Category: State News

CENTERVILLE, IA (IRN) – Officials are investigating the death of man whose body was found by firefighters in southern Iowa’s Appanoose County. KCCI-TV reports the body of 51-year-old Timothy Pasa was found Saturday in a fire-damaged Centerville house. One firefighter was injured battling the blaze but was released from a hospital Sunday. The cause of Pasa’s death has not been released.

DYERSVILLE, IA (IRN) – An Earlville man was critically injured after falling about 30 feet through the roof of Dyersville Die Cast, according to KGAN-TV. He was doing construction when he fell through a skylight.

WORTH COUNTY, IA (IRN) – One person has died as a result of a train vs. tractor collision Tuesday in Worth County. The Iowa State Patrol reports the sprayer took much of the damage, but the collision spun the tractor around, killing the driver.

BRANDON, IA (IRN) – Two men have been sent to prison after law enforcement officers found them making methamphetamine at a residence in the northeast Iowa town of Brandon. KCRG-TV reports one of the men accidentally dialed 911 while they were making meth. He then took the battery out of his phone to prevent a callback. Police traced the call, found the men making meth, and arrested them.

INDIANOLA, IA (IRN) – A decision has been made about what to do about the Warren County Courthouse, which has been plagued by mold, ventilation, and health issues for those who work there. The Warren County Board of Supervisors has decided the courthouse in the middle of the square will be torn down and a new facility will be built in its place.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The downtown Des Moines skyline is about to get an upgrade, according to KCCI-TV. Mandelbaum Properties and 21c Museum Hotels unveiled plans Tuesday for The Fifth, a 40-story building to be built on 5th Avenue and Walnut Street. The all-glass skyscraper will fill space previously occupied by a parking ramp and include luxury hotels, apartments and a 24/7 art museum. The Fifth will also hold a movie theater, restaurant and parking garage.

MONONA, IA (IRN) – A man has been sentenced to prison after being arrested during a failed attempt to rob a northeast Iowa bank by sending notes from a drive-up window. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says 21-year-old Tyler Koehler, of Monona, was sentenced Monday to three years in federal prison after pleading guilty to attempted bank robbery. Koehler admitted trying to rob the Freedom Bank in Monona by passing repeated notes via a drive-up window that threatened to “blow this place up” unless given cash. A teller stalled Koehler until police arrived and arrested him.

WELLMAN, IA (IRN) – A Wellman man died in a farming accident Monday according to KCII radio. A chemical sprayer struck and ran over 65-year-old Merlyn Yoder. He died at the scene.

MILFORD, NE (IRN) – Four people from Clinton were killed in an Interstate 80 crash in Nebraska. WQAD-TV reports five people were heading to Colorado in a Chevrolet when the 20-year-old driver crossed the median and collided with a Buick. The 75-year-old driver in the Buick tried to avoid the crash but hit the passenger side of the Chevy. Four of the five people in the Chevy were killed; two 20-year-olds, a 19-year-old, and the 49-year-old mother of the driver. The Chevy driver survived the crash, and there is no word on the condition of the 75-year-old.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Two Waverly men have pleaded guilty to possessing carfentanil pills, according to KCRG-TV. The two, both 20, say they bought hundreds of the pills through a “dark web” marketplace and sold them to other people. Carfentanil is an elephant tranquilizer, and is not intended for humans to take. It is 10,000 times more potent than morphine.

CRESTON, IA (IRN) – A doctor who served patients in Creston for nearly 30 years will close his practice at the end of the month. WHO-TV reports Dr. Tom Young says Greater Regional Medical Center sent him a termination of lease notice, but the hospital says Dr. Young chose not to accept a fair market value contract and a new retail space that was presented. With both sides unable to reach an agreement, patients who went to the private practice will soon be forced to go elsewhere.

ALTOONA, IA (IRN) – Facebook’s data center in Altoona is expanding, according to KCCI-TV. The $1.5 billion project is already Facebook’s largest construction site in the world. The company plans to ask city leaders for approval of two additions to one of its buildings. Currently, work is underway on a fifth and sixth building. The data center employs more than 200 workers.

FORT MADISON, IA (IRN) – An inmate died of natural causes Saturday at the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison after beginning a life sentence 48 years ago. The Des Moines Register reports 66-year old Lacy Larverne Kelley was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of 19-year-old Thomas Noethe, an attendant at a Trax Oil Station in Cedar Rapids that Kelley intended to rob. The cause of death was a shotgun wound to the head.

