CEDAR FALLS, IA (IRN) – A 45-year-old man is facing federal theft charges related to a data breach at the University of Northern Iowa. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports Bernard Ogie Oretekor has been charged with theft of government property and aggravated identity theft. More than 100 UNI employees reported having their tax returns rejected in 2014 because someone had fraudulently filed a return on their behalf and collected their refund. Oretekor is currently facing charges in California related to the theft of $312,115 from a couple’s investment account. WINTERSET, IA (IRN) – The State Medical Examiner’s Office ruled a 33-year-old Madison County Jail inmate’s death was a suicide. Joshua Lee Barker of Winterset was found unresponsive in his cell on January 6th. Barker was arrested January 3rd during a traffic stop and officers seized over 200 grams of marijuana and drug paraphernalia from his car. Barker hung himself with a towel. CEDAR FALLS, IA (IRN) – A sport utility vehicle crashed through the front of a Cedar Falls nail salon Sunday afternoon. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports the vehicle broke through the door and adjacent glass wall before coming to a stop inside the shop. No one was injured and Cedar Falls police are investigating the crash. BOXHOLM, IA (IRN) – Four members of a family in Boxholm, a small community about an hour northwest of Des Moines, perished in a house fire Sunday. KCCI-TV reports 27-year-old Amber Sorenson, 9-year-old Riley, 6-year-old Autumn, and 4-year-old Brayden died. The father, John Sorenson, was at work when the fire broke out. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A Cedar Rapids man is facing multiple charges after police say he assaulted and seriously injured an officer Sunday afternoon. KCRG-TV reports the officer was talking to 33-year-old Nathan Brocks when Brocks punched the officer, knocking him unconscious. The officer fell and hit his head on a cement parking barrier. Brocks continued to fight and resist arrest other officers, who used a Taser to subdue him. The officer was hospitalized, and Brocks faces numerous charges. He’s in jail. MUSCATINE, IA (IRN) – A suspect has been identified in an officer-involved shooting Friday in Muscatine. WHO-TV reports a blue Hummer was reported stolen, and shortly later, the vehicle was located and a traffic stop initiated. After the stop in a parking lot, the Hummer driven by 41-year-old Timothy Seefeldt attempted to leave the scene and struck several vehicles, including one law enforcement vehicle. A deputy shot him. He’s in the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. DES MOINES (IRN) – Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, when America celebrates the legacy of Dr. King and the civil rights movement. WOI-TV reports events across the state are being held in commemoration, including a prayer breakfast on the Drake University campus and a special ceremony with Governor Branstad at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden.

MUSCATINE, IA (IRN) – A search for a stolen SUV ended with a sheriff’s deputy shooting a man in Muscatine. Law enforcement agencies received a report of a stolen Hummer on Friday night. A Muscatine County Sheriff’s Deputy spotted the stolen SUV, stopped it in a hotel parking lot, after which the driver took off and hit several parked cars. The Hummer also hit a law enforcement car, and the deputy fired several shots into the vehicle. The driver was hospitalized. DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – Police say an 18-year-old man is expected to survive after being shot late Friday night or early Saturday morning but that his cooperation has been hard to obtain. KCRG-TV reports investigators have charged his roommate, 22-year-old Deante Jenkins with multiple offenses related to the shooting, but the victim isn’t cooperating. LE MARS, IA (IRN) – A northwestern Iowa woman accused of intentionally crashing the car she was driving into another vehicle has been charged with attempted murder and other counts. KWWL-TV reports 28-year-old Melissa Ebert was charged Thursday. Ebert allegedly threatened to kill herself and her passenger before purposely veering her car into the path of an oncoming car on Sept. 9. The collision severely injured Ebert, her passenger and the driver of the other car. Ebert and her passenger were reportedly involved in a romantic dispute. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Students in Des Moines held a peace walk in school Friday on what would have been Martin Luther King Jr.’s 87th birthday. WHO-TV reports about 470 Samuelson Elementary students joined hands and listened to King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and sang “We Shall Overcome.” Martin Luther King Jr. Day is Monday.

VERNON COUNTY, MO (IRN) – The father of an Iowa man missing for weeks says that his son was found dead Friday morning in Missouri. KCCI-TV reports 29-year-old Adam Nixson is originally from Johnston and was living in Pleasant Hill, Missouri. He went duck hunting on Dec. 28 and never returned. MOORHEAD, IA (IRN) – A rollover accident near the western Iowa town of Moorhead Friday claimed the life of a Moorhead teen, according to the Sioux City Journal. 16-year-old Shelby Montange was found dead at the scene. Two other occupants of the car, a 12-year-old and the 15-year-old driver, were injured. The driver lost control on a patch of black ice and rolled the vehicle into the ditch. She and the teen who was killed were not wearing seatbelts and were thrown from the car. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Cedar Rapids police have arrested a woman accused of shooting another woman Thursday morning. KWWL-TV reports 30-year-old Jill Sodahl is charged with Attempted Murder. After the shooting, police found a handgun in a pond at a nearby park, which they believe was used in the shooting. The victim’s injuries are non-life-threatening. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A customer punched a Hobby Lobby store manager in Des Moines in a dispute over an exchange card, according to KCCI-TV. Manager Shawn Ashby said the cashier couldn’t get the card to go through and called Ashby over to help. Ashby told the man he would have to call to get the card activated. The man became agitated and yelled at the manager that he was “stealing from him.” The man left, then came back and punched Ashby in the chest. An investigation is underway. DES MOINES (IRN) – A spontaneous social media campaign raised nearly half-a-million dollars for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Iowa this holiday season, more than making up the money lost when Jolly Holiday Lights in Des Moines closed due to flooding. The Des Moines Register reports approximately $485,000 has poured in from the #BringTheJolly effort.

