Iowa Radio News

IOWA (IRN) – Another round of hazardous winter weather is approaching Iowa. Moderate to heavy snow and freezing rain are possible for north central Iowa starting Wednesday. A winter storm warning will be in effect Wednesday for far northern and western counties, with double digit snowfall totals possible for communities in far north Iowa. Central Iowa counties will be under a winter weather advisory on Wednesday. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A fire at 35th Street Antiques in Des Moines billowed smoke along Interstate 235 during rush hour Monday and destroyed most of the building. The building contained the antique shop, two apartments, and a cabinetry workshop. The section containing the cabinetry workshop was saved, but the fire destroyed everything else in the building. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A yellow dust covered cars, sidewalks, and properties in southwest Cedar Rapids on Monday morning. A spokesperson for Ingredion said glucose was released due to equipment failure and they will further evaluate the root cause of the issue while replacing the faulty equipment. Neighbors are angry, saying their eyes are watering and dogs are acting sick. WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa’s largest private employer will temporarily stop its employee discount. Employees will no longer receive a 10% discount at the store because of alleged fraud and abuse in the program. Officials say the program will be revamped and Hy-Vee has a goal to relaunch the benefit to employees by mid-April. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – There was a big mess to clean up after a semi rolled in Waterloo yesterday. The semi was hauling watermelons which spilled onto the highway. City workers used a skid loader to clean up the spilled watermelons. There is no word yet on what caused the accident or if there were any injuries. The driver, from Florida, was arrested for drunk driving.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A juvenile male was shot and killed in Cedar Rapids on Saturday. He was pronounced dead at the scene of the incident. No other information about the victim, including the boy’s age, was released. Police described the shooting as a “targeted incident.” CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Donations to Iowa’s Fish/Wildlife fund, informally called the Chickadee Checkoff, fell nearly 15 percent last year but have been gradually shrinking since the fund was created in the early 1980s. Study and support for Iowa’s nongame animals, including songbirds, turtles, frogs, owls, and salamanders, is needed more than ever as many species are declining in numbers and facing extinction, mostly because of lost habitat. MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – For more than three months, all of the glass and plastic in Mason City’s curbside recycling bins haven’t been recycled at all. Instead, the city has been forced to dump glass and plastic recyclables at the Landfill of North Iowa because the Mason City Recycling Center no longer accepts glass or plastic. Officials with the recycling center say the reason they stopped accepting glass and plastic is simple. There’s no market for it, and they can’t store it. EVANSTON, IL (IRN) − A miserable night for Iowa men’s basketball at Northwestern reached a boiling point at the 7:30 mark in the second half Sunday. Hawkeye coach Fran McCaffery was upset about a missed 10-second violation against Northwestern, and his words with the referees resulted in a double technical foul and an ejection. Less than three minutes later, junior Patrick McCaffery was charged with a technical foul of his own after disagreeing with a shooting foul called against him. Northwestern’s free throws extended its lead to 22 points and the Wildcats rolled to an 80-60 Big Ten Conference victory.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IRN) – A Republican political consultant was sentenced to 18 months in prison Friday after arranging for a Russian national to contribute illegally to former President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign – the second time he’s been convicted of campaign violations. The first conviction was in Iowa. Jesse Benton, 45, of Woodlands, Texas, charged Russian national Roman Vasilenko $100,000 to have a picture taken with Trump. Benton pocketed $75,000 of the fee, then illegally passed along the remaining $25,000 as a contribution to Trump’s campaign committee, Trump Victory, and the Republican National Committee. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Governor Kim Reynolds signed into law a plan that limits non-economic damages in several medical malpractice cases. The change still allows Iowans to receive payments for things like medical bills and loss of employment. But it limits other judgments for pain and suffering. The law caps payments from clinics and individual doctors at $1 million and $2 million when hospitals are involved. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – After a long month of recovery and investigation from a cyber attack back in early January, Des Moines Public Schools are nearly back to normal. CEDAR FALLS, IA (IRN) – The Cedar River is currently experiencing an ice jam located above the impoundment upstream of the Center Street Bridge in Cedar Falls. The City of Cedar Falls will continue monitoring the situation

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Two people are in the hospital after a shooting in Cedar Rapids early this morning. A man and a woman were injured. It appears to have been a domestic incident. WAUKEE, IA (IRN) – The Waukee Police Department and Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation are conducting a death investigation after two dead people were found in a Waukee home on Thursday. It looks to be a murder/suicide. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – For the second month, home sales in the Des Moines metro dropped by more than a third over the same time a year prior, according to the latest figures released from the Des Moines Area Association of Realtors. Experts say cold January temperatures and high-interest rates were part of the reason. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa DOT says most roads south of I-80 will be completely covered through Friday morning. The DOT has more than 400 plows out attempting to clear the highways, but due to high winds and blowing snow Thursday, they likely won’t improve until this morning. In many areas 7-8 inches of snow fell. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – ESPN’s College GameDay is coming to Iowa City to broadcast live from Carver-Hawkeye Arena ahead of the Iowa women’s basketball game against Indiana on Feb. 26. The national broadcast will air from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. before the game at 1 p.m.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Some Senate Republicans are pushing to reinstate the death penalty in Iowa on a limited basis. Senate File 14 would legalize capital punishment in cases that involve kidnapping, sexual abuse and murder of a child. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – At a rally in Cedar Rapids on Wednesday, former Vice President Mike Pence said that he will challenge a subpoena by the special counsel overseeing Trump investigations to compel his testimony before a grand jury — pursuing it to the Supreme Court if necessary. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A Des Moines bar owner already facing charges for allegedly stalking a woman is now facing a civil lawsuit from a different woman who claims he repeatedly demanded sex from her as a way to “work off” her rent. The lawsuit was filed Monday against Edwin Allen, owner of Zora Bar and Rooftop. It accuses him of violating the Iowa Civil Rights Act through sex discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliation. IOWA (IRN) – A Winter Storm Warning is in effect until 6 p.m. today. Area roadways are snow-covered and slick, and driving conditions may be hazardous. Some areas have received up to six inches of snow, and travel is discouraged in some eastern Iowa counties.