DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Republican State Senate Majority Leader Bill Dix of Shell Rock has announced his resignation as Majority Leader and State Senator. A video on the liberal website Iowa Starting Line appears to show Dix flirting and kissing a female lobbyist at a Des Moines bar. The video came from an anonymous person who witnessed the interaction and recognized Sen. Dix from media reports.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A Des Moines man is in jail after he threatened to kill a woman and tried to burn down a home. WHO-TV reports 38-year-old Antonio Starks faces multiple charges in the incident. Police were called to the home around 1:15 a.m. Monday on a report that Starks was assaulting a woman. When officers arrived, Starks was pouring gas in a children’s bedroom. Starks then threw the gas can at officers and lit a bed in the room on fire. Starks ran at police and they were able to detain him. The fire was extinguished quickly.

FORT DODGE, IA (IRN) – A Newell, Iowa woman has died after she fell from a pickup truck and was hit by a car Friday night near Fort Dodge. The Iowa State Patrol reports 29-year-old Sarah Jensen fell from the truck driven by 31-year-old Joshua Jensen, also of Newell. She was then struck by a car driven by a Joplin, Missouri woman.

AMES, IA (IRN) – An Iowa State psychology professor’s research on the behavioral effects of video games suggests that President Donald Trump is within reason to believe graphic depictions of violence in video games can lead to more aggressive behavior. KCCI-TV reports professor Craig Anderson says, “when you look at all the research, it is clear that habitually playing violent video games is a causal factor for later physical, aggressive behavior.”

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A small plane crashed at the Eastern Iowa Airport Sunday afternoon in Cedar Rapids, according to KCRG-TV. The plane touched ground, then flipped on its top. No one was injured.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A woman and two children were rescued from a sinking car in the Cedar River in Cedar Rapids on Sunday. KGAN-TV reports when rescue crews arrived on scene, they found the woman and two children in ski boats. They had been rescued from the sinking car. All three were hospitalized, and there is no word on their conditions.

BLOOMFIELD, IA (IRN) – Play it Forward. That’s the program the Bluegrass Music Association of Iowa has created, according to KTVO-TV. It’s a non profit organization that provides instruments to kids, giving them a chance to become musicians. 12-year-old Maddy Warning has been playing the guitar for over a year now, all thanks to this organization. And now, her younger sister Abby has picked up the same instrument. Their hard work isn’t going unnoticed. Abby and Maddy will be performing in the 16th annual Bluegrass Show on March 24th.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A former East High School employee was arrested and charged with sexual exploitation after authorities say he inappropriately touched a student on a bus going home from a show choir competition. KCCI-TV reports 19-year-old Brent Nery of Des Moines worked part time at the school assisting with the drama department and choreography at East High School.

WASHINGTON, DC (IRN) – Iowa’s entire congressional delegation are warning that President Donald Trump’s call for tariffs on steel and aluminum could damage Iowa’s economy, especially farmers and others in the agriculture industry. Senators Grassley and Ernst, as well as Representatives Young, Blum, Loebsack and King – sent a letter to the president on March 7, expressing their disagreement with the tariffs and urging him to reconsider.

SABULA, IA (IRN) – The old bridge across the Mississippi River between Sabula, Iowa and Savanna, Illinois was demolished Friday, creating a traffic headache for Iowa-Illinois commuters.
KGAN-TV reports commuters will have to take a 36-mile-long detour as the new bridge could be closed until Memorial Day. Crews will be working around the clock to ensure that barge traffic can be restored early next week.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Dancing, gymnastics, basketball and so much more all happened in Iowa City Saturday. KCRG-TV reports about 1,300 of the state’s best special Olympic athletes faced off. Abbi Stastny, representing the Cedar Rapids Recreation Center says, “no matter if you win or lose we’re all still teammates.”

DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – A former youth counselor at Four Oaks juvenile facility was arrested after she allegedly helped three juveniles escape and had sex with one of them. WQAD-TV reports 19-year-old Hannah Rose Fitzpatrick, of Marion, is charged with sexual misconduct with a youth offender in her custody.

OTTUMWA, IA (IRN) – A 16-year-old who took a loaded handgun into Ottumwa High School has been charged with a felony. The Ottumwa Courier reports the school resource officer and a school administrator found the gun and a knife in the student’s backpack Thursday. He was arrested and charged with carrying a weapon on school grounds. The boy showed the gun to another student, who then notified a teacher who alerted the resource officer.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Voters are claiming to have been denied their right to vote in Tuesday’s special election in Polk County because they didn’t have a photo ID, according to KCCI-TV. The 1-cent sales tax came up 227 votes short of passing, and some have speculated the state’s new voter ID law could have affected the outcome. Polk County Auditor Jamie Fitzgerald said, “some of the poll workers got confused…a lot of things went wrong on Tuesday.”

PLYMOUTH COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A retired Plymouth County judge has admitted that “a couple hundred” of his rulings actually were written by attorneys involved in those same cases, sometimes without the knowledge of the opposing counsel. The Des Moines Register reports
former Judge Edward Jacobson’s admission prompted a sharp rebuke from the Iowa Supreme Court, who issued a statement Thursday saying Jacobson’s conduct could undermine “public confidence in our system of justice.”

ANKENY, IA (IRN) – A woman who was forced to view sexually explicit photos and video of her examiner during a driving test is suing the Iowa Department of Transportation for damages. KCCI-TV reports the 49-year-old was seeking a license when she was paired with 62-year-old John Alexander for the test at the Ankeny DOT station in 2016. Alexander was fired and was sentenced to probation.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA (IRN) – No one was injured when a car was driven off the road Thursday morning into a body of water in Council Bluffs. KETV reports the 58-year-old man said he looked away from the road and lost control, driving off the road and into a body of water at a park. Police say alcohol was not a factor in the crash.

ANKENY, IA (IRN) – President Trump announced a new tariff on imported steel and aluminum on Thursday but Iowa businesses are already paying for it. WHO-TV reports Kinzler Construction has seen significant increases in the price for steel studs and other materials they distribute in Ankeny. Suppliers raised prices starting last week. Suppliers say the price hikes are being passed on from steel mills. Local craft brewers say the aluminum tariff is a concern for their businesses as well.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – More than 100 roosters were seized Thursday from a home in Des Moines, according to KCCI-TV. A neighbor says they called police when they saw six men standing in the backyard of the house, slamming roosters to the ground and forcing the animals to fight. No arrests have been made.

IOWA (IRN) – Iowa school counselors are responsible for too many students, according to the American School Counselor Association. KCRG-TV reports the association recommends that each counselor’s caseload should be no more than 250 students. Iowa’s average ratio is almost double that, with one counselor per 418 students.

AVOCA, IA (IRN) – A western Iowa man has been charged after his son took some of his marijuana to school. KETV reports the fourth-grader found a small bag of pot in his dad’s bedroom in Avoca, took it to school that day and gave it to school officials, who contacted law enforcement. 30-year-old James Mills is charged with child endangerment and possession of marijuana. Mills told investigators his son did the right thing, but he’s innocent.