Iowa Radio News

LINN COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A Linn County teen has life-threatening injuries after a rollover accident Saturday. KWWL-TV reports a 13-year-old boy rolled an off-highway vehicle around 8 p.m. The passenger in the off-highway vehicle was not injured. Deputies say neither driver or passenger was wearing a seat belt or helmet at the time of accident. OTTUMWA, IA (IRN) – A Blakesburg man is accused of trying to break into an Ottumwa elementary school early last Sunday. KTVO-TV reports officers spotted the suspect walking away from a broken window at the school. Police say the man, later identified as Zackary Williams, 23, admitted to breaking the window with a metal grate. A search of William’s belongings turned up a bottle of methamphetamine and hydrocodone. DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – The Mississippi River has crested at many of the hardest-hit towns, but with more heavy rain expected over the next several days, the latest round of spring flooding may be far from finished. River levels were starting to decline at Davenport, after eclipsing the 1993 record, but downtown remains underwater. Other rivers in the Midwest also are seeing significant flooding. The floods are blamed for four deaths, three in Missouri and one in Indiana. CEDAR FALLS, IA (IRN) – The University of Northern Iowa says former First Lady Laura Bush is set to make an appearance on campus in late 2019. She’ll be speaking on Oct. 9 as part of a leadership series. Bush is an advocate for literacy, education and women’s rights. She is the wife of former President George W. Bush.

WORTH COUNTY, IA (IRN) – The Iowa State Patrol reports that a pedestrian was hit by a vehicle in Worth County. The incident remains under investigation, and a name will be released pending notification of next of kin. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is ready to roll out a major agriculture policy Sunday in Iowa. KCCI-TV reports the Vermont senator says he has a plan to make life better here by investing in rural communities and supporting family farms. That includes a moratorium on mergers in the ag industry and breaking up large processors. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – On Friday Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the Health and Human Services budget bill into law. The law includes language that excludes transition-related medical services for transgender and intersex Iowans from certain public insurance policies, including Medicaid. Republicans say the surgery is unnecessary. Medical organizations disagree. WEST LIBERTY, IA (IRN) – West Liberty Police helped a couple deliver a baby girl west of West Liberty Friday morning, according to KGAN-TV. Police first got the call bright and early, at 6:37 a.m. about a woman in labor on the side of the road. The father and mother, Jay and Ali Shellabarger, as well as their new daughter Iris are doing well.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Polk County Sheriff’s Office reports a Polk County Jail inmate escaped by using another inmate’s identification. The incident happened around 1:45 a.m. Friday. Rodney Clint Moore used another inmate’s identification bracelet to be released from the jail. Moore is at large and wanted on escape, driving while barred and reckless driving charges. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A former Iowa youth basketball coach and organizer has been sentenced to 180 years in federal prison. Gregory Scott Stephen, 43, of Monticello, had been accused of sexually abusing and exploiting 400 boys over a decade as co-director of Iowa Barnstormers Basketball. The organization runs youth basketball teams for kids between fourth and twelfth grades. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Three high school students were taken to a hospital Thursday afternoon after they were struck by a car in Des Moines. The Iowa State Patrol says one car hit another, and then hit three North High School students who were on the sidewalk. The injuries are not considered life-threatening. Charges are pending. QUAD CITIES (IRN) – The Mississippi River in the Quad Cities is now over 22.64 feet, surpassing the previous record set in 1993 at 22.63. The National Weather Service reports the river is still rising. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A mother duck and her flock of ducklings have a group of strangers to thank for saving their lives. WHO-TV reports on Thursday, 14 ducklings fell into a storm drain in the East Village in Des Moines. Employees of nearby shops and a team of construction workers installing a manhole jumped into action. Mother and ducklings are doing fine.

SIOUX CITY, IA (IRN) – A man who punched a casino slot machine in Sioux City has been told to pay a $625 fine and to cover the damage he caused. The Sioux City Journal reports that 52-year-old Tommy Goldberg pleaded guilty Wednesday to criminal mischief. A judge sentenced Goldberg to six days in jail but credited him with six days already served. The judge also ordered him to pay $1,050 to the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. CRESTON, IA (IRN) – The mother of an 18-month-old Creston boy who died in February 2018 wants justice for whoever killed her son. KCCI-TV reports Boone Denton died of complications from blunt force trauma to the abdomen. So far, there have been no arrests in the case. His mother, Leigha Robbins, left him in someone else’s care when she went to work the day he died. She blames the caretaker for his death, but authorities have not charged anyone. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – For the second time in just one week, dozens of cats and kittens were rescued from what animal control officers believe to be another animal hoarding situation in Des Moines. WHO-TV reports the 24 cats and kittens are now under the care of the Animal Rescue League. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa is one step closer to providing coordinated, comprehensive mental health-care services for children, after Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law a bill establishing the framework for a children’s system in the state. Reynolds signed off on the measure during a ceremony at the Iowa State Capitol on Wednesday. DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – The National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium in Dubuque is having a naming contest for its latest shark pup. The Aquarium’s Coral Catshark hatched on March 15. Officials want the public to pick a name to both educate and create a connection between people and the latest exhibit. The first name in Moonga, which is Hindi for Coral. The Second is Ariel, like the mermaid. And the third is Mõnõnõ, which means “happy” in Marshallese. The public can vote on the names at the museum’s website until May 31st.

BELLEVUE, IA (IRN) – Bellevue Middle and High schools were being evacuated Wednesday morning due to a message found in the school. According to a post on Superintendent Tom Meyer’s Facebook page, students were being evacuated to an emergency but not dismissed. The message was described as “vague” and “concerning.” WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A campaign worker for former Republican Rep. David Young has been found not guilty of harassment of a public official. KCCI-TV reports in November, Keilon Hill was canvassing for Republican Rep. David Young in West Des Moines ahead of the 2018 midterm elections when a neighbor called police about a suspicious person. Hill, who is black, was arrested after refusing to answer an officer’s questions and walking away from police. He was charged with harassment of a public official. On Tuesday, a jury found Hill not guilty. DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – Crews evacuated people from buildings and cars Tuesday afternoon after a flood barrier failed along the Mississippi River, sending floodwaters rushing into downtown Davenport. KCRG-TV reports the breach hit as communities in Iowa, Illinois and Missouri prepare for record or near-record crests along the river. DIAGONAL, IA (IRN) – The Diagonal School District is investigating after a cell phone was found in a pile of clothes filming high school girls changing clothes in their locker room. KCCI-TV reports the phone belonged to a male freshman. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A breezy April has wind set records in Iowa. MidAmerican Energy set a new one-day record for the most wind energy generated. On April 10, wind farms in the state generated more than 111,000-megawatt hours of energy, beating the previous record by 9,000 hours. The state of Iowa generates more than 30 percent of its electricity with wind power, ranking second in the United States. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa’s own American Idol will be performing at the Iowa State Fair this summer and her concert will be one of the many that are free to fairgoers. The Iowa State Fair announced Tuesday Maddie Poppe, who won American Idol Season 16 and is from Clarksville, will play a free show on August 8th. Earlier this month, the singer announced her first album “Whirlwind” will be released May 17th.