CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Cedar Rapids police are investigating three armed robberies, according to KCRG-TV. Police say the suspect involved in the robberies may have also committed a robbery in Hiawatha. The robberies occurred at liquor stores and a fast food restaurant.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – More than 210,000 gallons of oil leaked from the Keystone pipeline in South Dakota this week, and though it doesn’t flow through Iowa, some people are worried that the Dakota Access pipeline could be next. One anti-pipeline activist says it hasn’t happened in Iowa yet, but “it’s just a question of when and where.”

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Someone in the Des Moines metro is stealing people’s gas from their cars. WOI-TV reports the thief targets a high profile vehicle, drills a hole into the gas tank from below, and drains it into gas cans. One surveillance video shows the suspect had a Domino’s Pizza sign on the top of their car.

IOWA (IRN) – Thanksgiving is almost here, and Iowa cooks are googling recipes. What’s the most searched for recipe by Iowans this year? Monkey bread. That’s right. This sugary, sticky pull-apart treat is Iowa’s most Googled side dish. Also called Hungarian coffee cake or monkey puzzle bread, this baked good began showing up in bakeries and recipe books in the late 1800s. Monkey bread is a tightly-packed loaf of rounded pieces of yeast dough. It’s formed in a ring mold or bundt pan with butter, sugar, cinnamon and sometimes chopped nuts.

AMES, IA (IRN) – An Ames man in his 20’s is dead after two masked men entered his apartment and shot him. KCCI-TV reports when officers arrived they found the victim with a single gunshot wound to his upper chest. Several other people were inside the apartment at the time of the murder. Witnesses told police two suspects entered the apartment wearing masks in what seemed like a robbery.

URBANDALE, IA (IRN) – A federal judge sentenced an Urbandale man to life in prison for sex trafficking of children. WHO-TV reports Clark Betts was convicted of sex trafficking and drug charges in June. Prosecutors say he provided two minors to a drug dealer, exchanging sex with the victims for crack cocaine.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Polk County health officials are warning Iowans of a new synthetic opioid that is 10,000 times more potent than morphine. KCCI-TV reports a drop of carfentanil, a synthetic variation of the opioid fentanyl, is lethal. It’s considered to be an elephant tranquilizer. KCCI-TV reports there have been six deaths from carfentanil in the past year in Polk County.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Iowa City Police are trying to find out who’s been slashing tires on vehicles. KCRG-TV reports since Tuesday night, police have responded to more than 20 incidents.

AMES, IA (IRN) – An Ames-based company is marketing one of agriculture’s first driverless systems for tractors. Smart Ag has software that automates its machinery. Farmers can operate the tractor from a tablet.

ANKENY, IA (IRN) – An Ankeny couple were arrested Wednesday following the August death of their 7-month-old child. KCCI-TV reports 33-year-old Michelle Atwell and 48-year-old Matthew Cohara face child endangerment and drug charges. Atwell left her baby daughter sleeping after nursing her in the middle of the night. The next morning, she found the child wedged between the wall and the mattress. When officers arrived at the scene, they smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming from the bedroom. A search found marijuana and other drugs.

NORTH LIBERTY, IA (IRN) – One person is in custody after a threat was made that resulted in North Liberty schools being closed today, according to KWWL-TV. Police received reports of an anonymous chat on Instagram threatening harm at Liberty High School, naming individual students.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A man was stabbed outside a strip club in Polk County last night, according to KCCI-TV. Sheriff’s deputies are investigating an incident at The Lumberyard where two patrons had an altercation in the parking lot and one man was stabbed in the arm.

URBANDALE, IA (IRN) – Police in Urbandale are investigating after an early morning burglary at a gun store. WHO-TV reports police investigated after an alarm at the JLM Gun Shoppe was triggered. When police arrived, they found the front door had been smashed in. No information has been released about what was taken or if there are any suspects.

MARION, IA (IRN) – A Marion resident found a hand grenade in their home yesterday while cleaning and called police. KCRG-TV reports it appears the grenade is from World War II. The Linn County bomb squad disposed of it.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA (IRN) – No injuries were reported Thursday after a bus struck a train trestle in Council Bluffs. KJAN-radio reports the bus was too tall to make it under the trestle. The bus was owned by an assisted-living facility. There were six people on the bus and the driver. The clearance for the bridge is only eight feet eight inches.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – After months of meetings and deliberation the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission has made it’s decision on a Cedar Rapids casino. KCII Radio reports the IRGC voted down all three proposals for gambling licenses in Linn County at Thursday’s meeting in Dubuque. The Riverside Casino & Golf Resort anticipated that 250 jobs could be lost at the local casino if a Cedar Rapids competitor opened.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Koch (COKE) Industries is backing Meredith’s third attempt at a merger with Time Inc., according to the New York Times. Charles and David Koch have agreed to back Meredith’s purchase offer with an equity injection of more than $500 million. The brothers oversee Koch Industries, a conglomerate of manufacturing, oil and gas, and other business ventures. Time Inc. is the publisher of Time, Sports Illustrated, Fortune and People, among other magazines. Des Moines-based Meredith publishes Parents, Family Circle and Better Homes & Gardens.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The U.S. Marshals Service says scammers are posing as marshals and others in law enforcement in Iowa. Scammers call to try to collect a fine for failing to report for jury duty, but they say you can avoid arrest by paying a fine over the phone with a prepaid debit or gift card. The scammers even provide badge numbers and names of actual judges and mask their phone number, so they appear to be calling from a legitimate government agency. The Marshals Service says they would never ask for banking information over the phone.

DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – The Davenport man who shot and killed his parents was sentenced to life in prison without parole Wednesday. WQAD-TV reports Sean Freese was found guilty in the shooting deaths of Kevin and Donna Freese. Prosecutors said he was fed up with their rules, and used an AR-15 they had bought him as a gift to kill them in their sleep. Just hours after the murders, Freese told a friend he had gotten into an argument with his parents and “just snapped.”

WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – West Des Moines is paying $450,000 in a settlement for arresting an innocent man and holding him in jail for nearly two weeks, according to WHO-TV. Matthew Rodrigues was at a party when police arrested him for sexual assault, because he matched the description of the assailant. Police later arrested Salvador Pineda for the assault. Rodrigues says the only thing he and Pineda have in common is the color of their skin. Police deny any wrongdoing.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Texas Senator Ted Cruz sent a letter to Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds telling her he’s holding up Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey’s nomination to a top federal agriculture post. Cruz says his opposition is because Northey supports the renewable fuel standard that helps farmers, while Cruz does not. Cruz is a supporter of the oil industry.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Four soldiers met in Cedar Rapids for the first time since they served together in Viet Nam 49 years ago, according to KCRG-TV. One of the men, Andrew Moyer, says “it’s really great to be together… a lot of has changed… we’re not in our 20’s anymore, but we’re truly a band of brothers.”