DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The nation’s largest radio station operator has filed for bankruptcy.
USA Today reports that radio giant iHeartMedia filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, having carried billions of dollars in debt for more than a decade. The San Antonio-based company operates more than 850 radio stations, including two in Ames, six each in Davenport and Cedar Rapids, and five in Des Moines.

WAUKEE, IA (IRN) – The Assistant to the President & Advisor, Ivanka Trump, will visit Iowa on March 19. Trump will visit the Waukee Innovation and Learning Center on Monday to support President Trump’s infrastructure plan. Governor Kim Reynolds will join Trump in Waukee.

WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – Two children have died and a woman is in critical condition after an early morning fire in Waterloo yesterday. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports two people who saw smoke followed it to the home, called 911, and tried to use a garden hose to put out the flames. They also found a girl outside with a dog who had escaped. The girl told firefighters two children and a woman were trapped upstairs, who the firefighters attempted to rescue.

MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – A Mason City man is facing a first-degree harassment charge in connection to an incident at Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa where he allegedly told an employee that “he was going to the hospital to shoot.” KIMT-TV reports 49-year-old Alonzo Hill was upset the hospital was allowing people to see his wife, a patient there.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Lindsey McCune, the lobbyist seen kissing Senate Majority Leader Bill Dix in a video published online this week, has left her job with the Iowa League of Cities, according to the Des Moines Register. The video, showing Dix and McCune sharing drinks and then kissing at a Des Moines tavern, was released Monday. Dix, a Shell Rock Republican with a wife and three children, resigned hours later.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Transportation Security Administration agents at the Des Moines International Airport are finding more guns in passengers’ carry-on luggage this year. KCCI-TV reports during an X-ray screening of a passenger’s carry-on bag this week, officials discovered a loaded 9 mm Glock. The South Dakota man faces a misdemeanor charge and a civil penalty of approximately $4,000. He caught a later flight.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A man was hit and killed by a vehicle in Cedar Rapids late Tuesday night. KCRG-TV reports Lavell Robinson Jr., 29 of Coralville, was the man hit by the vehicle. Police say no charges are pending, but the investigation is ongoing. Investigators are awaiting the autopsy report and witness statements.

SIOUX CITY, IA (IRN) – An Iowa man has been imprisoned for possessing illegal drugs and child pornography. Federal prosecutors say 23-year-old Jose Ortega-Ramirez was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court in Sioux City to 7½ years. Police intercepted a package from Mexico containing nearly 291 grams of cocaine addressed to Ortega-Ramirez’s apartment. Police executed a controlled delivery, then searched Ortega-Ramirez’s home and found the package. He also admitted to having images of a nude minor.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The widows and widowers of fallen police officers gathered at the Statehouse Wednesday to fight for health care coverage. KCCI-TV reports Iowa law does not require cities or counties to provide health insurance to the families of law enforcement officers who die in the line of duty. A new bill would require cities, counties or the state to continue to provide health insurance to the fallen officer’s surviving children until they are 26 and to their spouses until they are eligible for Medicaid.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – After dropping a fetal-heartbeat bill earlier this week, Iowa House Republicans are advancing a new effort to ban most abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected by adding the measure to a separate bill that would ban the sale of fetal tissue.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Police were called to a home in Des Moines because neighbors complained about a strong scent of ammonia, according to WHO-TV. Inside the home officers found dozens of cats, some of them dead, living in filth. Officers estimate that six inches of cat feces covered every square inch of the floor. At least 20 cats have been taken from the home. Felony charges are likely for the homeowner.

