CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Fireworks are to blame for a garage fire Thursday night in Cedar Rapids. KGAN-TV reports neighbors reported a loud explosion before the fire broke out. Witnesses say they saw several men get out of a car, extinguish the fire, and leave.

JOHNSON COUNTY, IA (IRN) – One person was killed in a motorcycle versus pickup truck crash in Johnson County. The Iowa State Patrol reports a Ford F-150 was travelling eastbound when it turned left in front of a motorcycle travelling westbound. The two vehicles collided.

ANKENY, IA (IRN) – A tip from the public helped Ankeny Police uncover a theft ring in which robbers stole nearly $60,000 worth of construction tools and equipment. KCCI-TV reports Jon Philgreen, a project manager for JCorp, a Huxley Company that builds commercial and residential projects, said thieves are a nonstop headache. He said the worst is seeing appliances stolen out of finished units. No arrests have been made, but police have identified suspects.

WINNESHIEK COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A bridge collapsed yesterday after a loaded grain truck tried to cross it. KWWL-TV reports the historic bridge over the Upper Iowa River near Cresco was built more than a 100 years ago. A semi hauling a load of grain tried to use the bridge, but crushed it with 30 tons of weight; 10 times the maximum load the bridge was meant for. The trucker was following instructions from his GPS.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – The Flyover Fashion Festival is going on this weekend in Iowa City, according to KCRG-TV. The event will have a mix of runway shows, discussions, exhibitions and musical performances. College students have designed a pavilion with 480 mirrors to make a point about body image and self acceptance. One of the designers says the point of the exhibit is finding yourself and accepting your body.

DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – Police will be on site all day at Davenport Assumption High School because of “a threat against the school,” according to WQAD-TV. The threat was written on one of the boys’ bathroom walls. Police are investigating.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – A powerful Iowa regulator has improperly mixed her state job with a personal law practice she runs, inadvertently using her government email for some private business and claiming sick leave on a day when she attended a court hearing. KGAN-TV reports Iowa Utilities Board chairwoman Geri Huser used her state email to send messages to colleagues at her law firm. She also claimed sick leave Feb. 6 even though she participated in a hearing at a courthouse 40 minutes from Des Moines.

OMAHA, NE (IRN) – An inmate accused of shooting and killing an Iowa deputy and injuring another appeared in a Nebraska court Thursday. KETV reports 24-year-old Wesley Correa-Carmenaty waived extradition and is being returned to Iowa. Bond was set at $10 million.

MUSCATINE, IA (IRN) – A June trial has been scheduled for a former assistant jail administrator charged with stealing from Muscatine County. The Muscatine Journal reports that 67-year-old Doug Boulton pled not guilty. $82,000 was found missing from the sheriff’s office jail accounts. Boulton is accused of not depositing and recording room-and-board fees of inmates.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – A jury on Thursday awarded more than $1.4 million to a former University of Iowa athletic administrator, ruling that the university had discriminated against her. KCCI-TV reports Jane Meyer alleged she suffered workplace discrimination as a gay woman in a relationship with the school’s longtime and highly successful field hockey coach Tracey Griesbaum, that the school retaliated against her for complaining about Griesbaum’s firing, and that she was paid less than a male counterpart for similar work. The jury agreed.

CORALVILLE, IA (IRN) – A car fire at a gas station in Coralville could have been much worse, according to KCRG-TV. Truck driver Brad Aldrich noticed the smoke, called 911 and helped control the fire with fire extinguishers until firefighters arrived. Aldrich says he simply did what anyone else would have done, and the important thing is no one got hurt.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Frontier Airlines announced new flights from Des Moines to Las Vegas today. Flights will be Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, beginning August 14.

MARION, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Court of Appeals has ordered a new trial for a man convicted of stabbing his ex-girlfriend in the Marion Hy-Vee parking lot in 2015. KGAN-TV reports a judge determined that the jury should have been instructed to consider an insanity defense for Nicholas Luerkens. Luerkens stabbed 29-year-old Lynnsey Donald to death in front of her son. He then tried to kill himself on the scene.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Board of Pharmacy has named the former pharmacy technician who admitted to watering down the opioid prescriptions of hospital patients and stole the powerful painkillers. KCCI-TV reports Victor Van Cleave diverted approximately 252 vials of Fentanyl and 18 vials of hydromorphone in 2016 while working at Methodist in Des Moines. Van Cleave replaced the missing medication for over 700 patients with salt water.

OELWEIN, IA (IRN) – The Oelwein Police Department has taken eleven people into custody following a months-long investigation. KWWL-TV reports the suspects were arrested in the Oelwein area, and are all connected to a drug ring that includes the sale and distribution of methamphetamine.

IOWA (IRN) – Iowa Republican Congressman Rod Blum is finally holding open meetings for constituents, but you’ll have to prove you really are a constituent to get in the door. WHO-TV reports Blum will begin a series of town hall meetings on Monday, his first of the year. To attend you must bring an ID to the meetings to prove you live in the First District or you won’t be allowed in the doors. Some Republicans have accused liberal advocacy groups of paying protesters to fill town hall meetings across the country.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A group of Cedar Rapids students traded books and pencils for fishing poles and bait on Wednesday. KCRG-TV reports the fifth graders at Truman Elementary School went to the Prairie Park Fishery as part of a physical education class. Teachers say fishing is a great lifetime sport that kids can do on their own, with friends, or with their parents and grandparents. The kids did manage to snag a few fish, which were caught and released.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The last carrier of individual health insurance policies in most of Iowa may leave. Medica announced Wednesday that its ability to stay in the Iowa insurance market “is in question at this point.” Aetna and Wellmark Blue Cross & Blue Shield have already left. The Des Moines Register reports that the carriers’ exits would not affect Iowans who obtain insurance through their employers or through a government program. It could, however, leave more than 70,000 Iowans who buy their own coverage without any options for next year.

BURLINGTON, IA (IRN) – A narcotics search warrant led to an arrest Tuesday in Burlington, according to WQAD-TV. Over five pounds of crystal meth, six grams of marijuana, two grams of ecstasy, and a loaded handgun that had been reported stolen were among the items recovered. The meth is estimated to have a street value of close to $160,000. 35-year-old Carlos Jermain Walls faces multiple charges.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA (IRN) – The body of Sheriff’s Deputy Mark Burbridge, who was killed in the line of duty on Monday, was returned home to Pottawattamie County Tuesday. KETV reports the community lined the streets and interstate overpasses to show their support for the motorcade that escorted the deputy’s body from the medical examiner’s office in Ankeny to Council Bluffs. Memorial services are still being planned.

MADISON COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A third person has been arrested and charged Tuesday in the Madison County bridge arson case. KCCI-TV reports 19-year-old Alivia Bergmann of Des Moines was arrested in South Carolina. Bergmann admitted to helping set the fire. 18-year-old Joel Davis and 17-year-old Alexander Hoff have also been charged. Deputies say the arson was Hoff’s idea and that he wanted to burn the bridge after he and a girlfriend broke up because it held significant memories.

BUENA VISTA COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Police in northwest Iowa are investigating a case of suspected arson. The Storm Lake Pilot Tribune reports someone set fire to construction equipment that was used to build the Bakken oil pipeline near Newell in Buena Vista County.

EARTH (IRN) – The annual Eta Aquarid (AY-tuh ACK-wuh-rid) meteor shower will peak this week. While the shower is predicted to end May 28, the best time for viewing will be Friday or Saturday morning, just before dawn. As many as 30 meteors per hour can be expected. Astronomers say Iowans should look toward the southern horizon.