FORT DODGE, IA (IRN) – An arrest has been made in a kidnapping that took place early Saturday morning in Fort Dodge. WHO-TV reports a 911 caller saw a vehicle pull into a driveway with a female with her hands bound yelling for help. Reino Bodady was taken into custody and charged with third degree kidnapping. He’s in jail.

SIOUX CITY, IA (IRN) – A Sioux City man has been arrested after he stole a skid loader in an attempt to free a stolen pickup stuck on railroad tracks. The Sioux City Journal reports 36-year-old Nicholas Penny drove the stolen truck over tracks and became stuck. He then walked to a nearby Bobcat dealership and stole a skid loader, and drove it through a fence while trying to free the pickup. He’s in jail.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Republican party unanimously re-elected Jeff Kaufmann as the party’s leader on Saturday. The Iowa GOP’s state central committee re-elected Kaufmann, who says he wants to raise a million dollars for the party. In the last election, Republicans took control of both chambers in the statehouse. Republicans also have a majority in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House and hold the presidency.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – The FedEx deliveryman who stepped in and saved an American flag from burning at a protest rally in Iowa City has received national attention. A small group of people protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Trump Administration began to burn American flags. Matt Uhrin, a FedEx driver, stepped in and stole one of the flags, then returned with a fire extinguisher to put out flames on a second flag. FedEx says he’ll keep his job.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday that state law protects the drainage districts in Sac, Calhoun and Buena Vista Counties from being sued for monetary damages. The Des Moines Water Works had filed a lawsuit against officials in the three counties saying their drainage districts haven’t properly been maintaining the nitrate levels that ultimately polluted the Raccoon and Des Moines Rivers downstream.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Police arrested two Des Moines North High School students and were searching for a third Friday in separate gun-related incidents at the school. KCCI-TV reports the students were observed acting strangely, and school resource officers and a principal found guns and marijuana in their backpacks. One student fled.

PLEASANT HILL, IA (IRN) – A Southeast Polk High School teacher has been placed on paid administrative leave, according to WHO-TV. The Altoona Police Department charged Laura Nelson, a special education teacher, with assault on January 12th. The alleged incident did not involve any students and took place outside of school hours and off school property.

IOWA CITY, IA – A 65-year-old woman has been arrested on harassment charges after police say she threatened employees of the University of Iowa’s student newspaper. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports Melyssa Jo Kelly called and threatened reporters at the Daily Iowan in profanity-laced rants. The rants included death threats. The victims told Kelly to stop calling and harassing them, but she left three voicemails making similar threats and harassing statements.

MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – A man from the northern Iowa town of Stacyville was rescued after falling through the ice on the Little Cedar River Thursday. Marty Unruh says he was taking his dog for a walk Thursday, when the puppy decided to run on the ice that seemed to be frozen over. Unruh followed, but the ice broke, and he fell in. Fortunately, his wet cell phone still worked, and he was able to call 911 for help. Both Unruh and the puppy are OK.

AMES, IA (IRN) – Iowans’ fears that President Donald Trump could incite an international trade war were heightened Thursday when he floated a plan to pay for a proposed wall along the Mexican border with a 20 percent tax on imports. The Des Moines Register reports Iowa State University Economist Peter Orazem says “There will be a tit-for-tat reaction. Mexico is Iowa’s second biggest customer, so I don’t think that’s good.”

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is looking for the person or persons responsible for shooting a bald eagle at Yellow Banks County Park, near the Des Moines River on the southeast side of Des Moines, and removing its head and talons. The crime was reported by a hiker on Wednesday.

DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – A former Davenport teacher charged with trying to stab her husband to death while he slept has been found not guilty by reason of insanity. 63-year-old Patricia Oster is in the custody of the Iowa Department of Corrections and will be treated at one of their medical facilities for an undetermined length of time. Oster is a retired second grade teacher.

INDEPENDENCE, IA (IRN) – A Manchester man escaped injury when his pickup truck caught fire about four miles east of Independence. KCRG-TV reports Shane Mason was driving his truck down the roadway when he began to smell a strong odor of gasoline. He stopped to investigate and the truck ignited when he stepped out of it. He’s OK.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa Senate Republicans have approved a bill that would resolve an immediate shortfall in Iowa’s $7.2 billion state budget. KCCI-TV reports lawmakers in the GOP-led chamber voted along party lines Thursday for the legislation, which has cuts totaling about $117 million. The cuts would be made in the areas of corrections, higher education, public safety, economic development, and the arts.

IOWA (IRN) – Dozen of competitors will tear up the turf on Super Bowl Sunday, and they aren’t just football players. WHO-TV reports these players have four legs and a tail. Four dogs from Iowa shelters made the cut for Puppy Bowl XIII on Animal Planet. Look for Laila, Luciana, Sweet Corn and Bismark on Sunday, February 5th. The Puppy Bowl kicks off at 2 PM.

DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – A worker has died after being trapped by a cave-in at Linwood Mining and Mineral near Davenport, according to WQAD-TV. The body has been recovered. Linwood Mining is an active limestone mine that has been in service since the 1960s.

ELKADER, IA (IRN) – A carnival worker has been imprisoned for sexually abusing a girl while he was working at the Clayton County Fair. KWWL-TV reports 27-year-old David Pennington Jr., of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, was given five years. Pennington was working at the fair in August when he had sexual contact with a teenage girl when they were alone in a camper.

DALLAS CENTER, IA (IRN) – A Dallas Center pastor faces thirteen charges related to a sexual abuse investigation. Raccoon Valley Radio reports 52 year-old Randy Johnson is charged with four Class C felonies for third degree sex abuse, and one count of lascivious acts with a child, among other charges. Sources say he is a pastor at the Church of the Brethren in Dallas Center and lives next door to the church.

CENTERVILLE, IA (IRN) – A high school employee in Centerville has been arrested and charged after allegedly having sexual contact with a student. KCCI-TV reports 23-year-old Branson Hehnke was charged with sexual exploitation by a school employee. Hehnke is listed as an assistant coach for the Centerville High School wrestling and track teams on a Centerville athletics website.

CLEAR LAKE, IA (IRN) – A Clear Lake man has been arrested for assaulting another man at a North Iowa bar, according to KIMT-TV. 56-year-old Bruce Otto Bonorden is accused of pushing a man down a flight of stairs into the basement, then following him down and kicking and hitting the alleged victim in the head and face. The victim lost two teeth, suffered lacerations and bruising, possible nerve damage, and the loss of full movement in his left arm.

HANLONTOWN, IA (IRN) – A Magellan Pipeline Company’s diesel line ruptured yesterday in Worth County near Hanlontown. Nearly 140,000 gallons of diesel fuel were released. Iowa DNR staff report the fuel pooled in a farm field and does not appear to have reached surface waters.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A rally was held in Cedar Rapids Wednesday night in support of refugees and illegal immigrants. KCRG-TV reports the demonstration was a response to news that President Trump is moving forward with his plans to tighten the country’s immigration laws.