Iowa Radio News

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A Des Moines mother faces charges after her infant child nearly died of an apparent drug overdose. Court documents say Cainyona Gates Thomas’ 1-year-old daughter needed three doses of Narcan after she brought the child into a hospital on New Year’s Day. The child was unresponsive. Documents say Gate Thomas admitted to smoking Percocet with others that day. She is charged with neglect of a dependent person. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Just one day after Governor Reynolds announced her new school voucher bill, lawmakers laid the groundwork to pass the legislation. This will be Reynolds’ third attempt to pass private school vouchers, with this plan allocating $7,600 of public tax dollars to private school families per child. The plan will be phased in over three years when every child in Iowa would be eligible, with no income limit. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Des Moines Police Department is asking for help to identify two distinctive trucks and their owners, which are possibly connected to the harassment of an elderly couple. Police say the elderly couple on the south side of Des Moines has been repeatedly tormented by someone, including with fireworks aimed at their home. The couple is in hiding. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – On January 7th, emergency crews responded to a structure fire at the Farmhouse Restaurant in Cedar Rapids. Officials determined that the fire was intentionally set. Yesterday the Linn County Sheriff’s Office arrested 43-year-old Heidi Liegl. She was charged with Arson in the First Degree and Insurance Fraud. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa’s Attorney General is suing the business at the center of a massive workplace explosion in Marengo in December. At least ten people were injured on December 8th after an explosion at C6-Zero, a biodiesel facility that recycles roof shingles. Attorney General Brenna Bird filed the suit on Wednesday, demanding the company comply with an emergency order from Iowa’s Department of Natural Resources and Iowa laws to prevent the “imminent threat to public health and the environment.”

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley is preparing for surgery. It comes after the 89-year-old hurt his hip Tuesday. His office didn’t release any more information about the injury. A spokesperson said Grassley is in good spirits and is expected to make a full recovery. Iowa’s longest-serving U.S. senator was in Des Moines on Monday for the start of the Iowa legislative session. OTTUMWA, IA (IRN) – A 27-year-old hospital worker in Ottumwa sexually abused several patients before his death last year. Devin Caraccio, of Centerville, worked as an internal medicine hospitalist at Ottumwa Regional Health Center. He died in October of an accidental drug overdose. During the death investigation, police gained access to Caraccio’s cellphone, which contained images of nine victims, ranging from children to adults. Police said he recorded himself sexually abusing the patients, who were either asleep or unconscious at the time. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Classes will resume tomorrow for Des Moines Public Schools students as the district recovers from what it is calling a “cybersecurity incident.” A spokesperson says that the district’s information technology professionals have made significant progress in restoring the district’s systems. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Governor Kim Reynolds addressed Iowans Tuesday night for her 6th Condition of the State address. She laid out her 2023 policy agenda, touching on everything from education reform to family planning legislation. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A family is paying it forward with a new therapy dog at Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines. The dog, named Ruby, brings a sense of calm to patients she visits. Rob Ridnour, the golden retriever’s owner, is no stranger to the hospital. Both of his children spent years there, receiving treatment for cancer. They’re both in remission now. Ridnour said bringing Ruby to the hospital is a full-circle moment for his family.

ANKENY, IA (IRN) – An Ankeny man is asking for deferred judgment after his 4-year-old daughter fatally shot herself in May. Akeem Holmes pleaded guilty to charges including involuntary manslaughter in November. Police say the girl shot herself in the head with her father’s gun last May. He will be sentenced later this week. WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – An Urbandale man who allegedly had his girlfriend have sex with other men for money is facing charges. According to court documents, 22-year-old Jacob Michael Kerr rented a West Des Moines hotel room for about a month. It was there that he allowed his girlfriend to have sex with multiple men for money, according to police. Kerr allegedly took a portion of the earnings. Police believe Kerr arranged and vetted clients to come to the hotel for sex. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines Public Schools have canceled classes for today, due to a ‘cyber security incident’. The district announced late Monday afternoon that classes would be canceled today as its computer systems remain offline. Earlier on Monday the district reported an internet outage across its campuses due to ‘unusual activity’ on the district’s network. The district said it preemptively took the network offline. IOWA (IRN) – The Iowa Legislature got back to work Monday with Republicans holding even larger majorities in both chambers and goals of approving more tax cuts, further easing gun restrictions, and spending public money to fund private schools.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – New court filings show a man charged with attempted murder after an overnight stabbing in Cedar Rapids earlier this week is accused of attacking a man his ex-girlfriend was with. Michael Chevalier, 33, is in the Linn County jail on a quarter million dollar bond. Those filings show the man that was attacked says Chevalier came at him with a ten-inch buck knife just after midnight Thursday, while he and Chevalier’s ex were on the Cemar bike trail. The man was stabbed in the back. JOHNSON COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A crash involving 15 vehicles on I-80 near Iowa City resulted in the deaths of two people early Sunday morning. Nine semis and six passenger vehicles were involved in the accident. Several drivers lost control of their vehicles and crashed into each other. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA – A man found shot behind the wheel of a car in southwest Cedar Rapids is dead, and investigators are hoping to talk to any witnesses that saw what happened Sunday night. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Two people were arrested Thursday night for allegedly trying to steal a child in downtown Des Moines. Laurie Lynn Potter, 56, and Michael Ernest Ross, 43, were arrested and charged with Child Stealing, a Class C Felony. The victim and their mother were at her office building downtown. The mother noticed two people, later identified as Potter and Ross, hanging around the office entrance and went to ask if they needed anything. After she opened the door, Potter and Ross grabbed her child by the arm and tried to run out of the Skywalk. The mother was able to fight them off and scare them away. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Des Moines Fire Department extricated a driver from a car after a single-vehicle crash on Sunday. The department said that slick roads caused a car to slide and crash into a gas pump around 7 a.m. The pump didn’t explode. The driver was taken to the hospital.

STORY COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A former Iowa church pastor is accused of drugging and sexually abusing a child more than a decade ago. 68-year-old Mark Benson allegedly abused the girl several times at his home in Cambridge from 2009 to 2012. The victim was between the ages of 10 and 13 at the time. She told police Benson gave her medicine to make her sleep before he abused her. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines police say they confiscated a record number of guns in the city last year. They collected 780 guns in 2022 compared to 640 guns which was the average for the previous three years. Police say it’s almost become routine for officers to find guns at crime scenes. MARENGO, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is claiming that C-6 Zero is not following through on its promises to clean up the site after a massive explosion rocked the facility in December. According to officials, exposed chemicals and hazardous materials are still left in the damaged building. CORALVILLE, IA (IRN) – Iowa has the highest average radon levels of any state, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services said the invisible, tasteless, odorless, radioactive gas is the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the state, leading to an estimated 400 deaths annually.