ALLAMAKEE COUNTY, IA (IRN) – The Allamakee County Sheriff’s Office received a report that a person fell from a bridge around 1:30 this morning. KWWL-TV reports an adult male fell from the bridge and died from his injuries. No foul play is suspected.

BELLE PLAINE, IA (IRN) – Police are investigating the deaths of a woman and a boy at a railroad crossing in eastern Iowa. Belle Plaine police were called to the crossing around 5 a.m. Friday for a train-pedestrian accident. The victims have been identified as Teresa Catherine Gerleman, 36, and her son 8-year-old son Henry Fields, both of Belle Plaine.

ALLAMAKEE COUNTY, IA (IRN) – An Allamakee County man has died as a result of injuries suffered when a tree fell on him. KCRG-TV reports the man had been cutting down a tree at a residence Sunday when it fell on him, pinning him under it. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

CLINTON COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Several students from Goose Lake were injured after their school bus rolled over in Clinton County on Saturday. WHO-TV reports witnesses say the bus was carrying around 30 band students when it lost control and rolled. Several students were treated for injuries at the scene, and one was airlifted to Iowa City for treatment.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Minnesota Lynx, the 2017 Women’s National Basketball Association champions, played the Washington Mystics at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines on Sunday. The game is the first WNBA game to be played in Iowa and is both teams’ first game of the pre-season. The defending champions Lynx defeated the Mystics 90-85.

CLINTON, IA (IRN) – The Bethel AME Church in Clinton has been vandalized by white supremacists. Vulgar name calling, death threats, swastikas, and other hate symbols were written with permanent marker on the doors of the church, and on every seat of the church bus. The pastor and small Bethel AME Church congregation is predominantly black. It’s being treated as a hate crime.

OSKALOOSA, IA (IRN) – A police officer in Oskaloosa was arrested after allegedly assaulting her girlfriend. According to the Oskaloosa News, on Thursday night 25-year-old Janay Pritchett of the Oskaloosa Police Department kicked her girlfriend in the chest, cut her on the side of the neck with a pocket knife, and later threatened to shoot her. The incident took place following a verbal argument followed by a confrontation that became physical with both parties pushing, grabbing, and wrestling. Pritchett was placed on administrative leave and faces numerous charges.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa lawmakers passed a tax reform plan Saturday that included a major state income tax cut, the largest in state history. KCCI-TV reports the tax cut would eliminate an estimated 2 billion dollars in revenue over the next 6 years. Republicans say the tax cuts will save working Iowans money. Democrats called the tax cut irresponsible at a time when the state is facing a budget crisis.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Saturday’s end to the legislative session was also was the end of a decades-long career for Cedar Rapids Senator Wally Horn. KCRG-TV reports Senator Horn is the longest-serving legislator in Iowa history. The 84-year-old Linn County Democrat had been going to the state capitol for the last 46 years.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – For the pro-life movement, Friday was a historic day in Iowa. Pro-life advocates witnessed Governor Kim Reynolds signing the strictest anti-abortion bill in the nation. Hundreds of protesters outside the capitol when the bill was signed feel differently, and say the now fetal heartbeat law is an assault on women’s rights. The law is widely seen as a challenge to the Roe v. Wade supreme court decision that granted women the right to have an abortion.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Customers say they were locked out of a Des Moines grocery store Thursday as sirens went off and severe weather made its way into central Iowa. KCCI-TV reports shoppers at the Price Chopper on Ingersoll said about 20 people found themselves on the wrong side of the locked doors when the tornado sirens went off. The store manager says it’s company policy.

DAVENPORT, IA – The city of Davenport is reminding people of the dangers of floodwaters as the Mississippi River continues to rise, according to WQAD-TV. The river is expected to crest Friday, May 11. The city says sandbags are available for pickup to individuals who might be impacted by flooding.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Not getting enough macaroni and cheese led to a patient at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics assaulting her nurse. KCJJ-radio reports
38-year-old Sherona Sue Mahoney of Davenport was being treated at the hospital when she felt she wasn’t getting enough mac and cheese for her dinner. Mahoney became aggressive, and as staff tried to move her to a seclusion room she ran towards a nurse, pinned her against a wall and punched her twice in the ribs. Mahoney admitted to the actions when interviewed by police.