Category: State News

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (IRN) – An Amber alert issued Saturday night in Iowa, South Dakota, and Minnesota for a Sioux Falls boy has been cancelled.  Authorities say they have located 1-year-old Keegan Vortherms in Minnesota.

TOLEDO, OH (IRN) – Arizona Cardinals rookie receiver and former University of Iowa receiver Damond Powell Jr. was wounded by gunfire outside his Toledo, Ohio home Friday evening. KCCI-TV reports 22-year-old Powell was wounded in his driveway from shots fired from a car. Witnesses reported seeing three men wearing masks in a gold-colored vehicle. Powell’s injuries did not appear to be life-threatening.

SIOUX CITY, IA (IRN) – Woodbury County needs a new jail, according to Sheriff Dave Drew. The Sioux City Journal reports the facility was designed to hold 140 prisoners with a current population of 210. A five year plan to address the new jail estimates a new facility designed to hold 350 inmates would cost $65 million.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA (IRN) –  A Shenandoah man has been sentenced in the Southern Iowa District Federal Court to 16 years in in prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. James Paul Davis, 31, participated in a network that brought in large quantities of methamphetamine to southwestern Iowa from the border region in Texas for distribution across southwestern Iowa and eastern Nebraska.

DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – One person is dead in Davenport after an stabbing that happened nearly a week before, according to KQWC-TV. The victim is Claude Hanson, 62, of Davenport. Police say no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.

IOWA FALLS, IA (IRN) – An Ackley man was killed in a head-on collision between a car and a semitractor Friday afternoon near Iowa Falls. Two passengers in the car and the driver of the semi were injured. The Iowa State Patrol reports that Heralcio Guerrero Duran, 54, was killed when the 1991 Chevrolet Lumina he was driving struck the semi driven by Kirk Gunderson, 54, of Marshalltown.

SLOAN, IA (IRN) – An arrest has been made in relation to a stabbing that occurred in the western Iowa town of Sloan last week.  KCAU-TV reports the Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office arrested 28-year-old Johnathan Pettis, of Ponce de Leon, Florida, in Polk County, Nebraska on Wednesday in connection with the stabbing.

ANKENY, IA (IRN) – In the wake of a deadly movie theater shooting in Lafayette, La., local mothers gathered outside Fridley Springwood 9 theaters in Ankeny on Friday to call for action on gun control. KCCI-TV reports the group, Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense In America, is a nationwide network of mothers concerned about firearm safety. The group is pushing for background checks for every gun sale.

MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – A Mason City man accused of hitting a woman with one of her own crutches during a fight last month has been sentenced to 38 days in jail, according to the Mason City Globe Gazette. Derrell Tate, 34, was arrested following a fight with two women about 3:30 a.m. Tate took one of the woman’s crutches and hit her with it during the fight.

SAYLORVILLE LAKE, IA (IRN) – Two beaches have closed at Saylorville Lake after a potentially harmful blue-green algae was discovered. Routine water quality monitoring identified high levels of microcystin.  The algae can cause skin reactions, gastrointestinal pain, breathing problems or even liver damage.

DES MOINES (IRN) A woman had to convince her brother to go to the hospital Friday after he was shot in the head. According to KCCI-TV, 20-year-old Kieon Aaron’s sister found him in downtown Des Moines after the shooting. He was conscious and alert, but bleeding badly from the back of his head. He wanted to go home and shower and then go to bed. After he showered, she was able to convince him to go to the Mercy ER, where staff reported the shooting to police.

DES MOINES (IRN) – A tentative settlement has been reached in a lawsuit filed by former Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Nancy Sebring against the district, according to WHO-TV. Sebring sued for invasion of privacy, emotional distress and interference with a contract. The lawsuit comes after sexually-charged emails she wrote using her district email account were released.

DES MOINES (IRN) – A man suspected of firing gunshots at a vehicle during a road rage incident has been arrested, eight days after being released from jail on other weapons charges. The Des Moines Register reports 21-year-old Jamar Wooten was arrested for the road rage incident Wednesday. He had been jailed earlier this month for carrying weapons on the outskirts of Des Moines’ 80/35 music festival and for theft. This is his sixth arrest this year.

NEVADA, IA  (IRN) – A truckload of mail was destroyed in a truck fire along Interstate 35 near Ankeny on Tuesday.  According to KCCI-TV the majority of the mail on the truck was severely damaged or destroyed.  The truck had mail from multiple towns in Story County that was headed for a processing center in Des Moines. The driver was not hurt.

VENTURA , IA (IRN) – A Garner woman was rescued from the Ventura Marsh Thursday evening. The Mason City Globe Gazette reports the Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Office was contacted at 8 p.m. and told that Rebecca Ann Hejna, 53, had gone kayaking at 7 a.m. and had not yet returned.  Her pickup was found, and she was located a short time later by firefighters in their boat. She was partially submerged when found, but had no serious injuries.

JOHNSON COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Johnson County supervisors plan to raise the minimum wage in the county to $10.10 per hour by 2017 even though it might be against Iowa law.  According to the Cedar Rapids Gazette, Michael Mauro, Iowa’s labor commissioner, says a local minimum wage higher than the state’s current $7.25 an hour would be unconstitutional. Iowa last raised its minimum in 2007.

