Category: State News

DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – A school bus full of children in Davenport was rear-ended while stopped at a railroad crossing on Friday. WQAD-TV reports the bus was stopped prior to crossing the railroad tracks, as required by law, when a car ran into the back of the bus.
More than 40 children were on the bus, but none were injured. The drivers were both treated at the scene for non-life threatening injuries.

MADRID, IA (IRN) – A central Iowa town’s mayor resigned after city councilmembers said he became entangled in a slew of federal lawsuits involving alleged misconduct within local law enforcement. KCCI-TV reports Madrid Mayor Dirk Ringgenberg resigned Thursday because of a federal lawsuit alleging police brutality by the department. Ringgenberg is named in the lawsuit.

IOWA (IRN) – Iowa lawmakers are running out of paid days to finish their work at the Capitol, according to WHO-TV. Monday will be the 99th day of the 2018 session, and lawmakers are only paid for the first 100 days of work at the Capitol. This means they will work unpaid overtime if there is work to be done Wednesday. They still have to pass a budget.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A neighborhood in Cedar Rapids is dealing with something a little strange, according to KCRG-TV. Over the past few days the neighborhood has had problems with garage doors not opening or closing. Multiple houses in the neighborhood were reporting the same problems. Garage door companies haven’t been able to solve the problem, and homeowners think some kind of electronic device may be jamming the signals.

JOHNSTON, IA (IRN) – Two people are safe after a fire broke out inside a garage in Johnston this morning. KCCI-TV reports two people inside the home escaped without injury. The cause of the fire is not known.

DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – Police are investigating a report of a person selling fake tickets to a Dubuque concert. The Dubuque Telegraph Herald reports a person allegedly sold fraudulent tickets to see Willie Nelson’s concert today at Five Flags Center. Police are investigating.

DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – Davenport police have charged the city’s former affordable housing program manager with eight counts of invasion of privacy after discovering he placed hidden cameras in low rent housing complex bathrooms. WQAD-TV reports 46-year-old Roy Dewitt was fired after the first camera was found.

DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – A Dubuque man faces charges because police say he made up a story about a heart attack just to get a train to move. KCRG-TV reports police accuse David Shealer of making a false report and claiming a false emergency. He called 911 Tuesday claiming a neighbor had a heart attack, so a train would have to move so an ambulance could pass. There was no medical emergency.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa legislature sent a bill that seeks to minimize damage from concussions that occur at school sporting events to Gov. Kim Reynolds for signature. The bill requires any school official who observes a student suffering from concussion symptoms to immediately remove them from an athletic event. That student would not be allowed to resume activities until cleared by a licensed medical professional.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Record-setting astronaut and Iowa native Peggy Whitson is being honored. KCCI-TV reports Whitson, one of the most accomplished astronauts of all time, will receive the 2018 Robert D. Ray Pillar of Character Award, named after Iowa’s longtime Gov. Robert Ray. She holds the U.S. record for total days in space, is the world’s oldest spacewoman at age 57, most experienced female spacewalker, with 10, and is the first woman to command the space station twice.

KALONA, IA (IRN) – A seven-year-old child was hit by a car in Kalona yesterday. KCII radio reports the child was riding a bicycle when they were hit by a Chevrolet Traverse driven by 42-year-old Lynette Wilson of New London. The child was taken by helicopter to a local hospital.

IOWA COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A Marengo woman is facing nine charges of Forgery in Iowa County.
KCRG-TV reports 23-year-old Mckenna Hunter signed her name as someone else on checks she stole. The nine checks totalled to $3,270 worth of stolen money.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds is traveling to Washington to discuss trade with President Donald Trump amid escalating tensions with China over tariffs.
Reynolds will be in Washington on Thursday.

DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – A man who mailed at least 45 pounds of methamphetamine from Arizona to Iowa has been sentenced to more than 15 years in federal prison. 38-year-old Anthony McCarron, of Dubuque, was living in Phoenix when he shipped packages of “ice” meth to another man in Dubuque.

