CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa —A Waterloo man has pled guilty to second degree-murder in his girlfriend’s death in Linn County. KCCI-TV reports thirty-eight-year-old Shawn Hogan admitted Tuesday to beating 28-year-old Crystal Gaffney with a wrench and stabbing her in the head with a screwdriver. Authorities found Gaffney’s body on a road near Walker in July 2014. DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – A 17-year-old Davenport girl is in the hospital with life-threatening injuries after suffering a gunshot wound on Monday. WQAD-TV reports police responded to an intersection where they found her lying in the street. A 15-year-old male from Rock Island has been charged with Attempted Murder in relation to the shooting. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A Waterloo man is in the hospital recovering from stab wounds received Tuesday, according to KWWL-TV. Waterloo police say the man had to be taken to the hospital but is expected to survive. Police took a woman into custody, and charges are pending. Police say it was a domestic situation but did not elaborate on what happened. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Blank Park Zoo is expanding its facilities in hopes of an expanding giraffe family in Des Moines. WHO-TV reports the zoo is planning to build a $1.8 million expansion to its giraffe barn. The new facility would be open to visitors so they can still see the giraffes on cold and rainy days. It would also provide more space for what the zoo hopes will be a growing giraffe family. CEDAR FALLS, IA (IRN) – Cedar Falls Fire and Rescue is crediting a cat with alerting a resident to an apartment fire. KCRG-TV reports Fire Chief John Schilling said the resident told him a pet cat kept meowing at the ceiling Monday night. The resident investigated, found he could feel heat on the ceiling and heard crackling sounds. Firefighters found a fire in the building’s attic that caused significant damage. Crews put the fire out quickly, and no one was injured, thanks to the cat.

OSKALOOSA, IA (IRN) – An Oskaloosa chiropractor convicted of sexually abusing patients in 2011 is scheduled to be paroled today. KCCI-TV reports 39-year-old Dr. Jason Ebelsheiser was sentenced to 12 years in prison for sexually abusing patients. A jury convicted him on four counts, acquitted him on two other counts and couldn’t reach a verdict on two more counts. Ebelsheiser was arrested and charged in 2009 after being accused of abusing women, ages 17 to 46. SIOUX CITY, IA (IRN) – An 18-year-old man accused of shooting a Sioux City police officer last month has pled not guilty. The Sioux City Journal reports that Isaiah Mothershed pled not guilty Monday to two counts of attempted murder and five counts of first-degree robbery. Mothershed is accused of pulling a gun from a couch while his hands were handcuffed behind his back, and shooting an officer in the leg. DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – A Dubuque woman faces a criminal charge for assaulting another woman with a Pepsi bottle. The Dubuque Telegraph Herald reports 24-year old Nina Hammerbeck was with 54-year-old Pamela Meana at a residence Sunday when Meana turned up the music playing. Meana said Hammerbeck told her not to turn it up and threw a Pepsi bottle at her face. The bottle struck Meana in the left eye, fracturing her eye socket. Hammerbeck admitted to throwing the bottle. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) A Des Moines man faces multiple charges after an attempted robbery Saturday night at the Embassy Suites downtown. KCCI-TV reports 55-year-old La Forest Bennett pulled out a knife and tried to rob a man in front of the hotel. The robbery failed, but he took off in the man’s car. What Bennett didn’t know was that the man is married to a Des Moines police detective and the hotel was full of hundreds of cops for the annual Black and Blue Ball. He was caught after a short chase and wrecking the vehicle. He’s in jail. NEWTON, IA (IRN) – The two inmates who escaped from the Newton Minimum Security Correctional Release Center over the weekend remain at large. Michael Amodeo and Jessy Foley were both serving sentences on drug charges. Danny Homan, of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, blames the escape on what he calls critically-low staffing levels in Iowa’s correctional system. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Two people are in the hospital after a fire early this morning in Cedar Rapids. KCRG-TV reports firefighters arrived to find flames coming out of one side of the building, which was an older home subdivided into three apartments. Everyone made it out safely, but two men have been hospitalized for treatment of smoke inhalation. MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – A hockey game in Mason City pitting north Iowa law enforcement against firefighters and medical personnel resulted in much more than just a victory for one side. According to organizers of the 6th Annual Battle of the Badges, this year’s game raised nearly $42,000 dollars for Make-A-Wish. This year’s game began with a ceremonial puck drop by local “wish kids.” The final score? Firefighters and EMS 7, Law Enforcement 2.

DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – A child was declared dead upon arriving at a hospital in Davenport after being hit by a car in a church parking lot Sunday. WQAD-TV reports the child was hit around 3 p.m. in the parking lot of All Saints Catholic School. Employees at a nearby business say they saw crews performing CPR on the child but the child was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. Information on the driver has not been released. COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA (IRN) – Council Bluffs police arrested a man after they witnessed him attempting to break into a home Sunday night. KETV reports 29-year-old Adam Souza broke a window and then started to enter the home. Officers ordered Souza to place his hands behind his back and Souza began to run. Officers then deployed a Taser, but say it was not effective and Souza fled. He was caught and arrested shortly later. He’s in jail. NORWALK, IA (IRN) – A woman crashed her vehicle into a Norwalk home Sunday night. WHO-TV reports the 20-year-old woman took a turn too fast and crashed into the garage area of the home. Before hitting the garage, she plowed over a stop sign and street sign. There were no major injuries. Police say the woman was an inexperienced driver and charges are pending. NEWTON, IA (IRN) – Two inmates from the Newton Minimum-Security Correctional Release Center have escaped. WOI-TV reports inmates Michael Amodeo and Jessy Foley are missing. Officials aren’t sure if the men are together, or if they’ve split up. Both of the inmates are in for drug-related offenses. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – An 80-year-old Iowa City man is celebrating his 20th birthday today. The Iowa City Press Citizen reports that although he has 80 years under his belt, Dick Vitosh has had only 20 birthdays, given that February 29 occurs only every four years. He has a sign over his desk that says “I’m not a senior citizen, I’m a recycled teenager.”

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines police are investigating an early-morning stabbing Sunday. KCCI-TV reports 29-year-old Isaac Sando was attending a party when he was stabbed. Sando was taken to the hospital where his condition remains unknown. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Cedar Rapids Police issued an Operation Quickfind for a missing 17-year-old girl, according to KCRG-TV. Police said Leslie Pettie was last seen around 8:00 a.m. on Thursday. The Operation Quickfind states she is off of her depression and anxiety medication and is known to be suicidal. URBANDALE, IA (IRN) – An Urbandale criminal defense attorney who punched a woman in the face while drunk has had his law license suspended for three months. KWWL-TV reports the Iowa Supreme Court imposed the suspension Friday against 33-year-old Jamie Deremiah. He had pled guilty to domestic abuse and trespassing charges after breaking into the woman’s home and attacking her. BETTENDORF, IA (IRN) – For most high school seniors, graduation day is still months away. But that wasn’t the case in Bettendorf on Friday, according to WQAD-TV. For Lia Bellomy, it was graduation day. Her father Ron entered hospice last week after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The family doesn’t believe he’ll make it for his daughter’s graduation. So Lia’s May graduation was moved up by her Pleasant Valley School to allow the family to celebrate together.

ELK RUN HEIGHTS, IA (IRN) – A man died Friday after his gun fell on the ground and went off. KCRG-TV reports Black Hawk County Sheriff’s deputies were called to Elk Run Heights and found 45-year-old Martin Lawrence unconscious. Investigators say he was getting out of his car when his gun dropped onto the ground and fired, hitting him in the leg. He later died at the hospital. Deputies believe the bullet traveled up Lawrence’s body and caused internal injuries. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – A house fire in Iowa City was quickly contained Friday night, according to KWWL-TV. Crews were called to the location after smoke was spotted near the roof of the house. The fire was declared under control within ten minutes of fire crew arrival. No injuries were reported, but seven people living in the house have been displaced. JOHNSTON, IA (IRN) – A former Johnston school bus driver will be sentenced in March. KCCI-TV reports 61-year-old Robert Scarbrough was charged with assault causing injury and child endangerment last October. Police said Scarbrough approached a 15-year-old student with special needs after he failed to follow instructions. The student directed an inflammatory comment toward the bus driver who grabbed the student’s coat, hit the boy in the face and pushed him to the floor. In videos of the incident, students can be heard screaming, demanding the driver to stop. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa Senator Rob Hogg (HOEG) is filing nomination petitions for U.S. Senate on Monday at the offices of the Iowa Secretary of State in Des Moines. The filing will include more than 13,000 signatures from Iowans from all 99 counties. Hogg is running against incumbent Senator Chuck Grassley. OSCEOLA, IA (IRN) – An unemployed southern Iowa man can stop his job search after he won a Publishers Clearing House lifetime prize. WHO-TV reports the prize patrol was in Osceola on Friday to award its youngest-ever big prize winner. 21-year-old Ryan Hart won the lifetime prize and will be awarded $5,000 a week for the rest of his life. Hart had his mother on the phone with him when he was awarded the prize at his doorstep. Hart said he’s been entering the contest for a year, and isn’t sure what he will do with the money.