Category: State News

IOWA (IRN) – Iowans are assessing damage after strong storms hit the state Tuesday night. An apartment building and homes have been damaged in Perry. Fort Dodge sustained significant damage, and schools are closed today. Significant damage was also reported in Council Bluffs. A tree fell on a car in Knoxville. Winds of up to 70 mph were reported in Carroll and Shelby counties, and golf ball-size hail was reported in Crawford County.

IDA GROVE, IA (IRN) – A former substitute teacher and coach has been given 10 years in prison for having sexual relationships with students at two northwest Iowa high schools. KWWL-TV reports 33-year-old John Tietsort, of Battle Creek, was sentenced Monday.

WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A Waterloo couple faces charges after they brought two Chicago teenage girls to Iowa for prostitution. KCRG-TV reports 35-year-old Lawrence Campbell and his wife, 24-year-old Sade Campbell have been charged with human trafficking. Lawrence Campbell allegedly met the 16-year-old girls online and promised them “a better life” in Iowa. He purchased bus tickets for them to come to Waterloo to live at his house, where they were told to have sex with men for money, and steal from stores. Police initially arrested the girls for stealing candy.

DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – A 12-year-old girl was hit by a car and taken to the hospital in Davenport yesterday, according to WQAD-TV. She sustained possible life-threatening injuries, and her condition is unknown.

MORAVIA, IA (IRN) – A Moravia teacher has resigned amid allegations of drinking and driving while chaperoning students during a trip. WHO-TV reports the alleged incident happened while a group of 20 Moravia High School seniors were traveling to Tampa Bay, Florida. Students say the teacher was running red lights, jumping over curbs, and going between 30-90 miles per hour on the interstate outside the Tampa airport.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The streets of downtown Des Moines will be filled with music, thanks to the City Sounds Public Piano Project. WOI-TV reports the group placed 10 pianos downtown Tuesday, and the public is invited to use them. On Saturday, free concerts will be held at each of the pianos to celebrate the season.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – A television reporter is facing the threat of jail after allegedly violating an order not to take video of “The Bachelor” star Chris Soules appearing in court in his hit-and-run case. KCCI-TV reports prosecutors are pursuing contempt of court proceedings against KWWL reporter Elizabeth Amanieh in what could be the first such case against an Iowa journalist in decades. She faces up to a $500 fine and 180 days in jail. Prosecutors say a judge told Amanieh she couldn’t take video and that only photos would be permitted.

STOCKTON, IA (IRN) – The Iowa State Patrol reports a trooper stopped a driver going 144 mph on Interstate 80 last week. It happened near Stockton. A patrol spokesperson says “a dark, open road is no excuse for high speed.”

CHARLES CITY, IA (IRN) – Another Democrat has joined the race to become Iowa’s governor.
WHO-TV reports Rep. Todd Prichard officially launched his campaign this morning in his hometown of Charles City. Prichard joins fellow candidates Nate Boulton, Rich Leopold, Andy McGuire, and Jon Neiderbach. Businessman Fred Hubbell is also considering a run for governor.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds says she’s decided whether she will appoint a lieutenant governor when she replaces Gov. Terry Branstad, but she won’t disclose details yet. KCCI-TV reports Democratic Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller released an opinion that Reynolds will have the title and powers of governor, but not the authority to choose a new lieutenant governor. Republicans have criticized Miller’s opinion, calling it a political move.

DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – A motorcyclist and their passenger were injured after colliding with a car in Davenport, according to WQAD-TV. Witnesses say the car didn’t stop at a stop sign and cut in front of the motorcycle. The driver of the car fled the scene. Both on the motorcycle were hospitalized.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines police are investigating after one man was shot Sunday near a boat ramp at Prospect Park. WHO-TV reports the victim said he and his father were in the park smoking marijuana when a male in his early 20’s approached them and shot him in the stomach. The victim’s injuries are not considered life-threatening.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Many of us have a fear of heights. Danny Grimes, a junior at Iowa City West High School, isn’t one of them. KGAN-TV reports Grimes turned 18 in April, and one of his birthday wishes — going skydiving — is now a reality. Grimes, who is blind, hopes to inspire others with vision impairments to pursue their dreams. Grimes says, “It’s not about skydiving–people with vision impairments just need to know that they can do anything–that nothing can stop them.”

BLAIR, NE (IRN) – An Iowa man was killed when his glider crashed at the Blair, Nebraska airport Saturday. KETV reports the victim is 59-year-old Michael Boska of Glenwood. He was a member of an area glider club. A witness said it appeared windy conditions may have contributed to the crash during take-off.

WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A Waterloo man has been imprisoned for his role in a December shooting that injured a 9-year-old boy. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that a judge sent 22-year-old Mar’yo Lindsey Jr. to prison Friday for 15 years. Police say the boy was sitting on a couch watching television with his family, when bullets ripped through a window and wall of the Waterloo home. One of the rounds hit him.

DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – Three Davenport men were injured in an overnight shooting Sunday, according to WQAD-TV. Police were called to the scene of a disturbance with shots fired. Officers found three men with gunshot wounds. Detectives are working to determine the cause of the dispute.

WEST LIBERTY, IA (IRN) – West Liberty Police have a subject in custody after a stabbing sent one person to the hospital early Sunday morning. KWQC-TV reports police were called to the scene of a disturbance. Upon arrival, officers learned that a fight that involved a knife had occurred earlier. A victim was still at the scene with a puncture wound to his right leg. Police arrested 21-year-old Danyelek Figueroa of West Liberty in the incident.

CEDAR FALLS, IA (IRN) – A Waterloo woman is okay after she slipped and fell into the Cedar River Sunday. KWWL-TV reports the 18-year-old woman was fishing in Cedar Falls when she slipped and fell off rocks into the river. Cedar Falls Fire and Rescue used a rope to rescue her. Friends say she only has one arm, making it more difficult for her to swim.

GRIMES, IA (IRN) – A father’s quick actions saved his child and dog after his car started to fill with smoke and flames, according to WHO-TV. Luke McGinn said he didn’t have much of a warning before his car caught fire Sunday. He just knew he had to exit the car quickly to save his son, who was in the back seat strapped into his child seat. All are safe, but the car is a total loss. McGinn says that’s OK. It’s insured. He’s an insurance agent.

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.