MARION, IA (IRN) – An eastern Iowa nurse has been charged with sexual exploitation by a school employee, a class D felony, after she allegedly had sex with a teenage student at the high school where she worked. The Des Moines Register reports Angela Dee Beik, a 46-year-old nurse at Linn-Mar High School in Marion, was placed on leave after she told two nurses at St. Luke’s hospital in Cedar Rapids where she also worked that she had sex with a student. She has since been fired.

DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – Students at Dubuque Senior High School were greeted with a surprise assembly Wednesday, according to KCRG-TV. Students filed into the gymnasium not knowing what the assembly was for or who was coming. When players from the Green Bay Packers walked in, teachers and students applauded and cheered. The Packers stopped by on their Tailgate Tour to talk with students about bullying, social media responsibility and respect. Player Ty Montgomery told the students “love is a choice” and to love people just as you love yourself.

DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – A Wichita man has been arrested in Davenport after his wife’s body was found in a dumpster. KCCI-TV reports 30-year-old Donnell Stafford was located after a state trooper found the victim’s stolen vehicle in a hotel parking lot. The suspect took the couple’s 7-year-old son to a relative’s house after the killing. Two dogs at the home were stabbed and were taken to a vet for treatment.

MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – A child was injured in a fire that broke out in a downtown Mason City apartment. The Mason City Globe Gazette reports that a police officer was seen taking the child to an ambulance and comforting a woman who’d left the apartment with the child.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Republican candidate Annette Sweeney has topped Democrat Tracy Freese in a special election in Iowa’s State Senate District 25. KWWL-TV reports the final vote represents about a 55% to 44% win for the Republican. District 25 is the area that former Iowa Senate Majority Leader Bill Dix served. Dix resigned earlier this year after a video emerged that showed him flirting with and kissing a lobbyist inside a popular Des Moines bar.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa cities and counties that intentionally violate federal immigration law will have their state funding revoked under a bill signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds Tuesday. The Des Moines Register reports supporters say the new law will maintain public safety and uphold the rule of law, but critics argue that Iowa has no sanctuary cities and that the bill will only stoke racial fears that could fuel discrimination.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines firefighters ran into a problem while battling a house fire Monday, according to WHO-TV. Everyone inside made it out safely, but while looking for a water source, crews found a car parked illegally in front of the closest fire hydrant, hindering their efforts to save the house.

CLINTON, IA (IRN) – The closed Ashford University Campus in Clinton is being repurposed, according to WQAD-TV. A new private academy and boarding school, still unnamed, will cater to wealthy Asian families. Yearly tuition will likely climb above $50,000. Organizers hope the campus will eventually be home to around 300 students at a time.

MAXWELL, IA (IRN) – An armed bank robbery has been reported in Maxwell, according to KCCI-TV. Two men armed with handguns robbed the Maxwell State Bank just after 10:30 a.m. and have not been apprehended. Officers found a getaway car, a gold Ford Taurus, abandoned just south of town minutes after the robbery.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Prosecutors are offering a plea deal of a suspended sentence and probation to a West Des Moines woman accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from her sister, who suffers from Alzheimer’s. WHO-TV reports 79-year-old Jewell Davis took at least $346,000 of her sister’s money.

LA PORTE CITY, IA (IRN) – The search continues for a 16-year-old boy with autism after he was reported missing Saturday night, according to KWWL-TV. Authorities say they’re looking for Jake Wilson of La Porte City. Hundreds of volunteers are assisting with the search.

MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – One person is in jail after a single-vehicle crash Monday near Mason City, according to KIMT-TV. The Iowa State Patrol became involved in a pursuit that began when a vehicle was clocked going 110 miles per hour. The car hit another vehicle and knocked down a utility pole. Two people suffered minor injuries, and the driver is in jail.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Lawmakers signed off on a bill Monday that will prevent Iowa students from being treated unfairly by school officials if their parents owe lunch money. KCCI-TV reports under the bill, Iowa schools would be prohibited from so-called “lunch shaming” tactics.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – A social post of a threat thought to be aimed at Iowa City High School was actually aimed at a high school in New Mexico. KCRG-TV reports several people reported the post to Iowa City Police Monday. Police determined the post originated in Clovis, New Mexico and police there confirmed it had originated there and was aimed at Clovis High School. Law enforcement in New Mexico arrested a teenage boy.