UNITED STATES (IRN) – Toys R Us plans to sell or close all of its 800 stores in the United States after six decades in business, according to the Washington Post. There are seven stores in Iowa. The store blames Amazon for the closures, as well as the rise of video games and other high-tech toys that kids are increasingly playing with instead of action figures, dolls and board games.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – After the resignation of Senate Majority leader Bill Dix after video surfaced of him flirting with and kissing a lobbyist, Iowa Senate Republicans elected new leadership this morning. Sen. Jack Whitver is the new Senate Majority Leader, Sen. Charles Schneider is the new Senate President, Sen. Amy Sinclair is the new Majority Whip and Sen. Jake Chapman is the new Assistant Majority Leader.

OSKALOOSA, IA (IRN) – An Oskaloosa man has been charged with 2nd Degree Murder in the death of William Penn student Marquis Todd. Oskynews.com reports 23-year old Luke VanHemert allegedly stabbed Todd during a fight.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A semi truck carrying more than 100 hogs rolled over on Des Moines’ northeast side this morning. The Des Moines Register reports the driver was not injured in the incident, but the approximately 140 hogs had to be extracted from the vehicle and 10 had to be euthanized.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A controversial fetal heartbeat bill is no longer under consideration at the Statehouse, according to KCCI-TV. The bill, which would have banned abortions as soon as a fetal heartbeat is detected, will not be brought up for a vote. Before the abortion bill died, protesters lay on the Statehouse floor in silence and surrounded by hangers to represent women who died from having abortions when they were illegal.

DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – The Dubuque man convicted of stabbing his girlfriend to death is claiming bullying in the jury as a reason he should get a new trial, according to KCRG-TV. Fontae Buelow allegedly stabbed Samantha Link to death during a fight but Buelow claims Link stabbed herself. In the appeal, the defense claims two jurors bullied others into finding Buelow guilty during deliberations.

WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A West Des Moines donut shop is refunding money to dozens of customers whose credit cards were charged without their knowledge. WHO-TV reports the Dunkin’ Donuts store says a computer glitch in its credit card processing system charged customers’ cards on days they didn’t purchase anything.

IOWA (IRN) – Iowa is number one–but not in a good way. Insurify, an insurance comparison website, reports that Iowa is number one in speeding tickets. 23.2 percent of Iowa drivers have reported getting a speeding ticket. That’s the highest percentage in the country, even though Iowa has the lowest number of law enforcement officers per capita in the top 10 speeding ticket states.

AMES, IA (IRN) – A December report of a drive-by shooting in Ames was actually a false report, according to KCCI-TV. Police found 36-year-old Tracy Marie Flores with a gunshot wound to the leg, and she said she was the victim of a drive-by shooting. Police determined the drive-by shooting never happened, and it was actually an accidental shooting. As a result, Tracy Marie Flores and Rafael Angel Flores are both facing multiple charges.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa’s unemployment rate remained steady at 2.9 percent in January.
Iowa Workforce Development reports the rate of 2.9 percent compares favorably to a 4.1 percent national rate.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A controversial video has ended Republican Bill Dix’s career in the Statehouse. Dix resigned Monday as Senate majority leader and as a state senator after a video posted on the political blog Iowa Starting Line showed him kissing and flirting with a lobbyist at the Waveland Tap in Des Moines. The lobbyist is Lindsey McCune, with the Iowa League of Cities. The Des Moines Register reports that McCune is registered as a lobbyist on more than 200 bills this year that originated in the Senate while led by Dix. Senate Republicans will select a new leader Wednesday.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines firefighters worked late Monday night to extinguish a fire that gutted a house. KCCI-TV reports the house was for sale, and the owner said they had plans to close the sale today. The house had been occupied by squatters. No one was injured.

IOWA (IRN) – The flu has peaked in Iowa, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health. The number of flu-related hospitalizations and doctor visits have both dropped for a fourth straight week. So far, 207 Iowans have died from the flu this year.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Department of Agriculture wants to save the Monarch butterfly. They announced Monday they will plant milkweed on up to 830,000 acres of land. The plant is the only place were female monarchs lay their eggs. In the last 20 years 80% of the monarch butterfly population in the United States has disappeared because of loss of habitat and pesticide drift.