KENTUCKY (IRN) – The governor of Kentucky reports multiple people are dead after a small plane crashed in southern part of the state. The National Transportation Safety Board says the plane was headed from Davenport, Iowa, to Muscle Shoals, Alabama, when it went down in a heavily-wooded area near Hopkinsville on Friday.

POWESHIEK COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Two people died after a crash in rural Poweshiek county Friday. KCRG-TV reports one vehicle crossed the centerline and hit an oncoming vehicle head on. 31-year-old Paul Randall from Grinnell and 65-year-old Rosa Santos from Oskaloosa died in the crash. Three other people were injured and taken to Grinnell Hospital.

RIDGEWAY, IA (IRN) – Two northeastern Iowa sheriff’s deputies were injured when a man under arrest tried to escape Friday in Ridgeway. KCCI-TV reports 25-year-old Shelby Henry, of Cresco, ran from deputies after he’d been arrested by a Winneshiek County deputy on a Howard County warrant. During the chase, a Winneshiek County deputy suffered serious injuries and a Howard County deputy suffered minor injuries. The incident happened less than two weeks after two western Iowa sheriff’s deputies were shot, one fatally, during a jail break there.

APPANOOSE COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Fifty disabled veterans and their caregivers attended a week-long event aimed at helping rehabilitate veterans through fishing. KTVO-TV reports a program called “Castaway Disabilities” brought veterans across the Midwest to Rathbun Lake in Appanoose County. Service members who fought in wars from World War II to Afghanistan were assisted onto pontoons and taken out to coves to fish.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad has decided to keep open a longtime research center, though he still plans to remove its funding. KGAN-TV reports Branstad used his veto power Friday to cut language in the state budget that would have eliminated the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University. But he kept plans to redirect a tax worth roughly $1.5 million that helps pay for the center. It will go to a separate ISU center that studies water quality.

DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – 17-year-old Akeim Hill of Davenport was shot and killed last night. Police are investigating, and no other information has been released.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The former chairman of the Warren County Republicans, Rick Halvorsen, was arrested on a felonious incest charge. The Des Moines Register reports
Halvorsen allegedly performed sex acts with his adult biological daughter in 2016. The daughter is a victim and will not be charged. Halvorson served as GOP chair from 2014 until recently.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Wells Fargo announced Friday that it is planning an additional $2 billion in cuts as it recovers from a sales scandal last year. $2 billion had already been cut. Most of the new cuts will come in consolidated operations and the closure of 450 branches. Wells Fargo is the largest employer in the Des Moines area, and experts say roughly 14,000 Des Moines-area employees will be affected.

CEDAR FALLS, IA (IRN) – Two young women from northern Iowa graduated with a two-year degree from Hawkeye Community College last night, according to KCRG-TV. While that’s not newsworthy, the fact that Gillian Gergen of Janesville and Megann Bohlken of Independence won’t graduate from high school until later this month, is. Despite their busy academic lives, Bohlken was able to take part in extracurricular activities, and even had a part-time job. Gergen also played sports and was good enough to win a volleyball scholarship to Drake.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – A man has been arrested in a case where an Iowa City woman awoke while being sexually assaulted in her own home. KCRG-TV reports 47-year-old Robert Bryant’s charges were based on a DNA analysis. He faces charges of burglary and sexual abuse.

SIOUX CITY, IA (IRN) – An Iowa woman has been imprisoned for duping dozens of people into buying nonexistent tickets to the Super Bowl and other big events. The Sioux City Journal reports that Ranae Van Roekel, of Boyden, was sentenced to 51 months in prison and to pay nearly $470,000 in restitution. Van Roekel was a self-employed ticket broker who ran the business Get ’em Now Tickets.

MUSCATINE, IA (IRN) – In a meeting that only lasted three minutes, Muscatine’s City Council voted unanimously to remove Mayor Diana Broderson from office. She becomes the first Iowa mayor to be impeached. WQAD-TV reports the city’s attorney says Broderson has misused her power to obtain personal benefits and that her actions have cost the city about $100,000. Broderson says that’s not true, and she’ll see the council in court.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – The Iowa City Public Library has removed cameras from its bathrooms, according to KCRG-TV. It happened before Gov. Branstad signed a bill Thursday that bans such cameras in restrooms in government buildings. The library installed the cameras in 2007 to prevent theft and increase safety, but some argued they were an invasion of privacy. Lawmakers took up the bill after the ACLU of Iowa filed a complaint.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines police are seeing an increase in “ghost” calls to 911, especially from Apple Watches, according to KCCI-TV. “Ghost” calls are made by accident. Apple Watches have a feature that makes it easy to dial 911 by holding down a button. Police say it happens 10-20 times a day, and they take each call seriously. They say if you do happen to make such a call, please stay on the line and tell the dispatcher it was a mistake.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – The University of Iowa baseball program will honor the 45th anniversary of the 1972 College World Series team prior to today’s series opener against Ohio State. KWWL-TV reports the Hawkeyes went 25-17 and advanced to the College World Series for the first and only time in program history. Twenty-six members of the 1972 team will be in attendance for a reunion.

OTTUMWA, IA (IRN) – An Ottumwa man is accused of trying to talk a 14-year-old girl into meeting him for sex. KTVO-TV reports 26-year-old Anthony Gomez also asked the victim to send nude pictures of herself in exchange for money. Gomez also spoke with the victim on multiple occasions about driving to her residence and picking her up. The girl told Gomez her age multiple times.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – An Iowa City man faces charges after five pounds of marijuana mailed to his home was intercepted by the United States Postal Service. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports the postal service discovered a suspicious package that was to be shipped to the home of 20-year-old Brett Wilkins. Wilkins called the Iowa City Post Office to ask about the status of his package, which was then delivered to his home. Police later served a search warrant at the residence, where Wilkins said the items in the package were his.

SALEM, IA (IRN) – Damage surveys are being conducted today by the National Weather Service as at least one tornado occurred in Wednesday in southeastern Iowa. According to KCII Radio, trained weather spotters reported a tornado and funnel clouds near Salem at 3 p.m., and an emergency management coordinator saw a funnel cloud by Mediapolis. The severe storms produced large hail, heavy downpours, and strong winds.

MARENGO, IA (IRN) – A jury has convicted an Iowa man of first-degree murder in the 2000 disappearance of his fiancee even though her body has never been found. KCCI-TV reports jurors returned the verdict in Marengo Wednesday against Tait Purk in the death of Cora Okonski, a 23-year-old waitress and mother of a young child. Purk will be sentenced to life in prison without parole. He confessed the crime to another inmate while in prison.

BLACK HAWK COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A Waterloo man is dead after his car collided nearly head-on with a truck transporting a large dumpster Wednesday afternoon south of Cedar Falls. KCRG-TV reports 41-year-old Christopher Potter was northbound when a southbound Mack truck failed to yield when it turned in front of him.

MUSCATINE, IA (IRN) – Two Muscatine High School students have been arrested for threatening terrorism. KWPC-Radio reports school authorities found terroristic threats on an electronic device owned by the High School. An investigation is underway.

TITONKA, IA (IRN) – The remains of an Iowa sailor killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor are being returned to Iowa today. The Des Moines Register reports William Kennedy, of Titonka, was one of 429 sailors and Marines who were killed aboard the battleship USS Oklahoma. He was 24. Kennedy’s recently identified remains had been buried in an area for the unidentified at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. He will be buried next to his mother at a Titonka cemetery tomorrow.