Category: State News

CENTERVILLE, IA (IRN) – A Centerville woman has been charged with murder and arson after firefighters found her husband’s body in their burned home. KCCI-TV reports Centerville police arrested 45-year-old Barbara Pasa, who left her husband, 50-year-old Tim Pasa, lying in bed on May 5 with a lit candle in the room. She recently bought a $200,000 life insurance policy on her husband and he had recently told family members he believed his wife was poisoning him. That’s in addition to the couple recently filing for divorce.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A former Des Moines East High School teacher has been charged with Sexual Exploitation by a School Employee for allegedly having a sexual relationship with a student. WHO-TV reports 50-year-old Jason Soliday was arrested and charged on Friday. Soliday had a four-month long relationship with a female student.

WEST BURLINGTON, IA (IRN) – A Walmart in West Burlington was evacuated yesterday after a shopper heard a man claim he was going to shoot people. WQAD-TV reports the man fled, but police later apprehended 59-year-old Michael Wills of Burlington. Wills said he was angry about a traffic accident that he was nearly involved in and was talking to himself when a customer overheard him and told an employee. Wills was cited for disorderly conduct.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – More than 400 farmers died from a work-related injury in 2016. The leading cause of deaths were transportation incidents, such as tractor overturns. KWWL-TV reports a University of Iowa student hopes she can lower those numbers. Kayla Faust is developing a virtual reality tractor simulation that lets drivers test tractors in different driving conditions, which she feels will lead to fewer deaths.

WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A Waterloo man has been arrested for allegedly stealing tools and materials from construction sites in Waterloo and Cedar Falls. The Courier reports 40-year-old Sanel Jahic stole lumber, hand tools, gas-powered saws, measuring equipment and a generator from several construction sites and construction trailers.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A Cedar Rapids woman has pleaded guilty to fraud and identity theft for stealing more than $191,000 from her now-dead fiance and his elderly mother. KGAN-TV reports 60-year-old Robin Ann Bertelli stole checks that belonged to her fiance, a former Navy Seal, and his mother, and wrote them payable to herself, forging their signatures. Her fiance died in 2016 while on vacation with her in Puerto Rico from what she said was an accidental drowning after hitting his head on a rock.

DECORAH, IA (IRN) – A missing 2-year-old girl has been found safe with her mother and father, both meth addicts who now face additional charges. KCCI-TV reports the girl was last seen in Le Mars, before being found in Decorah today. She has been placed with DHS, and her parents are in jail.

IOWA (IRN) – Ten of the nation’s 100 worst puppy mills are based in Iowa, according to a new report from the Humane Society. Only two states have more facilities on this year’s list: Missouri with 23, and Ohio with 13. According to the report, dozens of dogs in federally licensed, privately run Iowa facilities have been found dead, neglected, injured or suffering from untreated diseases.

MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – Mason City is expanding its free summer lunch program for hungry kids. This year, free bus rides will be given to students who have to travel far to get to a lunch site. For children to get a ride, they need to be on any street corner along one of the five designated bus routes and signal to the driver they want a ride.

WALCOTT, IA (IRN) – Parents from Walcott, Blue Grass, and Buffalo want to form a new school district and leave the Davenport district, according to KWQC-TV. Parents say the idea has been in the talks for a long time. They say their biggest motivation is to keep the students together due to these rural towns being far from Davenport.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines Police are investigating a stabbing that left a woman with serious injuries. KCCI-TV reports police found Donna Williams outside with multiple stab wounds. She jumped off the second story deck to escape attacker, who is a male that lives with her. He ran as police arrived.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The city of Des Moines has been ordered to pay nearly $1 million in damages to a contractor it blacklisted after numerous unexpected delays. KCCI-TV reports the city hired Jenco Construction for a $3.3 million Grand Avenue Bridge reconstruction project, but banned the company from bidding on city projects for three years after the company failed to deliver the project in a timely manner. A jury awarded the company over $989,000 after the construction company sued.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A man was killed Wednesday night in a crash near the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines, according to the Des Moines Register. The car crashed into a pillar of brick. A nurse was passing by, and found the man unresponsive, but his heart was still beating. She was unable to resuscitate him.

DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – A mobile home fire in Dubuque was caused by lint in a dryer exhaust, according KGAN-TV. The home owner woke up to smoke detectors going off and was able to wake his family. Everyone escaped uninjured.

USA (IRN) – USA Today has released its list of the drunkest cities in the country. Three Iowa cities made the top 20. Ames ranked number 19, Dubuque 14th, and Iowa City topped the Iowa list at number 13. The drunkest city in America? Green Bay, Wisconsin.

WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A West Des Moines woman faces 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to stealing from her sister who suffers from Alzheimer’s Disease. KCCI-TV reports 79-year-old Jewell Davis used her power of attorney over her sister’s assets to write herself $346,000 in checks to buy homes.

ALTOONA, IA (IRN) – Police in Altoona have charged a Des Moines man with human trafficking. WHO-TV reports the suspect is accused of trying to force a woman into prostitution at an Altoona truck stop. 32-year-old Michael Nelson allegedly fired a round in the air from a handgun when the victim told him she didn’t want to solicit sex. After the gunshot, the woman got in the car and the suspect took her to the Flying J in Altoona. The two approached someone at the Flying J to solicit sex, and it was the prospective John who called police.

FORT DODGE, IA (IRN) – Authorities are asking community members for help Tuesday after finding a deceased person in a Fort Dodge home. KCCI-TV reports Fort Dodge police received a call from a neighbor who located the deceased person after checking on a suspicious odor.

IOWA (IRN) – Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have arrested 78 people in a five-state immigration sweep in the Midwest. KGAN-TV reports Iowa had 25 arrests. Sixty-two of the people arrested had prior criminal convictions; 31 had illegally re-entered the United States after having been previously deported. Most of the people arrested are from Mexico.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, a leading supporter of corn-based ethanol, says he’ll call for Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt’s resignation if Pruitt doesn’t work to fulfill federal ethanol mandates. WQAD-TV reports
Grassley is showing frustration with Pruitt’s lack of action to uphold the Renewable Fuel Standards law. Grassley says, “I’m done playing around with this.”

DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – A Davenport man was robbed, brutally beaten and left unconscious while walking home Friday night, according to WQAD-TV. His fiance says he is heavily sedated, with multiple injuries. He underwent surgery on his throat, and will have additional surgery for facial injuries. She says, ” it looks like someone stomped on his neck. There’s a shoe print on his neck. His face needs reconstruction. It’s animalistic, it’s brutal, it’s violent.” The two were to be married this weekend.

DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – Tenants of an apartment building in Dubuque recently found a letter stating minorities are not welcome, according to KCRG-TV. The letter was posted inside the doorway of the apartment, and said it was from the manager of the apartment building. Management denies the allegation, saying it has no tolerance for racism, and believes the letter was from a disgruntled tenant who didn’t have their lease renewed.

WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The victim of a 911 hoax in West Des Moines says she has no idea who would impersonate her and report a fake shooting. KCCI-TV reports the 911 dispatcher received a call from someone claiming to be the woman. The caller claimed that her son shot his father.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Legislators and lobbyists who support expanding gambling to include sports betting in Iowa said a 6-3 ruling from the high court is all they needed to advance a sports betting bill in the 2019 legislative session. WHO-TV reports Representative Jake Highfill, a Republican from Johnston, said sports betting in Iowa would go through the casinos and have both in-person and online options that will be taxed to benefit the state.