Iowa Radio News

WORTH COUNTY – A teenager was killed in a single vehicle crash in Worth County on Saturday morning. The Iowa State Patrol reports a Pontiac Grand Prix was eastbound on a rural road before the driver lost control and entered a ditch, striking a power pole. The lone passenger in the car was 16-year-old Ayden Steele of St. Ansgar, and was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. The driver has been identified as 20-year-old Blair Hansen and was transported by helicopter to the same hospital. IOWA – A rapidly developing weather system is expected to bring widespread rainfall and a few thunderstorms Iowa on Tuesday, followed by possible blizzard conditions on Wednesday. According to the National Weather Service, heavy rain is possible over much of the state, and could be immediately followed by a combination of snowfall and northwesterly winds up to 50 MPH. The biggest impacts appear to be likely in areas in the northwest half of the state. AMES – A former Iowa State Cyclones Men’s Basketball standout was honored for Olympic Gold at Hilton Coliseum on Saturday night. KCCI-TV reports Tyrese Haliburton was in Ames to have a banner with his name join other Cyclones who have won gold medals, including Dan Gable and Cael Sanderson. The Indiana Pacers All-Star point guard was joined by former teammate and fellow NBA starter Georges Niang in attendance as No. 9 Iowa State defeated No. 22 Arizona.

HAMILTON COUNTY – A teenager was killed when the tractor he was operating was hit from behind on Friday morning. The Iowa State Patrol reports a John Deere driven by Logan Baldwin of Webster City was traveling southbound on a rural road, when it was rear ended by a Toyota operated by 69-year-old Brian Vandeer, also of Webster City. Baldwin was thrown from the tractor and pronounced dead on scene. DES MOINES – Governor Kim Reynolds signed into law a bill on Friday that removes gender identity from the Iowa Civil Rights Act. The Des Moines Register reports transgender and nonbinary Iowans will no longer have protection in housing, employment, and education, among other areas. Reynolds signed the bill that cleared all legislative committees and subcommittees, as well as the main floor in under a week. More than 2,000 Iowans came to protest the legislation. The bill ends nearly 20 years of protection from discrimination based on gender identity. IOWA – While a late-season snow storm provided some moisture, conditions are drying out again across the state. The latest U.S. Drought Monitor report shows moderate drought has spread to just over 70 percent of Iowa’s population. The second Spring Flood Outlook issued by the National Weather Service shows a below average risk for river flooding in Iowa, and their Climate Prediction Center Outlook shows a slightly above average chance for a wetter than normal spring in the eastern half of the state.

DES MOINES – Iowa Republicans passed a bill in both state legislative chambers that removes gender identity from the state’s civil right’s act on Thursday. The Iowa House and Senate passed Senate File 418, with five Republicans breaking from their party to oppose the measure, according to the Des Moines Register. The bill was fast-tracked this week, passing committees and subcommittees in the last few days, over the protests of hundreds of Iowans at the Capitol. Democrats, who are in a significant minority in both chambers, argued the law would remove protections for transgender Iowans. Republicans argue the gender identity language was discriminatory towards women. IOWA – Strong winds with gusts up to 50 mph possible today across the state. Paired with the warm and dry conditions, fire danger will be high in the afternoon. Burning should be avoided in and near the Red Flag Warning, which encompasses nearly all Iowa counties along and south of U.S. Highway 20. DES MOINES – A Des Moines-metro high school is dropping football from its offerings. WHO-13 reports Hoover High School will no longer offer the sport directly this coming fall season, citing low participation. Des Moines Public Schools has confirmed those who attend Hoover and still want to play football can do so with Roosevelt. Hoover previously dropped football in 2022 when they couldn’t find a head coach.

DES MOINES – This week, the final defendant in a multi-Indictment, 17-defendant gang investigation involving the Only My Brothers street gang was sentenced to federal prison. All had previously pled guilty or been found guilty following a jury trial. The OMB members were charged with various crimes in federal court, including RICO conspiracy, fentanyl distribution, possessing machineguns, straw purchasing firearms, firearms trafficking, and illegally possessing firearms. According to public court documents, OMB engaged in a wide range of criminal activity for three years, including attempted murders, at least 30 gang-related shootings, the distribution of over 22 kilograms of fentanyl, as well as a number of convenience store armed robberies in the Des Moines metro.IOWA – Through the Safe Haven Law, two baby girls, born February 8 and February 12, are now in the care and custody of the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and will be placed with foster families until permanent placement is determined. This brings the overall total to 76 infants since the law went into effect more than two decades ago. Iowa’s Safe Haven Act is an option for parents in crisis who determine they cannot care for an infant up to 90 days old. Designated safe havens are locations like hospitals and police and fire stations. ANKENY – A licensed bounty hunter was arrested in Ankeny as he’s being accused of impersonating a police officer on multiple occasions. WHO-13 reports 30-year-old Dustin Joseph McGee acted as if he was with law enforcement while searching for a fugitive who had failed to appear in court. McGee allegedly presented a fake search warrant to a homeowner in Johnston during the search. That person told Ankeny police that a member of McGee’s team admitted they were bounty hunters. McGee is accused of searching a Des Moines residence a few days later in a vehicle that had sirens mimicking a police car. He also allegedly searched an Ankeny resident seven times in search of the fugitive.

IOWA – An annual report has once again shown Iowa has one of the highest rates of cancer in the United States. It continues to have the second highest age-adjusted rate of new cancers diagnosed and is one of only two states with a rising age-adjusted rate of new cancers, according to the Iowa Cancer Registry. The state has just over 171,000 survivors of the disease, or 5.4% of the population. BOONE – Two people were charged for the alleged killing of a Boone man earlier this year. WHO-13 reports 21-year-old Zoe Anderson and 19-year-old Abraham Guhnics face first degree murder charges. Ames Police found 25-year-old Parker Stoneburner with a gunshot wound on January 18th. Nineteen-year-old Destiny Skurdal has already been charged with murder and first degree burglary in connection to the incident. IOWA – A Des Moines Register report shows that most of the students who have benefitted from Education Savings Accounts were already attending a private school before receiving taxpayer funds. More than half of the 11,000 new enrollees into the program in its second year were attending a nonpublic institution in the previous academic year. The Iowa Department of Education report shows as private school enrollment has grown by 3,000 students annually in the two years since the law was passed, public school attendance has declined by nearly the same amount.