DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – The foster care program in Iowa is urgently seeking families willing to open their homes to kids whose parents are unable to care for them. KWQC-TV reports last year, over 2,500 children in Iowa were referred to foster care, and there are only about 2,100 foster homes in the state. Iowa KidsNet is sending out an urgent call for a wide range of caregivers.

MT. UNION, IA (IRN) – Over 250 marijuana plants were seized at a residence in Mt. Union Thursday after an investigation started on a citizen complaint and tip. KCII-Radio reports thirty-six-year-old James Nicholson was arrested and charged with manufacturing marijuana over 110 pounds, possession with intent to deliver, and drug tax stamp violations.

WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – One person has been arrested following an early morning fire in Waterloo. KGAN-TV reports the fire broke out just after 3:00 Friday morning. One person from an upstairs apartment was rescued. No one was hurt.

INDIANOLA, IA (IRN) – An Indianola woman is being held at the Warren County Jail following an investigation into the death of a 7-month-old child. KCCI-TV reports Tori Marie Bittner was arrested Wednesday and charged with child endangerment resulting in death. Emergency personnel responded to a call for a child in respiratory distress. The 7-month-old was transported to Mercy in Des Moines by air and died the next day.

CLEAR LAKE, IA (IRN) – An arrest has been made in an incident where a bicyclist was struck by a car in Clear Lake. KIMT-TV reports 36-year-old Nicholas Dustin Horst has been charged with willful injury and serious injury by vehicle. Horst is accused of intentionally running into the bicyclist and driving under the influence of drugs. The bicyclist was dragged for 150 feet and was hospitalized with serious injuries.

MARSHALLTOWN, IA (IRN) – A Des Moines woman is facing 16 felony charges for allegedly embezzling more than $80,000 from her Marshalltown employer. WHO-TV reports 36-year-old Amy Howell was arrested yesterday for stealing from the Substance Abuse Treatment Unit of Central Iowa. She was finance coordinator for the company.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Tom Brokaw is celebrating 50 years with NBC and as part of the celebration he has announced he is giving his collection of memorabilia to the University of Iowa Library. Brokaw was a freshman at the University of Iowa, but flunked out, double majoring in what he calls, “beer & co-eds.” He says he has spent the past 60 years trying to make up for his “errant ways.” He adds the gift comes because of his great affection for the school and the people of Iowa.

CEDAR COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A 26-year-old man stuck in a combine head was flown to the University of Iowa Hospitals this morning with injuries. KCRG-TV reports the accident happened near Mechanicsville.

DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – A pedestrian was hit by a vehicle in Davenport yesterday morning, according to WQAD-TV. The pedestrian was seriously injured, and was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries.

MT UNION, IA (IRN) – For those who think their vote doesn’t matter, the people of Mt. Union beg to differ. KCII-Radio reports when the votes were tabulated Tuesday night for the general election, the measure to unincorporate the city sat at a 31-31 tie. One outstanding absentee ballot was opened by the auditor this morning and pushed the vote total to 32-31 in favor of unincorporation.

DAKOTA CITY, NE (IRN) – A former city clerk in northwest Iowa has been sentenced in a Nebraska court to probation for trying to set up a sexual encounter with someone he thought was a teenage boy. The Sioux City Journal reports 61-year-old Douglas Furlich of Lawton posted an ad online which said he was “looking for a younger guy.” An undercover officer responded, pretending to be a 15-year-old boy. Furlich went to meet what he thought was the boy in Nebraska, where he was arrested.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – The University of Iowa is investigating a racist message someone wrote on a student’s door in a residence hall. KCRG-TV reports the university denounced the “hate speech” in a statement. Last month, someone put up racist posters at the university’s Afro-American, Latino, Native American, and LGBTQ resource centers.

BOONE, IA (IRN) – For the past month, people around the Boone Airport may have noticed a strange-looking aircraft. WHO-TV reports the Iowa National Guard has a new drone. The RQ-7B Shadow Aircraft is 11 feet long, uses regular aviation fuel, and can be in the air for approximately six hours. The drone is used primarily to scout enemy troops.

