DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – A man sentenced last year to 25 years for attempting to kill his wife in Dubuque is seeking a competency evaluation, saying he should not have been allowed to enter a plea in the case. The Telegraph Herald reports that 52-year-old Clifford Smiley says he was bipolar, off his medication and addicted to heroin when he stabbed his estranged wife in a Dubuque parking lot on April 1, 2018.

FORT COLLINS, CO (IRN) – A man convicted of second-degree murder for a crash that killed two Iowans has been sentenced to 70 years in prison. The Coloradoan reports 20-year-old Marcos Orozco was sentenced Friday in the deaths of Nicole Nees of Fort Collins and her father, John Nees of Cedar Rapids. The crash occurred last Thanksgiving Day. The victims had been shopping for Thanksgiving dinner and were stopped at a red light when Orozco, driving a stolen pickup, crashed into the rear of their vehicle at 90 mph. Earlier that day, Orozco had used the stolen pickup to crash into a pawn shop and steal firearms.

VINTON, IA (IRN) – Two people are in custody after a knife assault in Vinton early Friday morning. KGAN-TV reports they were in an altercation with a third man.

LE MARS, IA (IRN) – Five people were hospitalized after a Le Mars crash ejected all five from their vehicle Friday night, according to an Iowa State Patrol crash report. The five occupants of the PT Cruiser, ranging in age from 18 to 21 years old, were all ejected from the car. None were wearing their seatbelts.

BUCHANAN COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Former “The Bachelor,” star Chris Soules has agreed to a suspended two-year prison sentence following a crash that claimed the life of a man in Iowa. KCRG-TV reports Soules was driving when his pickup truck hit a tractor in Buchanan County in April of 2017. A farmer, Kenneth Mosher, 66, died in that crash. Soules did perform CPR on Mosher but left before police arrived. He was arrested at his home a few hours later.

DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – The Dubuque Regional Humane Society is over capacity with cats after they took in almost 30 felines that were abandoned in a cemetery. The cats range in age from a few months to approximately two years old.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Cedar Rapids innovation and tech nonprofit NewBoCo has been awarded a major grant to bring their coding classes to the women at the Iowa Correctional Institute for Women in Mitchellville, Iowa. KGAN-TV report the Google Impact Challenge Iowa selected NewBoCo and four other Iowa organizations to receive $175,000 for proposing what Google panelists decided were “bold and creative ideas to create economic opportunity.”

STORM LAKE, IA (IRN) – Storm Lake students debuted an original song and music video this week. KCCI-TV reports the song, “America’s School,” talks about the diversity in the Storm Lake community and how the school has changed over the past 30 years. One of the lyrics highlights the 24 languages spoken by students and faculty.

AMES, IA (IRN) – The man accused of killing a star Iowa State golfer last fall will was sentenced to life in prison today, according to KCCI-TV. She was killed September 17, 2018, doing what she loved most; playing golf. Celia was named the Big 12 Champion and Iowa State’s female athlete of the year. In June of this year, 22-year-old Collin Richards pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. He lived in a tent near the golf course where Celia was playing. In court, Richards told the judge he was sorry for killing her.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Department of Public Health is reporting four cases of people becoming sick after vaping. They’re all in their early to mid-20s and have had a history of vaping. Three of them say the vaping products they were using contained THC, the chemical in marijuana that causes a high.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The winner of the Bill Riley Talent Search is now in question after someone made a claim he may not be an Iowa resident. WHO-TV reports Sam Fine is a dancer who won first place and $10,000 at the Bill Riley Talent Search at the Iowa State Fair but now that award is on hold while attorneys look into concerns about his residency. Sam Fine’s mom said he trains for ten months a year in Florida at a dance academy but they are still Iowa residents.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Construction on the new federal courthouse in downtown Des Moines begins next week. The groundbreaking ceremony is set for Wednesday. The courthouse will be built at the site of the old downtown YMCA. It’s expected to be completed by fall 2020. Community leaders opposed the project, preferring private investment at the site.

DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – After 30 years in the community, a Davenport church is running into a big problem — a $100,000 tax bill. WQAD-TV reports Mount Sinai Christian Fellowship moved to a new location in 2015, but when they moved their tax exemption didn’t go with them. County officials say when a charity moves, they have to refile a tax exemption form, something Mount Sinai never did.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A former Clerk Specialist for the Dept. of Public Safety issued nearly 6,000 licenses to people who applied for private investigator, private security and bail enforcement licenses without doing a proper background check, according to a report from the Iowa State Auditor’s Office. Joe Sheehan Jr., was terminated.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA (IRN) – An Omaha man has been sentenced in federal court in Iowa to seven years in prison for sex trafficking. Federal prosecutors for Iowa say 40-year-old Terrance Jackson was caught when an undercover officer arranged to meet “Savannah” for sex at a Lincoln hotel through an internet ad.

KANSAS CITY, MO (IRN) – A Missouri appeals court has ruled that the former superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol overstepped her authority when she fired a trooper who was driving a boat when a handcuffed Iowa man fell out and drowned. KCRG-TV reports the appeals court sent the case back to the patrol to determine proper punishment for Trooper Anthony Piercy in the 2014 death of 20-year-old Brandon Ellingson, of Clive at the Lake of the Ozarks.

ALTOONA, IA (IRN) – Fifteen Democratic presidential candidates promised a group of Iowa union members that they would fight for their priorities if elected to the White House. The Iowa Federation of Labor Convention on Wednesday was seen as an opportunity for the presidential hopefuls to speak in front of most of union leadership in Iowa to discuss jobs, education, health care and retirement—what Iowa Federation of Labor Secretary-Treasurer Charlie Wishman called the issues that matter most to the 50 local unions that make up the group.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Iowa defensive end A.J. Epenesa was named a first-team All-American by the Associated Press on Tuesday. It’s the fourth preseason first team All-American honor for the Hawkeye junior. Iowa hosts Miami of Ohio on August 31 to open the 2019 season.