SAC COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Four children and a driver were on an East Sac County School bus during a crash Thursday afternoon, according to KCCI-TV. The Sac County Sheriff’s Office said the school bus was was hit by an oncoming pickup truck. The crash sent both vehicles into the ditch. The driver of the truck, his passenger, and the school bus driver were taken to the hospital. The four kids are OK. CERRO GORDO COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A 48-year-old Des Moines man was hurt when his 2012 utility tractor/trailer went through a guardrail and into the Winnebago River in Cerro Gordo County. KIMT-TV reports the vehicle was driver’s side down in the river. The driver, Jonathon Hildebrand was able to get out of the vehicle and walk to a convenience store. He suffered several injuries and hypothermia. MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – A woman accused of stealing from disabled residents when she worked at a Clear Lake facility has pled not guilty. KCCI-TV reports 41-year-old Amy Palmer allegedly took more than $8,000 from the residents at Opportunity Village while she worked there. She’s charged with ongoing criminal conduct and 15 counts of abusing dependent adults. No trial date has been set. Davenport, IA (IRN) – A body has been found in Davenport in a marsh by the Water Treatment Plant, according to WQAD-TV. The body was found Thursday afternoon when someone saw it in the ice. An investigation is underway. DUBUQUE COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Five people were taken to the hospital following a crash in Dubuque County on Thursday. The Iowa State Patrol reports 29-year-old Marquita Robertson of Epworth was driving and failed to negotiate a turn. The car went into the ditch and over an embankment. Robertson and four passengers, ages 14-25, had to be taken to the hospital. Robertson was cited for Failure to Maintain Control and Driving While Suspended. JOHNSTON, IA (IRN) – Johnston police issued a warning Thursday about scam phone calls about the Iowa Caucuses. KCCI-TV reports a woman was called by a man who claimed to be associated with the Iowa Caucuses. He asked her if she planned to attend the Caucuses on January 13, and if so, he would need to meet with her at her residence to fill out some paperwork. She declined. The Iowa Caucuses are February 1. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines Public schools are seeking increased aid from the state to help with at-risk students, especially those living in poverty. WHO-TV reports three-fourths of students in the district qualify for free and reduced lunch. Yet, the district receives little more in funding per pupil than nearby wealthier districts like West Des Moines, Waukee, and Ankeny. The district is seeking an increase in K-12 funding of $145 million. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – School districts in eastern Iowa are turning to propane to power their school buses. KCRG-TV reports the Cedar Rapids School District has purchased seven new propane buses to replace older diesel models. The Linn-Mar, Anamosa, and Vinton-Shellsburg districts have also bought propane buses. The buses cost roughly $5,000 more, but districts say they will save about $3,200 per year in fuel and maintenance. The busses are also better at starting in the bitter cold, and emit fewer greenhouse gases.

IOWA COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A mother and son died Thursday morning in a crash in Iowa County about five miles west of Marengo. 18-year-old Bethany Clark’s car left the roadway when she lost control on the frost covered road and hit a creek embankment. Her car quickly caught on fire and both perished. SPIRIT LAKE, IA (IRN) – The use of any form of tobacco products, including smoking and electronic cigarettes or “vaping” devices, may soon be off limits at city parks and outdoor recreational facilities in Spirit Lake, according to KTIV-TV. The city’s recreational trails would also be affected along with associated restrooms and parking lots and shelter houses. The city is considering an ordinance banning the products. SIOUX CITY, IA (IRN) – Deputies have found a missing Sioux City woman lying in a snow-covered field in rural Woodbury County. KCCI-TV reports 24-year-old Shaniqwa Hayes was found conscious but unresponsive and taken to a hospital. She was last seen Sunday after leaving her job in Dakota City, Nebraska. Relatives reported her missing on Monday. Her cell phone location transmission led two deputies to a farmstead near Moville. The deputies found a faint footprint 15 yards in front of her car and followed footprints to Hayes, who was lying in snow near a grain bin. CLEAR LAKE, IA (IRN) – A Clear Lake home has suffered extensive damage after a fire early Thursday morning, according to KIMT-TV. Three people were inside at the time, but were able to get out unharmed. Their pets escaped safely as well. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A woman is now facing charges following a death at a Waterloo daycare center this past summer, according to KWWL-TV. Amy Hangartner has been charged with Child Endangerment Resulting in Death. The child had been placed in an infant car seat by Hangartner where it died. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A conservative eastern Iowa group is kicking off 2016 with a renewed focus on their right to openly carry weapons in public places. KCRG-TV reports the Iowa Conservative Union is hosting an open carry night at Godfather’s Pizza in Cedar Rapids. At a recent meeting, most members had guns strapped to their side, but others brought rifles to display on tabletops next to pizza plates. The group’s chair, Jim Conklin says, “As you all know, crazy people with guns don’t show up on this night. This is now the safest restaurant in the country.” CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Two Cedar Rapids Police Officers will not be charged for the shooting death of 21-year-old Jonathan Gossman this past October. KGAN-TV reports the two officers conducted a traffic stop as part of a meth investigation, and Gossman fled the scene. They gave chase with a K-9, and Gossman turned and pointed a gun at the officers. They fired 25 shots at the suspect, killing him. An autopsy on Gossman found he had meth and amphetamines in his system at the time of the shooting. FORT DODGE, IA (IRN) – A Fort Dodge woman is using her baking skills to try to fight hunger. WHO-TV reports Jodie Tietsort is a recovering alcoholic who wanted to do something to pay back the town that helped her recover. Tietsort is launching Southwest Circle Cafe, a place for people to pay what they can afford to eat. All she asks is that if you can’t afford to pay, you help out.