JOHNSTON, IA (IRN) – Dozens of students at the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy in Camp Dodge were transferred to metro hospitals after becoming ill this morning due to carbon monoxide poisoning. WHO-TV reports cadets had headaches, nausea, and lightheadedness. When the first crew arrived they tested for carbon monoxide and found high levels. A total of 56 patients suffering from symptoms were transferred to Des Moines metro hospitals.

WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley is the new Senate president pro tempore, which means he will preside over the Senate in the vice president’s absence and is third in line of presidential succession. Senator Joni Ernst will also be taking up a new leadership position: vice chairwoman of the Senate Republican Conference.

WASHINGTON, D.C. Not one, but two Iowa lawmakers are set to make history once they both officially take their posts as representatives in the U.S. House come January. Abby Finkenauer and Cindy Axne joined fellow “incoming freshman” to the House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. this week. Together, Axne and Finkenauer will become Iowa’s first female representatives in the U.S. House, a feat they celebrated at the Capitol on Wednesday.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – More than 3,500 students, staff and community members gathered on the Drake campus to stand up against hate. KCCI-TV reports the Idaho-based white supremacist group “The Road to Power” left calls that officials say “convey offensive, disturbing and hateful recorded messages,” on campus phone lines. The university also reported racist notes being slipped under student dorm room doors.

CALIFORNIA (IRN) – At least nine Iowans are in California helping victims of the wildfires. They’re volunteers from the Iowa Chapter of the American Red Cross. The Iowa volunteers are mostly helping out with sheltering needs, as thousands of people lost their homes in the fire.
Other Iowa volunteers are working on family reunification.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) A Des Moines man found guilty of murder will spend his life in prison, according to KCCI-TV. Magai Anai-Kur, 20, of Des Moines, broke into 77-year-old Robert Howe’s Urbandale home in 2017 and stabbed him before stealing his minivan. Howe was taken to the hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries, but died months later. Anai-Kur was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus 25 years for robbery and another 25 years for burglary. Those sentences are to be served consecutively.

MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – A man hit by a vehicle while walking on a Cerro Gordo county road has died, according to KIMT-TV. The driver of the vehicle was charged with driving under suspension. The collision remains under investigation.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A second racially charged message was left in the dorm room of a minority student at Drake University Tuesday. University President Marty Martin described the messages as spreading “hatred and racial superiority.” Martin says that student doesn’t belong at Drake, and that they will not succeed in tearing the community apart. Students have also been receiving racist robocalls.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Nationwide Insurance has announced it will eliminate 1,100 employees across the country, including about 80 employees in Des Moines. KCCI-TV reports Nationwide says, “We are making these changes from a position of strength and stability to position the organization for long-term success and growth.”

LE MARS, IA (IRN) – Last Friday was devastating for the Le Mars community when four people from the area died in a plane crash near Guthrie Center. WHO-TV reports while families of the deceased are preparing for funerals, neighbors are lending a hand, or a combine, as they work together to harvest the family’s crops while they grieve.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA (IRN) – A Council Bluffs man was accused of attempted murder after a reported attack Monday evening. KETV reports police were told that Joey Stalbosky, 41 was attacking a woman with a knife, or knives. Police located him and he was detained after a brief struggle during which he was shocked with a Taser. Further investigation showed that Stabolsky had also threatened to kill the victim, who was his girlfriend. Police did not release if the woman was injured.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – An African-American campaign worker canvassing in West Des Moines for U.S. Rep. David Young was arrested last month after he refused to answer questions from officers who had received a complaint about door-to-door soliciting. The group Citizens for Community Improvement released video Monday of the arrest of the Louisiana man, and cited the incident as another example of racial profiling by metro-area police. Police say the officer acted appropriately.

NORTHWOOD, IA (IRN) – Nearly 170 dogs showing signs of neglect in filthy kennels have been seized from an overcrowded puppy mill in the northern Iowa town of Northwood. KCRG-TV reports the dogs are now being treated and sheltered by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. It described the dogs — all Samoyeds — as “fearful and undersocialized.” Charges are pending.

STORM LAKE, IA (IRN) – A man was arrested in Storm Lake after he allegedly strangled a woman Sunday. KCAU-TV reports Roberto Gonzalez was charged with domestic assault while impeding the flow of air or blood. The victim told police that Gonzalez got home from work and they got into an argument. Gonzalez is then said to have choked the victim until she was unconscious. After regaining consciousness, she called for help. He’s in jail.

JANESVILLE, IA (IRN) – A deer jumped through a window at Janesville Consolidated School District Monday. KCRG-TV reports the deer tried to enter via a doorway, before heading to an office window. After a few attempts at jumping into the window, it broke through and entered the Superintendent’s office. The deer caused chaos in the office and mailroom before a parent was able to escort the deer outside with the help of a chair. No one, including the deer, was injured.

RED OAK, IA (IRN) – A 69-year-old woman and her two sons were flown to a Nebraska hospital for treatment after a fight broke out at their home in Red Oak Sunday. KCCI-TV reports Viola Rinehart’s younger son, Luke Rinehart, intervened when she and her elder son, Kain Rinehart, got into an argument. Kain grabbed a kitchen knife and attacked his mother and his brother, so she armed herself with a hammer while her younger son, Luke, got a knife. Each of them suffered several wounds and were flown to Omaha. Kain Rinehart is being charged with two counts of attempted murder.

HAMBURG, IA (IRN) – Sheriff’s deputies in the southwestern corner of Iowa have seized about 300 pounds of marijuana in a traffic stop. The Daily Nonpareil reports the marijuana was found after a recreational vehicle was pulled over near Hamburg. A police dog indicated the presence of drugs in the vehicle, leading to a search. A North Carolina man and two Virginia men were arrested.

WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A rollover accident Saturday in Waterloo injured a woman, according to KWWL-TV. Police say the driver suffered a medical issue that caused her to lose control of her car. The car then hit a parked car on the street and rolled over.

JASPER COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A man was run over by a Polaris Ranger at the Reichelt Unit Area in Jasper County while setting up hunting blinds for a veteran’s deer hunt. James Whitson, 58, was run over when David Drew, 72, was backing the Polaris Ranger up to a trailer. Whitson was between the trailer and the Ranger when Drew pushed the accelerator instead of the brake. Whitson was hospitalized.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – A new study says two percent of all babies in the U.S. are born through in vitro fertilization.
 Research done at the University of Iowa is giving women an increased chance of getting pregnant, and having a healthy baby through IVF. 
KCRG-TV reports
Dr. Brad Van Voorhis, the IVF Director at UI, says the University was one of the first to use single embryo transfers, which leads to higher pregnancy rates and healthy babies.