Iowa Radio News

DES MOINES – Iowa’s Senate Majority Leader is serving his last term in office. Jack Whitver announced on Thursday is will not run for re-election and is stepping down from his role leading Senate Republicans. Whitver assumed the leadership duty in 2018, according to a statement issued by Governor Kim Reynolds. He was diagnosed with a brain tumor last year.DAVENPORT– A Davenport man was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison for possessing child pornography. According to public court documents, 44-year-old David Anthony Tumea resided at a residential reentry center as a term of his federal supervised release resulting from a 2014 conviction for possessing an unregistered firearm and possessing ammunition as a felon. Residential Reentry Center staff located four flash drives inside Tumea’s hat when he entered the facility, which led to searches of his vehicle and room, where additional storage devices and a cell phone located. A total of 27 devices were seized from Tumea and multiple were found to contain child sexual abuse material.MARSHALLTOWN – Another series of cases linked to an outbreak of Legionnaire’s Disease in Marshall County was reported on Monday. WHO-13 reports health officials have still not found the source of the illness typically spread by inhaling contaminated water droplets in the air. The family of 82-year-old Bernard Charles Grady identified him as a fatal case of the illness following his death in late August.

DES MOINES – Iowa’s newest state senator was sworn into office on Monday. The Des Moines Register reports Catelin Drey has now officially broken a Republican Supermajority in the Iowa Senate. Drey won a special election in August to represent Iowa Senate District 1 in Sioux City following the death of Senator Rocky De Witt. DES MOINES – The Iowa DOGE Task Force created by Governor Kim Reynolds worked to clarify key recommendations that caused an uproar among the state’s public employees and education workforce. Iowa Capital Dispatch reports the group of business leaders assembled to reflect the federal group with the same name had their final meeting Monday. In their prior gathering, a preliminary recommendation called for reduction of IPERs benefits and for an incentive-based pay structure for teachers. Leaders on the task force clarified the moves weren’t meant to completely eliminate the popular retirement program. None of the recommendations are law, but Governor Reynolds announced in a statement Monday they will shape her budget and legislative agenda in the 2026 session — her final before retiring. AMES – Employees at the state’s Regent universities have drawn the ire of the state’s conservative leadership for posts made about the assassination death of online influencer Charlie Kirk. WHO-13 reports the Iowa Board of Regents will review multiple confidential matters at their meeting Wednesday, most of which appear to deal with employee records and competency evaluations.

IOWA – The Iowa State Patrol reported four fatal crashes on Iowa roadways on Saturday. KCCI-TV reports the collisions occurred in Guthrie, Plymouth, Poweshiek, and Lee Counties, and all of those who died were at or younger than 19 years old. Prior to Saturday, 192 people were killed on the state’s highways and roads — 33 fewer than in 2024. MARSHALL COUNTY – Up to 52 people have been impacted by Legionnaire’s Disease in Marshall County. WHO-13 reports an update on Sunday morning reflected the increase of the outbreak first reported by the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. The disease is spread through the inhalation of aerosolized water droplets. A cause has still not been determined for the cases in Marshalltown. IOWA CITY — University of Iowa football head coach Kirk Ferentz became the winningest coach in Big Ten history as the Hawkeyes defeated UMass, 47-7, Saturday night on Duke Slater Field at Kinnick Stadium. Iowa outgained the Minutemen 435-119 in total yards.

OSKALOOSA – The Oskaloosa School Board will hold a special meeting next week after a teacher is accused of posting on social media about the death of Conservative Influencer Charlie Kirk. KCCI-TV reports Art Teacher Matt Kargol posted “one Nazi down” on Facebook shortly after the killing. District Administration has confirmed Kargol has been placed on leave for an investigation. The special meeting will be held in Oskaloosa on Wednesday, Sept. 17. AMES – A plea agreement has bene reached with a former Iowa State University student accused of sexual exploitation. WHO-13 reports an investigation started this past winter after law enforcement agencies tipped off about possible contact between 43-year-old Patrick Connerley and minors on social media. Connerley allegedly arranged for a meeting with someone he believed to be underage in march. Police say subsequent searches turned up inappropriate photos of children and videos depicting sexual acts with animals. Connerley will plead guilty to three counts of sexual exploitation and to bestiality.IOWA – Temperatures will feel like close to 100 degrees today across much of the state as a last gasp of summer returns to the area. According to the National Weather Service, a mid-September heat wave follows weeks of fall-like air in the state. Dry conditions will largely remain in place over the next several days well. Those with outdoor plans — including those attending the home football games for Iowa and Iowa State today, are reminded to take extra precautions for heat, including staying adequately hydrated.

BOONE COUNTY – A trial date has been set for former Madison County Treasurer Amanda DeVos. WHO-13 reports she is facing four criminal charges, including felony misconduct in office. The trial has been set for December 16th in Boone County. It was originally scheduled in Madison County in June. DeVos was arrested in late January for using her office to alter government records to make it appear as if her vehicle registration was paid. Additional charges are pending about an investigation into property taxes. DES MOINES – An Oskaloosa man was sentenced this week to 18 years in federal prison for the sexual exploitation of a child. According to public court documents, 42-year-old Matthew Scott Beal produced child pornography. Beal also used the internet to distribute four videos to an undercover law enforcement account operated by the Homeland Security’s Newark Child Exploitation Task Force. Later, law enforcement seized Beal’s phone during a search of his home in Oskaloosa. Beal’s phone contained over 100 images and videos of child pornography.IOWA – Iowa’s regent universities announced their fall enrollment data this week. KCCI-TV reports 31,700 students are attending Iowa State, an increase of nearly 700 students from 2024, UNI’s enrollment is just over 9,200 with its largest new class of undergraduates in eight years, and the University of Iowa has 31,563 in attendance this academic year.