Category: State News

TAMA, IA (IRN) – A Tama man has been granted probation for his offense of lascivious acts with a child. KCRG-TV reports 70-year-old William Purk II originally faced multiple charges for sexually abusing an 8-year-old family member. The daughter of the defendant, Amber Purk, Rev. Kenny Mervin of Tama Meskwaki Celebration Assembly of God Church, and Purk himself disputed the allegations and urged the court to give Purk probation so he could attend to the needs of the church and his family. The court agreed.

FOUNTAIN HILLS, AZ (IRN) – An Iowa couple and a Canadian woman died after being struck by an SUV on a sidewalk in Fountain Hills, Arizona. KCCI-TV reports 72-year-old Robert Bonta and his 71-year-old wife Karen were killed in the accident Tuesday along with 60-year-old Patti Doornbos from Canada.

RHODES, IA (IRN) – Three family pets are dead and the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office says an 11-year-old boy is to blame. KCRG-TV reports officials suspect the boy killed two dogs and one cat with lethal injections of his mother’s insulin. The Marshall County Sheriff expects charges to be filed against the boy this week.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A Cedar Rapids teacher has been fired after inappropriate use of an African-American baby doll in a classroom according to school officials. KWWL-TV reports school officials say Tammy Ryan was a poor role model who used inappropriate instructional methods and unprofessional conduct. There’s no word on what she did.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa State Fair has released a long list of new foods available at this year’s fair. Fairgoers can try over 50 new foods at the 2018 Iowa State Fair. Among the delights are: the All Iowa Belly Up Burger, Deep Fried Pecan Pie on a stick, and Rocky Mountain Oysters.

ALTOONA, IA (IRN) – An overnight pursuit ended in an officer-involved shooting in Altoona that left a man dead. Deputies say a pursuit in north Polk County started at around 3:45 a.m. when the driver was pulled over on a traffic stop and refused to stop. The pursuit ended in gunfire in an Altoona neighborhood when the driver grabbed a weapon.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IRN) – Iowa Republican Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst criticized President Trump’s acceptance of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s denial of interference in the U.S. elections. Trump’s comments yesterday follow the revelation Friday that the U.S. Justice Department had indicted 12 Russian agents for a hacking scheme intended to disrupt the 2016 U.S. election. Ernst said she has faith in the U.S. intelligence communities assessment that Russia interfered.

STORY COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A Nevada man has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for the murder of his 2-month-old child. KCCI-TV reports 30-year-old Calvin White suffocated 2-month-old Selena on January 29 and threw himself in front of a train about 20 minutes later. He survived, and authorities found a video confession on his phone. In the video, White admits to placing a pillow over the child’s face so that he couldn’t hear her scream. In the video White said, “I’m like a monster, I can’t control myself. I knew it was going to happen sooner or later.”

DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – An 80-year-old man died in an ATV accident in Dubuque County on Monday, according to KWWL-TV. The incident is under investigation.

WARREN COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Warren County officials are seeking to build a new new courthouse and jail after the old one was condemned, according to WHO-TV. Citizens rejected a bond issue for the project in 2016.

BREMER COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A woman on a tube was hurt last night on the Cedar River near Waverly after being struck by a boat. She was taken to the hospital with head injuries and was treated and released. The DNR is investigating the accident, and determining if alcohol was involved.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A teen father faces first degree murder charges after police say he beat his eight-month-old daughter to death. WHO-TV reports 17-year-old Jayden Straight turned himself in to police early Sunday morning. The child’s mother isn’t part of the investigation.

ALTOONA, IA (IRN) – A second-grade student in the Southeast Polk Community School District has died due to complications of E. coli, according to KCCI-TV. Natalie Baker, who attended Willowbrook Elementary School in Altoona, died unexpectedly on Friday. Natalie’s mother says that parents should take children’s stomachaches seriously because that’s how Natalie’s symptoms started.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) A woman was shot in the leg in Cedar Rapids last night, according to KGAN-TV. She was taken to the hospital, and is expected to survive.

DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – Don Emmons of Davenport is restoring an antique tractor for a good cause. WQAD-TV reports he recently lost his wife of 58 years, Loretta, who had been previously diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Emmons says in the month following her death, “I was just laying there, didn’t have nothing to do, and I just thought, I’ll just take a ratty old tractor and see how good I can make it. I’ll make it the best looking tractor I got just for her and donate it to Alzheimer’s.” Emmons adds, “It was hard. I miss the old gal. I miss her really bad.” The tractor will be sold at the 2018 Gone Farmin’ Iowa Premiere, November 8-10.

EVERLY, IA (IRN) – Law enforcement officials in northwestern Iowa are investigating the death of a South Dakota woman whose body was found in a camper. The Sioux City Journal reports that Clay County sheriff’s deputies were called to a rural area near Everly late Thursday night for reports of an unresponsive woman. Deputies found 30-year-old Casey Blaine Eleeson, of Huron, South Dakota, dead in the camper. Investigators say her death is suspicious.

AMES, IA (IRN) – Ames police are advising women to use the buddy system after two women reported sexual assaults near Campustown this week. KCCI-TV reports one woman says two white men attempted to grab her and tried to pull her behind some buildings Sunday, but she was able to get away. Two white men grabbed another woman Tuesday and sexually assaulted her.

FAYETTE COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A crash after a chase by law enforcement has resulted in the death of a 28-year-old man. The Iowa State Patrol reports Fayette County Sheriff’s deputies were involved in a high speed chase with a 2008 Kia Spectra driven by Jared Hill of Jefferson City, Missouri. Hill hit an unoccupied parked car and died in the crash.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The final Sears store in Des Moines will close this fall when the national retailer shutters its Merle Hay Mall location. The Des Moines Register reports the company notified employees Thursday that it will close the store in mid-October. The nearly 60-year-old Sears building will most likely be razed and a new strip mall for two or more new tenants built in its place.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IRN) – Russian military officials allegedly scouted the election administration websites of Iowa counties as they sought to hack into computer systems and sabotage the 2016 presidential election. The Des Moines Register reports those allegations are included in an 11-count indictment unveiled Friday as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign. Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate says Iowa’s systems weren’t compromised.

COLO, IA (IRN) – Two men were taken to the hospital Friday afternoon after they were struck by lightning at a Story County golf course. KCCI-TV reports the men were in the Twin Anchors golf course parking lot outside Colo when they were struck by lightning around 4 p.m. The men were hospitalized, but are expected to recover.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A termination letter shows that a member of the Iowa State Patrol was fired this month because of “intimidating, threatening and unwelcome” interactions with colleagues. The patrol fired Des Moines-based trooper Wade Karp on July 3 after a 10-month paid administrative leave.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A cement truck fell into a sinkhole in Des Moines Friday, according to WHO-TV. The ground gave way under the weight of the truck, but the driver made it out okay. The affected sewer system is reportedly old, in an older neighborhood, and made of wood.