INDEPENDENCE, IA (IRN) – Four families are without a home after a fire in Independence, according to KCRG-TV. Firefighters kept overheating, as they battled flames in the extreme heat. Officials say they rotated crews to keep everyone safe. No one was hurt. Crews believe the fire started in the attic.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – One man was injured in a random shooting Saturday afternoon in Des Moines, according to KCCI-TV. He was shot in the arm. This was the fourth gunshot injury in Des Moines this weekend.

BLACK HAWK COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A truck crashed into a University of Iowa ambulance pulled off to the side of Interstate 380 in Black Hawk County on Friday. KGAN-TV reports the ambulance was disabled on the median shoulder with a flat tire, when it was struck from behind by a 2014 Ford F250. The F250 then collided with a camper being towed in the outside lane.
The driver of the truck suffered a minor injury.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The former vice president’s wife, Jill Biden, made a visit to the Hawkeye state for a meet and great with voters Friday night. Jill Biden was accompanied by her granddaughter, Natalie, who is the daughter of the Biden’s late son, Beau. Their visit comes the night after her husband went head to head with nine other candidates in the second Democratic debate in Miami on Thursday. Biden faced attacks from a younger rival, Sen. Kamala Harris throughout the night. Notably, the California senator called out Biden for a recent comment he made about his past work with two segregationist senators.

HENRY COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Southeast Iowa authorities have identified the victim of a Thursday night drowning. KTVO-TV reports just after 7:30 p.m., the Henry County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call reporting that a person had gone under water and not resurfaced while swimming in a private pond. Just before 10 p.m., the body of Cori Diandre Fitten, 21, of Mt. Pleasant, was located and removed from the pond. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The cause of death is listed as accidental drowning.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – One man is dead after a shooting on Des Moines’ north side. KCCI-TV reports Des Moines police are investigating a homicide after a 41-year-old man suffering from a gunshot wound died in the hospital Friday. Shortly after the first shooting, a 39-year-old male arrived at a hospital with a non-life-threatening gunshot injury. Police believe the two incidents are related.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – The owner of an Iowa City architecture firm recorded an employee pumping breast milk at least 22 times, according to criminal complaints. KCRG-TV reports Robert Carlson, 67, is charged with 22 counts of invasion of privacy when Iowa City police arrested him Thursday. During an interview with investigators, Carlson said he found the woman beautiful and “wanted to see what was underneath the victim’s blouse or shirt.”

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – In May, the Cedar Rapids City Council gave the final approval to begin speed ticketing from traffic cameras on I-380’s S-curve again. Citations will begin to be issued this coming Monday, July 1. Anyone driving more than 11 mph over the speed limit will be ticketed. The speed limit is 55 mph.

IOWA (IRN) – This weekend is the last chance to pay a six-cent sales tax in six central Iowa cities. Earlier this year, voters in Des Moines, West Des Moines, Altoona, Pleasant Hill, Windsor Heights and Alleman all approved a one-cent sales tax increase. The City of Des Moines has already started spending some of its expected new revenue, hiring firefighters and cutting property tax rates. The city expects to bring in $37 million more per year from the tax. Thirty percent of that is expected to come from people living outside the metro.

SIOUX CITY, IA (IRN) – A Sioux City eye clinic manager stole more than $6,100 in a credit card scheme and planned to use customer information to take out loans. KWWL-TV reports
36-year-old Amy Inniss-Reyes is charged with theft and tampering with records. Inniss-Reyes was managing two Exact Eye Care branches when she used three of her credit cards to obtain fraudulent refunds. The complaint says she also told investigators that she made copies of 20 patients’ personal records, intending to use them to obtain loans. The copies were recovered from her home.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A mother and her boyfriend were arrested Wednesday after police say they left three children alone in a Des Moines hotel room for several hours. WHO-TV reports the couple left the children – ages 10, 8, and 1 – under the care of the 10-year-old. The kids were left without food and had no way to reach the adults in case of an emergency. When the couple came back to the hotel, they weren’t cooperative with police and gave a vague story about where they had been.

BURLINGTON, IA (IRN) – Three homes were damaged with gunfire before police discovered a 19-year-old had been shot in a residential part of Burlington. WQAD-TV reports a vehicle nearby also had substantial damage. Witnesses say the person driving the vehicle fled on foot.

LINN COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A 33-year-old Lisbon man had to be flown to the hospital Wednesday night after a pair of ATV rollover crashes. KGAN-TV reports two people were riding separate ATV’s in Highway 30’s new construction zone when they both lost control of their vehicles causing them to roll. The other driver, a 14-year-old, had minor injuries.

SCOTCH GROVE, IA – A lightning strike is believed to have caused a fire that destroyed a historic building in the Jones County town of Scotch Grove Thursday evening. KCRG-TV reports the Scotch Grove Depot was struck by lightning around 4 p.m. That strike caused a fire that destroyed the unoccupied building that dates back to the 1870s.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines police are investigating the death of a child Thursday at a metro apartment complex. KCCI-TV reports first responders were called to an apartment on reports of a child needing CPR. Upon arrival, responding officers found a deceased 2-year-old. Police say the child ingested an unknown amount of medication belonging to his mother.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand says two insurance companies that provide Medicaid services to two disabled Iowans in wheelchairs are violating their contracts with the state. Sand said Wednesday he’s notified DHS that Amerigroup and UnitedHealthcare are not abiding by contract requirements that ensure services are not disrupted for clients. Sand says he was notified that home services are ending for two unnamed people in rural Iowa receiving in-home care who fear they may be placed in nursing homes.

LISBON, IA (IRN) – Two people were hurt in an ATV crash in Linn County near Lisbon, according to KCRG-TV. A 33-year-old and a 14-year-old lost control of the ATV before rolling.
An air ambulance flew the 33-year-old to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics with life-threatening injuries. The teen had minor injuries.

IOWA (IRN) – Iowa law enforcement officers say with Illinois across the river they may see an increase in marijuana possession after Illinois Governor JB Pritzker legalized the drug in Illinois Tuesday. The law will go into effect January 1st, 2020.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines has a new, rare hatchling.
The cassowary chick hatched on June 10. It will grow into a large, flightless bird, similar to an ostrich or emu. The species is native to Australia, where it’s endangered. The chick’s father, Big Bird, will raise the chick. This is the zoo’s first chick since 2011.