DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Governor Terry Branstad has accepted the post of U.S. Ambassador to China. Branstad says he will serve America by ensuring the countries with the two largest economies and two largest militaries in the world maintain a collaborative and cooperative relationship. Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds will become the first female governor in Iowa History.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Des Moines Police Department is trying to locate a missing mother and her twin children. Police say 33-year-old Jennifer Abbott-Brickles was last seen December 1 in Des Moines. She and her 10-month-old twins have not been seen since.

LONE TREE, IA (IRN) – One person has died and two were injured in a crash this morning in eastern Iowa. According to the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, the two-vehicle crash happened near Lone Tree. An SUV and a semi were involved.

CLARKE COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Three teens missing from Osceola were found dead in rural Clarke County Tuesday, according to KCCI-TV. 16-year-old Elaina Critz, 16-year-old Lauren Barker and 19-year-old Jesse Robinson were found dead after a car they were in went off the road and into a creek. A road worker spotted the car upside down in the water. Authorities aren’t sure if they drowned or were killed in the crash.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A Cedar Rapids police officer who shot a man in the neck during a traffic stop, paralyzing him, will not face charges. KWWL-TV reports a grand jury decided not to indict Officer Lucas Jones. Jones pulled Jerime Mitchell over last month for not having working lights, and smelled marijuana. Mitchell tried to flee, and after a brief struggle, Officer Jones says he felt he was in danger, and shot Mitchell.

BRITT, IA (IRN) – An Iowa fourth-grader is now a reporter for an international magazine. KIMT-TV reports over 300 kids from around the world submitted their work to Scholastic to possibly become a kid reporter, and only 39 students were picked, which includes Brandon Peterson of Britt. His first article is on Britt’s Hobo Days, and he’s now working on one about NASA satellites. Brandon hopes to come to Des Moines tomorrow to interview President-elect Donald Trump while he’s in town.

WARREN COUNTY, IA (IRN) – One person is dead following a two-vehicle crash in Carlisle. WHO-TV reports a silver SUV pulled out in front of a maroon SUV. The driver of the silver SUV, 71-year-old Fran Richards Ross of Carlisle was ejected from her vehicle and was killed in the crash. She wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. The other driver, 28-year-old Stacia Taylor of Indianola was transported to a Des Moines hospital and her condition is unknown.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA (IRN) – A southwest Iowa woman has been imprisoned for using a veteran’s name and military service information to falsely obtain a Department of Veterans Affairs home loan. 34-year-old Mandy Whipple was sentenced Friday to 18 months in federal prison. She’d pled guilty in June to mortgage fraud for falsifying loan papers to buy a house in Fremont County.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines firefighters fought a two-alarm fire at the Logan Park Apartments on the city’s east side early this morning, according to KCCI-TV. Firefighters reported some residents were trapped when they arrived, but no injuries have been reported. Three residents were displaced following the fire.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Two Des Moines Police officers who are part of an internal investigation resigned from the force Monday, according to WHO-TV. Senior police officers Joshua Judge and Tyson Teut are accused of planting evidence in connection with a narcotics case. Both officers began working for the Des Moines Police Department in August of 2013.

SIOUX CITY, IA (IRN) – Two groups are suing a Sioux City cooperative they say is falsely advertising its honey as pure, despite tests that show it contains traces of glyphosate (GLY-phuh-sate), used in Roundup, a widely used farm herbicide. The Organic Consumers Association and Beyond Pesticides claim that the Sioux Honey Association, the 95-year-old cooperative that makes Sue Bee Honey, is misleading consumers by labeling its honey as pure and natural.

CEDAR FALLS, IA (IRN) – Thousands of undergraduates at Iowa’s three public universities will pay at least 2 percent more in tuition next year. KWWL-TV reports the Iowa Board of Regents voted Monday to raise tuition for resident undergraduate students for the 2017-2018 academic year. The vote means that tuition will increase to $7,270 at the University of Iowa and $7,240 at Iowa State University and UNI.

CLEAR LAKE, IA (IRN) – A woman shot early Friday morning in Mason City has died. KIMT-TV reports 19-year-old Samantha Teeter passed away Sunday at the Mayo Clinic of cardiac failure. The charge against 60-year-old Larry Whaley has been upgraded to 1st degree murder. The shooting happened at Whaley’s home. He and the victim knew each other.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Two Columbus Junction men are in the Johnson County Jail on multiple charges including kidnapping and robbery. KCII-radio reports on Sunday, 22-year-old Antonio Aguilar and 19-year-old Angel Rodriguez offered an adult female a ride in Iowa City, then robbed her at gunpoint. She fled by jumping out of the moving vehicle. She suffered minor injuries.

BUCHANAN COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A trooper with the Iowa State Patrol was injured in a crash Sunday morning. KWWL-TV reports it happened in Buchanan County on I-380 during winter driving conditions. The trooper was on the inside shoulder assisting a driver who went into the median. 22-year-old Brittany Anderson, of Charles City, lost control and hit the rear of the trooper’s vehicle. The trooper’s name has not been released.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA (IRN) – A Texas man has died and a police officer was injured in a western Iowa crash. KTIV-TV reports the crash happened Saturday on Interstate 29 in Council Bluffs, when a vehicle slammed into the back of a Council Bluffs police cruiser parked on the side of the interstate. 72-year-old Bertram Ellis, of Houston, was killed. 39-year-old Officer Josh Horner was sitting in his patrol car helping with traffic control when Ellis’ vehicle rear-ended the cruiser.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Four men are in custody and three face attempted-murder charges after a road rage induced drive-by shooting Saturday in Des Moines. KCCI-TV reports the incident was the result of a fender bender. No injuries were reported in the shooting.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Hawkeyes have been selected to play in the Outback Bowl in Tampa against the Florida Gators on January 2nd. This will be their 5th appearance. The Hawkeyes finished with an 8-4 record, winning their last 3 games against Michigan, Illinois and Nebraska. Florida lost in the SEC title game to #1 Alabama 54-16.

RICEVILLE, IA (IRN) – An Iowa nursing home has been fined $11,500 after an investigation into the death of a resident. The Mason City Globe Gazette reports federal regulators imposed the fine after an investigation determined that the Riceville Family Care and Therapy Center hadn’t properly trained employees on the use of portable oxygen tanks. The person who died was supposed to be getting continuous oxygen therapy, but wasn’t getting it.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – The Holiday DeLight Parade in downtown Cedar Rapids came to a quick end Saturday, after a boy was struck by part of a parade float. KCRG-TV reports the float collapsed, and a door from the float fell onto the four or five-year-old. The boy suffered a concussion and a head wound that required six staples, but will be OK.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Governor Terry Branstad is going to New York this week as part of a trade delegation with the hope of bringing jobs to Iowa, according to WHO-TV. There is also the possibility Branstad may be meeting with President-elect Donald Trump to be offered the position of Ambassador to China. Branstad has a decades-long friendship with the Chinese president and also recently led a trade mission to China.

DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – The Canadian Pacific Holiday Train rolled into the Quad Cities this weekend, according to WQAD-TV. Hundreds were there to welcome it to Davenport. The train was decked out in Christmas lights, and when it stopped a stage folded down and a pair of musicians played Christmas songs. Visitors were encouraged to bring nonperishable food items for local food pantries.