CHELSEA, IA (IRN) – A woman has died after walking in front of a train in the Tama County town of Chelsea, according to the Des Moines Register. The unidentified woman apparently crossed between trains and was struck by one Thursday morning. It’s unknown why the woman was on the tracks or how fast the train was going.

ANKENY, IA (IRN) – Ankeny released new numbers Thursday from its recent Special Census confirming its explosive growth.  KCCI-TV reports Ankeny’s new population total officially stands at over 54,000, which is nearly a 20 percent increase in population growth in less than five years. The city has doubled in population since the year 2000, adding nearly five people per day every day for the past five years.

SABULA, IA (IRN) – Emergency crews were on scene over the weekend to clear a bridge after mayflies took over in Sabula, Iowa’s only island city on the Mississippi. WQAD-TV reports the incident happened Saturday night. The Iowa DOT used a snow plow to remove the insects. Two motorcycles lost traction on the bridge, but no one was hurt.

WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A postal worker and his wife in Waterloo have been charged with concocting phony doctor’s excuses to get out of work. The Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier reports Joseph Herold, 34, and Nichole Herold, also 34, of Waterloo, were arrested June 30 for tampering with records. The charges stem from a February investigation by the Postal Service Inspector General.

MILO, IA (IRN) – Former State Senator Kent Sorenson, 43, a Republican from Warren County is in trouble with the law again. According to KCCI-TV he’s charged with domestic abuse assault and interference with official acts. Sorenson had previously pled guilty to federal charges of obstruction of justice and falsifying federal campaign expenditures. He had been an adviser to Michele Bachmann in 2011, but hid secret payments to switch to the Ron Paul campaign.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Gov. Terry Branstad is asking President Barack Obama to issue a presidential disaster declaration for 19 Iowa counties. The request states that winds, tornadoes, heavy rain, hail and thunderstorms from June 20 to 25 caused an estimated $5.1 million in damages.

BUENA VISTA COUNTY, IA (KTIV) – Two bars in Buena Vista County were broken into over the weekend. KTIV-TV reports money and liquor were stolen from the Rembrandt Bar and Grill and the Truesdale Bar and Grill. Someone forced their way into the both bars and stole the cash and booze.

WASHINGTON, DC (IRN) – Iowa is the toughest state in the nation for speeding enforcement, according to a new study by WalletHub.com, a personal finance website. While Iowa is tough on speeding, it lags in targeting aggressive driving, such as road rage. Iowa is in the middle of the pack tied for 24th for reckless driving penalties.

ANDREW, IA (IRN) – An 18-month-old girl from the eastern Iowa town of Andrew who fell into a pool has died according to KWWL-TV. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office says Nxy Jones died Tuesday at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. She was unresponsive when pulled from the residential pool on Monday. An autopsy has been ordered.

CEDAR FALLS, IA (IRN) – A man was taken to the hospital after he allegedly jumped from a highway overpass in an apparent suicide attempt Tuesday night. The Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier reports a passerby found the man in the middle of the road under an overpass. His injuries do not appear to be life-threatening.

WEVER, IA (IRN) – Hundreds of construction workers at Iowa’s largest building site, an Orascom fertilizer plant in Wever, were abruptly told to leave on Tuesday. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports a bomb threat was found Monday afternoon inscribed on a porta-potty. Authorities called in bomb sniffing dogs and used nearly 40 security workers to comb the grounds but the search found nothing.

DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – Davenport Police, family members, and volunteers continue to search for a missing mentally challenged man who walked away from his group home Friday. WQAD-TV reports Jim Terhune, 56, suffers from a brain injury and is a diabetic, and is without his insulin. A family member says he was going to get some ice cream from an ice cream truck when he disappeared.

TIPTON (IRN) – One person is dead and another injured after an accident west of Tipton on Tuesday. According to the Iowa State Patrol, the vehicle was trying to pass another when the driver lost control, hit a guardrail, left the roadway, and rolled. The driver was ejected. Names have not been released.

WATERLOO (IRN) – Waterloo police are investigating a report of vandalism at a city church on Tuesday, according to KWWL-TV. Police responded to Westminster Presbyterian Church where someone had spray painted the church building and a vehicle. Among various graffiti were the phrases “Satan loves you,” and “Jesus died, let him rest.”

TAYLOR COUNTY (IRN) – A Missouri man was found guilty of illegal deer hunting in Taylor County. Michael Kahnert, 61, of Branson West was found guilty of six counts of fraudulently obtaining resident hunting, deer and turkey licenses, and taking deer out of season, among other charges.  He was fined over $11,000. The DNR says non-residents hunting illegally is a growing problem.

DES MOINES (IRN) – The Iowa Department of Agriculture has released new data on the bird flu epidemic. A total of 77 different locations and more than 34 million birds were infected. The birds have been euthanized, and the remains removed. Once cleaned and disinfected, barns must remain empty for three weeks. According to WHO-TV, turkey farmers are particularly anxious to get the facilities repopulated in order to have turkeys to consumers by Thanksgiving.