Iowa Radio News

NEVADA, IA (IRN) – The man accused of killing a former Iowa State University golfer will ask for his trial to be moved. KCCI-TV reports Collin Richards is charged with murdering Celia Barquin Arozamena last summer. His attorneys want his trial to be moved out of Story County. A judge will hear the request today. OXFORD, IA (IRN) – Three people died Sunday afternoon in a crash on Interstate 80 near the Oxford interchange, according to the Iowa State Patrol. Troopers said the accident happened when a westbound driver attempted to turn around at a “no turnaround” crossover. The car was then broadsided by a semitractor-trailer. Two children, ages 11 and 13, were killed in the crash, as was another person whose age hasn’t been released. The one other occupant of the car was taken to a nearby hospital. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Three people were displaced Sunday afternoon after a house fire near the Drake neighborhood in Des Moines. KCCI-TV reports one person was hospitalized. The house is considered a total loss. O’BRIEN COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A man from the town of Archer has been arrested after allegedly kidnapping his ex-girlfriend. KCAU-TV reports deputies responded to a report that a woman was taken against her will and forced into a car. The car fled at a high rate of speed. A couple of hours later, 37-year-old Justin Michael Banta was taken into custody and transported to the O’Brien County Jail. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Department of Public Safety is warning of a phone scam. The department says it has received reports that scammers are posing as employees of the “Iowa state police” and claiming there is a warrant issued for the person who receives the call. They then ask for money. The department says it never calls people to demand immediate payment via prepaid debit cards or online accounts.

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.