WAUKEE, IA (IRN) – Nearly 700 6th and 7th graders from Waukee schools paid special tribute to the city’s police and firefighters Wednesday. KCCI-TV reports students played the National Anthem, gave speeches and held a moment of silence for Des Moines Police Sergeant Tony Beminio and Urbandale Police Officer Justin Martin. The pair were killed by a gunman one week ago yesterday.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Scores of students at several Des Moines Public Schools walked out of class in protest of election results this morning. KCCI-TV reports many could be seen carrying signs at East, Valley, and Roosevelt high schools, protesting the election of Donald Trump to the presidency. No violence was reported.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Iowa City Police are looking for whoever robbed a pizza delivery man Tuesday night. KCRG-TV reports the man was trying to deliver a pizza to an apartment complex. He says a man approached him holding a small black pistol. He didn’t point the gun at the pizza delivery man, but he told him to not knock on the door and put the pizza down. The delivery man did as he was told and the suspect took the pizza and ran off. No one was hurt.

BLACK HAWK COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Black Hawk County officials agreed to pay $30,000 to a man who scuffled with an off-duty sheriff’s deputy after a traffic dispute. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports the Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to pay the money and settle a case filed by Edward Felts. He claimed deputy Richard Hoffman hit and kicked him repeatedly during a February 2015 incident. Felts head-butted the deputy, and then the deputy took him to the ground. A jury earlier found Felts guilty of assault.

DES MOINES, IA (IA) – Republican Donald Trump is president-elect, leading a Republican wave that carried Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, Congressmen Steve King, Rod Blum and David Young back into office. Congressman Dave Loebsack won re-election, remaining Iowa’s sole Democrat in Washington. Republicans also won control of the Iowa House and Senate. Three Iowa Supreme Court Justices won retention in Tuesday’s election.

CEDAR FALLS, IA (IRN) – A man has been charged in a crash that killed a woman this past weekend in Cedar Falls, according to KCRG-TV. Forty-two-year-old Charles Brooks, of Champlin, MN, faces a felony charge of serious injury by a motor vehicle. Brooks was speeding when he collided with a mini-van on a bridge. The crash killed 38-year-old Cynthia Brooks, a passenger in his vehicle. Two other passengers were seriously injured. Brooks tried to jump off the bridge after the crash.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A man who allegedly stabbed another man at the Iowa State Fair in August has been arrested. 21-year-old Craig Hunt of Des Moines has been charged with attempted murder. The victim, who has since recovered, was found near the midway with two stab wounds.

BETTENDORF, IA (IRN) – Renovations have been completed after six months of work on water damage at the Bettendorf Public Library. The Quad-City Times reports the staff unveiled the renovated areas Monday. There’s been construction underway since a burst pipe loosed a torrent of water May 20. Library board President Tom Cruise says not a single shelved book was damaged, thanks to staffers who took quick action to save the collection.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – A University of Iowa student who fell last week from a light pole on the Iowa City pedestrian mall while celebrating the Chicago Cubs’ World Series win has died. The Iowa City Press Citizen reports 21-year-old Kyle Leeney died Monday afternoon. In a video posted on Twitter, Leeney can be seen climbing a light pole and falling outside DC’s Sports Bar on the ped mall.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – One man was killed in a single vehicle accident in Cedar Rapids Monday, according to KWWL-TV. The driver, 54-year-old Richard Lee Hartl of Marion, was travelling eastbound when his vehicle left the roadway and went airborne across another road. The vehicle landed on its roof in a yard. Hartl was pronounced dead at the scene.

CEDAR COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Prosecutors have charged a Tipton man after his 2-month-old child wound up in the hospital with severe head trauma. Zachary Hayes faces one count of multiple acts of child endangerment. The charge carries up to 50 years in prison.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A Maquoketa man has pled guilty to distributing a mixture of drugs that left one person dead and injured two others. KCRG-TV reports 22-year-old Joshua Allen Manning admitted to distributing the drugs. He faces at least 20 years in prison and could be sentenced to life.

AMES, IA (IRN) – A prosecutor has asked Iowa State University police to investigate a flight that took President Steven Leath to the North Carolina town where he owns a home. KCCI-TV reports Story County Attorney Jessica Reynolds forwarded the complaint for investigation to the ISU police. The complaint comes from a Board of Regents critic who questions whether it was an illegal personal trip.

CLARINDA, IA (IRN) – An Iowa prison is teaming up with the Animal Rescue League, according to WHO-TV. Inmates at the Clarinda Correctional Facility are training rescue dogs to be companion animals for veterans. The men chosen for the program have a soft spot for dogs, and say it helps them pass their time in prison in a productive way. After two months of training, the dogs have to show they can sit, stay, come, walk on a leash, and wait at a door.