Iowa Radio News

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A mother and son from Ankeny have entered not guilty pleas to federal charges related to the January insurrection and attack on the U.S. Capitol. Deborah Sandoval is facing five charges and Salvador Sandoval Jr. faces 13 charges including assault. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Gov. Kim Reynolds has ordered flags at half-staff in honor of the two Anamosa State Penitentiary staff members who died in an inmate attack on Tuesday. Officer Robert McFarland and nurse Lorena Schulte were killed by two inmates in an attempted escape. URBANDALE, IA (IRN) – Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was in Urbandale Friday, testing the waters for a 2024 presidential run. He portrayed himself to Iowa GOP activists as a loyal champion of former President Donald Trump’s agenda but in his own brand of plainspoken, Midwestern conservatism. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Governor Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Department of Education announced Friday that a record number of Iowa high school students are earning dual high school and community college credit.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa House passed a bill that would ban combined fire and police departments, like the one in Cedar Falls. House File 683 allows cities, townships and counties to establish emergency response districts for fire protection. But it also says a city with an institution of higher education governed by the state board of regents, must maintain a professional fire department that is separate from the city’s police department. ANAMOSA, IA (IRN) – The Anamosa State Penitentiary was overcapacity Tuesday during a deadly attack. Two inmates killed nurse Lorena Schulte and Officer Robert McFarland during an attempted escape. The Iowa Department of Corrections reported that the Anamosa prison could hold 911 inmates, but had 945 as reported on Wednesday. Other prisons in the state that are overcapacity include Fort Madison, Clarinda, Mount Pleasant, Newton and Rockwell City. Staffing is down 40% since 2009. Experts predict more violence. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A teenager was shot near Hoover High School on Wednesday. He’s expected to survive. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Emergency crews rescued a University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics staff member that fell down a maintenance hatch and into a tunnel system on Thursday. Officials say the staff member fell approximately 20 feet from a ladder accessing the maintenance tunnels. LORIMOR, IA (IRN) – Natural gas bills in the Union County town of Lorimor are three to four times higher than normal for this time of year. Customers are used to their winter gas bills being about $250 a month. But last month those bills were between $800 and $2,000. Clayton Energy supplies gas to the community and says a cold snap in February is the reason.

CAMBRIDGE, IA (IRN) – A Des Moines man faces charges after a stolen vehicle pursuit that topped speeds of 150 miles per hour through four counties. The chase started around 6 a.m. Thursday on Interstate 35 in Ankeny when a trooper spotted a Maserati going 97 miles per hour. The pursuit lasted nearly two hours, with officers losing sight of the vehicle at times through Polk, Jasper, Marshall and Story counties. The driver was going faster than 150 miles per hour at times. The pursuit ended when the Maserati was found hidden behind a building on an abandoned farm near Cambridge. The driver, John Burgoyne, 43, and a passenger were found inside the vehicle. Burgoyne had rented the Maserati and failed to return it. ANAMOSA, IA (IRN) – Authorities identified the nurse and corrections officer who were killed by inmates in Anamosa. The victims are nurse Lorena Schulte and officer Robert McFarland. Both were killed by hammer blows to the back of their head. Inmates Michael Dutcher and Thomas Woodard are charged with murder, attempted murder, among other charges. Dutcher was originally sentenced for two counts of robbery and was sentenced to 50 years. Woodard was serving 25 years on robbery and burglary charges. IOWA (IRN) – Governor Kim Reynolds said on Wednesday that the state is still on track to make a COVID-19 vaccine available to all Iowans beginning Monday, April 5th. SAN ANTONIO, IA (IRN) – Jordan Nixon banked in a short jump shot at the buzzer in overtime, giving her a career-high 35 points and lifting No. 2 Texas A&M to an 84-82 victory over seventh-seeded Iowa State in the second round of the women’s NCAA Tournament on Wednesday. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa State Fair has finished up filling out its 2021 Grandstand concert schedule. Yesterday the fair announced country artists Cole Swindell and Dustin Lynch will perform on August 16th. Swindell has had #1 Billboard hits with “Chillin’ It” and “You Should Be Here.” Lynch is known for songs “Hell of a Night” and “Good Girl.”

DEWITT, IA (IRN) – Human remains have been found in a pond in a rural area near DeWitt, about 20 miles north of Davenport, where authorities have been investigating the disappearance of a 10-year-old girl since last summer. Officials have not identified the body, which was found by two people fishing. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A Waterloo woman faces theft charges after police say she stole nearly $30,000 in unemployment benefits from a relative. April Ann South, 43, is charged with first-degree theft, identity theft and credit card fraud. GREENE, IA (IRN) – An Iowa school district has decided masks should no longer be required. The decision to lift the mask mandate in North Butler Schools went into effect on Monday. All staff who wanted vaccinations have received them. SAN ANTONIO, TX (IRN) – Iowa freshman Caitlin Clark scored 35 points and the Iowa Hawkeyes beat the Kentucky Wildcats 86-72 to advance to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. Clark made 13 of 21 field goals and 6 of 12 three-point attempts. Iowa led 49-22 at halftime. Clark had 24 points in the first half, outscoring Kentucky’s entire team by two points. Iowa will play Connecticut on Saturday.

ANAMOSA, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Department of Corrections confirmed two staff deaths Tuesday following an assault at Anamosa State Penitentiary. According to preliminary reporting, security restrained the inmate while other staff attempted life-saving measures on the injured staff members until paramedics arrived. A corrections officer and department nurse died from their injuries. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A racial slur spray-painted on the front of a vacant southeast Cedar Rapids house is being investigated as a hate crime. Words written in yellow spray paint included the slur. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A Des Moines mother and son face new charges in connection with the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection. In February, federal prosecutors filed three charges each against 54-year-old Deborah Sandoval and 23-year-old Salvador Sandoval. The pair face 13 additional charges, including civil disorder, assaulting, resisting or impeding officers and entering and remaining in a restricted building. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A bill to end the requirement that Iowans obtain a permit to buy a gun is on its way to Gov. Kim Reynolds’s desk. The bill eliminates the requirement for a permit to purchase a handgun, but federal background checks would still be required by licensed dealers. The bill eliminates federal background checks for private person-to-person gun sales. INDIANAPOLIS, IA (IRN) – Iowa’s much-anticipated 2021 NCAA Tournament came to a halt Monday, as the Oregon Ducks pounded the Hawkeyes 95-80 in round two. Oregon led 56-46 at the half and never slowed down, using a series of fast breaks and dunks to put the game out of reach midway through the second half. Luka Garza’s amazing career came to an end with 36 points in his final game. SAN ANTONIO, TX (IRN) – The fifth-seeded Iowa women’s basketball team will play No. 4 seed Kentucky today at 2:30 p.m. in San Antonio, with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line.