found a pipe bomb in his car. A bomb squad searched his home, finding another pipe bomb and other bomb making materials. Police don’t know why he made the bombs.

CHARLES CITY, IA (IRN) – A Charles City woman accused of trying to kill her mother is pleading not guilty. Jennifer Katherine Bean, 44, is charged with attempt to commit murder and domestic abuse assault causing bodily injury. She was arrested after she injected her mother with insulin after an argument.

OTTUMWA, IA (IRN) – Dennis Sandifer survived an August 2nd crash near Blakesburg but his passenger did not. Now Sandifer is charged with his death. WHO-TV reports 63-year-old Dennis Sandifer is charged with Homicide by Vehicle for the death of Brandon Pruett. Sandifer drove his 1996 Ford truck head-on into a semi. Pruett, 29, was killed in the crash.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Cedar Rapids might soon say no to anyone who wants to light up a cigarette in parks in the city. KCRG-TV reports the city council is considering a ban on smoking near golf clubhouses, recreation centers and places where children might gather, like parks. The city says the goal is to protect kids from secondhand smoke.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A West Des Moines man was charged with attempted murder after he stabbed two people early Saturday morning at a bar in Des Moines. The Des Moines Register reports Tracy Thaddeus Rejba, 37, stabbed a 43-year-old man in his abdomen and chest, puncturing a lung. He also stabbed a 37-year-old woman in the lower back, puncturing her kidney.

WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A toddler was found wandering outside alone in Monday’s freezing cold weather in West Des Moines. KCCI-TV reports a worker at an apartment complex noticed a little girl in the parking lot in her pajamas. The worker quickly took the toddler inside the apartment complex office and called police and an ambulance. Police are investigating.

URBANDALE, IA (IRN) – Urbandale firefighters rescued a man from an icy pond following a crash Monday. When firefighters arrived they found the man trapped in the car with just his head above water. Firefighters in protective thermal gear pulled the man from the car and he was taken to a local hospital. Firefighters estimate the man was in the water for 5-6 minutes.

IOWA (IRN) – Nearly $31 million in bailout payments are hitting the mailboxes of Iowa farmers slammed financially from ongoing U.S. trade disputes. About 100 of the nearly 4,300 payments to Iowa farmers through October are less than $25. The average payment is $7,236. Some of the checks are going to “farmers” in America’s largest cities. Corn growers are only getting a penny a bushel in assistance under President Donald Trump’s $12 billion emergency farm aid package.

IOWA (IRN) – The blizzard that stretched across southern Iowa Sunday kept the Iowa State Patrol busy. Troopers covered 93 crashes and assisted 131 motorists in an eighteen hour period beginning at 6am Sunday.