Category: State News

BUENA VISTA COUNTY, IA (IRN) – The U.S. Justice Department is monitoring compliance with federal voting right laws by deploying personnel to 19 states, including Iowa, for today’s general election. Federal personnel are in northwest Iowa’s Buena Vista County, which has a large population of immigrants employed in agriculture and the meat packing industry in the Storm Lake area.

WINNESHIEK COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A northeast Iowa man is accused of going armed with intent and stabbing himself before having to be Tased. KIMT-TV reports 30-year-old Joshua Draves was arrested around 3 a.m. Saturday in Freeport. Draves allegedly slashed the tires on a vehicle belonging to the victim’s sister before entering a residence and jumping on the victim as she was sleeping. He then allegedly held a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her before putting the knife to his own throat. He stabbed himself when authorities arrived. He’s in jail with minor injuries.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Drake University students are on high alert after multiple reports of armed robberies near campus in the past month. KCCI-TV reports Drake officials say they are ramping up security measures after three armed robbery reports in four weeks.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A man was shot twice in the leg in Cedar Rapids Monday, according to KCRG-TV. No names of the victim or any suspects were released.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Volunteers are helping at-risk dogs in Des Moines by building fences for owners who may not be able to afford them. WHO-TV reports the group sees dogs that are chained in yards, that have never had the experience of running free, and build fences for them. The Fence Project of Des Moines has built 95 fences in the past seven years.

MOUNT PLEASANT, IA (IRN) – A private school in southeast Iowa is on the verge of closure despite a recent enrollment increase. The Hawk Eye reports that Iowa Wesleyan University in Mount Pleasant needs to raise more than $2 million for its spring semester and at least $4.5 million to stay open for another year.

WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A jury has found a Waterloo man guilty of manslaughter and child endangerment resulting in death for the 2017 beating death of his girlfriend’s 4-year-old son.
The Courier reports that Walter Cordell Williams was convicted Friday. The 24-year-old man faces more than 50 years in prison.

SIOUX CITY, IA (IRN) – A person was stabbed behind La Juanita’s Restaurant in downtown Sioux City Saturday night, according to KCAU-TV. The victim was stabbed once in the chest after being jumped by two men.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – People protested a Cedar Rapids roller skating rink after two transgender teens say they were kicked out. KCRG-TV reports the protest stemmed from a recent skating event where two transgender boys, who asked to remain anonymous, said they were asked to leave the roller rink while skating during a “boys only” skate session.

IOWA (IRN) – Democratic businessman Fred Hubbell heads into Election Day with a narrow lead over Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds among likely voters, according to a new Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll. Forty-six percent of likely voters say they support Hubbell, and 44 percent say they support Reynolds. Two percent say they support Libertarian Jake Porter, and the rest are undecided.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Cedar Rapids police are investigating after a body was found Saturday morning. KWWL-TV reports it was found at Cargill, and no additional details have been released.

NEWTON, IA (IRN) – A hit and run by a semi Friday morning has left Moo’s BBQ in Newton with extensive damage. WHO-TV reports a witness heard a crash around 7:30 am and then saw a semi with a red tractor and white trailor leaving the area. The damage was extensive to the exterior of the building, but Moo’s was able to open for regular business hours. Surveillance video at a nearby business captured the crash, but no arrest has been made.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A nonprofit organization that seeks to better humanity saw the wrong side of us Saturday morning when a vandal tried to break into the Watchmen Training Center in Des Moines, shattering the glass and exposing the inside to the frigid fall weather. KCCI-TV reports the nonprofit organization seeks to bring peace to humanity and work on solutions to build a safer community.

IOWA (IRN) – A late field goal lifted Purdue over Iowa 38-36 in college football yesterday, and ISU powered past Kansas 27-3.

CHARLES CITY, IA (IRN) – Police are looking for an attempted murder suspect in North Iowa, according to KWWL-TV. Two victims were treated and released from the hospital and an investigation led to a charge of attempted murder being filed Friday morning against 35-year-old Trellis Baily.

URBANDALE, IA (IRN) – An Urbandale couple left their 9-month-old child home alone for a about three hours while they went to a bar, according to KCCI. Police arrested 22-year-old Bryan Bozarth and 20-year-old Ashley King. Police were sent around midnight Friday to the couple’s home for a welfare check after someone reported that a 9-month-old girl was home alone. Officers found the baby inside a crib in the back bedroom, alone, wearing one sock and a full diaper.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A Des Moines woman is in jail after she allegedly stabbed a man and then hit him with her car Friday morning. WHO-TV reports the suspect, 45-year-old Carmelita Nichols, fled the scene but was taken into custody without incident. The victim will be OK.

STORM LAKE, IA (IRN) – A man armed with a running chainsaw making animal noises and yelling at people in the Storm Lake Walmart parking lot Halloween night was arrested, according to KCAU-TV. He was charged with Assault With a Dangerous Weapon and Disorderly Conduct. He’s in jail.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – University of Iowa researchers are teaming up with Iowa State University to come up with a new universal flu vaccine. KCRG-TV reports its effects would last about three to five years, and will cover both seasonal and pandemic flus. The vaccine will be available to the public in about five years.

OTTUMWA, IA (IRN) – An Amtrak passenger was arrested in Ottumwa Wednesday, after police say he tried to sell drugs on the train. KTVO-TV reports Marcus Eric Wirtz, 49, faces numerous charges. Wirtz was in the process of moving from Oregon to Florida.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Congressman Steve King shouted at a protestor at an event yesterday in Des Moines, and demanded that the man be escorted from the room. King was taking questions during a forum held at the Des Moines Partnership when a man told King that he shared an ideology with the shooter at a Pittsburgh synagogue as a preface to a question. King refused to answer, and cut the man off and angrily defended himself and his pro-Israel staff.

URBANDALE, IA (IRN) – First daughter Ivanka Trump campaigned for Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds yesterday, and praised her for cutting taxes and growing Iowa’s workforce as she surprised about 75 volunteers at the Reynolds campaign headquarters in Urbandale. KCCI-TV reports Trump says she doesn’t campaign often, but would make an exception for Reynolds, who is in a razor-thin race with Democratic challenger Fred Hubbell, a retired Des Moines businessman.

LATIMER, IA (IRN) – A Latimer man is facing multiple charges after he took a ride on the hood of a minivan. KIMT-TV reports the man got into an argument with his girlfriend, jumped on the hood and punched the passenger side window until it broke. The girlfriend then took off with him still on the hood, then stopped, causing him to fall off.

TRAER, IA (IRN) – The remains of an Iowa sailor killed in the Pearl Harbor attack are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors. 22-year-old William Kvidera, of Traer, will be buried Nov. 16. He was a carpenter’s mate 3rd class assigned to the USS Oklahoma. The battleship capsized on Dec. 7, 1941, after being struck by Japanese torpedoes.