WATERLOO, IA (IRN0 – A former water and conservation district aide embezzled nearly $300,000 over a 7-year period. A report released by State Auditor Mary Mosiman says Leslie Carey made hundreds of withdrawals and improper purchases. Carey was secretary for the Black Hawk County Soil and Water Conservation District and its counterpart in Bremer County. The auditor’s report found Carey withdrew $182,000 in cash from the Black Hawk district and spent $105,000 on debit and credit cards. She used public funds to buy items such as a new television and water heater, airline and concert tickets, groceries and clothing.

ROCKWELL CITY, IA (IRN) – Rockwell City Council members will decide Tuesday if a slain officer’s widow and her two children will be able to keep city health insurance. KCCI-TV reports Amanda Buenting’s late husband, Officer Jamie Buenting, was killed in the line of duty almost five years ago. The family was guaranteed five years of health insurance, which is set to expire in September. The Buentings’ daughter, Kalie, was diagnosed as a child with Type 1 diabetes, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and an autoimmune disorder. Family says they can’t afford the insurance, and won’t be able to pay for her health care costs.

ROCKWELL, IA (IRN) – A 56-year-old man was found dead Friday inside a grain bin at the Five-Star Co-op in Rockwell. KIMT-TV reports authorities identified the man as Jeffrey Sprague, of Mason City. Employees of the Five Star Co-op arrived to work and found him missing. After a search of the property and removal of grain from the bin, Sprague was found inside.

FAYETTE COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A Fayette County woman has been airlifted to a Wisconsin hospital after being rescued from a trench that collapsed Friday afternoon. KCRG-TV reports fire and ambulance crews worked for more than 40 minutes with local earth moving companies to free the woman. Her condition is unknown.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The first legally recognized same-sex marriage in Iowa happened eleven years ago Friday. WHO-TV reports Sean Fritz and Tim McQuillan’s got married in 2007. The couple is still happily married and living in California with their daughter.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A Medicaid company that terminated its Iowa contract almost a year ago has yet to pay as much as $14.6 million for medical care provided to disabled, poor and elderly Iowans. The Des Moines Register reports AmeriHealth Caritas’ outstanding bills include nearly 6,000 individual charges totaling more than $1 million at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and $541,000 at Broadlawns Medical Center, among other institutions.

WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A 17-year-old and 15-year-old have now been charged with murder after a man was killed during a Waterloo robbery attempt in 2017. KWWL-TV reports the 39-year-old victim died in his home from a single gunshot wound to his head.

KELLEY, IA (IRN) – An 82-year old woman was brutally beaten in her home in the rural Story County town of Kelley, according to WHO-TV. The beating ended with the victim, a retired school bus driver and grandmother, in the hospital for a week. Police are still looking for the three men who beat her, and believe robbery was the motive.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A teenager was taken to a Des Moines-area hospital late Thursday after being hit by a car near the Hobby Lobby in northern Des Moines. KCCI-TV reports a group of teenagers were fighting when the car hit one of the teenagers and then ran into the side of the building. The teenager is in the hospital, and police are still looking for the car and driver.

MONTICELLO, IA – At an eastern Iowa camp serving those with special needs, there’s now an animal with special needs as well. KCRG-TV reports it’s a goat named “Dorothy” that was born blind. Dorothy now has a new home and perhaps a new job at Camp Courageous near Monticello—showing campers how even animals can overcome disabilities. Unlike the other animals campers can pet and help feed, Dorothy can’t see the bag of grain when it’s offered. So the other campers watch as she listens for the sound they make as they rattle her feed bag and then uses her nose to locate the food she can’t see. Staff say simply watching her adapt is a lesson many who come to camp can appreciate.

STORM LAKE, IA (IRN) – Invasive zebra mussels have been found in Storm Lake. The DNR reports the zebra mussels inhabit several lake locations. The mussels probably arrived on or in a boat that had been in an infested water body, such as the Spirit/Okoboji chain of lakes or the Missouri River. The small, black and white mussels are native to eastern Europe and are voracious eaters that gobble up plankton many native freshwater fish need to survive.

IOWA (IRN) – An out-of-state white supremacy group has claimed responsibility for disturbing neo-Nazi robocalls using the murder of Mollie Tibbetts to push a violent, racist message in Iowa, according to KCCI-TV. The 1 1/2-minute robocall begins by talking about Tibbetts’ death, saying she was “stabbed to death by an invader from Mexico.” It goes on to call for the deaths of all 58 million Latinos in the United States.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Democratic candidate for governor Fred Hubbell is releasing details from his 2017 tax filings. WHO-TV reports Mr. Hubbell and his wife, Charlotte, had a federal Adjusted Gross Income of over $3,000,000 in 2017. The Hubbells gave 27.2% of their income to charity. They paid a federal tax rate of 25.3%

DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – Police in Dubuque confirmed late Wednesday night that two boys reported missing had been located and were safe. KCRG-TV reports late Wednesday evening, police asked for the public’s help in locating the two, who are six and eight-years-old. They wandered away from their home near Loras College Wednesday afternoon.

SIOUX CITY, IA (IRN) – From flutes, to saxophones, and all band instruments in between, a small group of students at Western Iowa Tech Community College are part of a rare breed. KCAU-TV reports they’re learning to repair band instruments. The program is one of only three instrument repair programs in the country. And the only two-year program of it’s kind in North America. Because it’s so unique, students from all over the country come to Sioux City to be a part of it.

KOSSUTH COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A Livermore man has been charged with murder after a man was found dead at his home in LuVerne in Kossuth County Monday. WHO-TV reports 60-year-old Jeffrey Winters is charged with first degree murder in the death of 54-year-old Randy Page. Investigators received a call Monday from a woman who said her husband was unresponsive and on the ground. When deputies arrived, they found Page was deceased. An autopsy will determine the cause of death.

GRANGER, IA (IRN) – An investigation by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Office of the State Auditor into a string of suspicious financial transactions at the Woodward-Granger Community School District has led to an arrest. Melissa Lee Lantz, 35, the school’s former business manager, allegedly made almost $222,000 in improper payroll disbursements.

AMES, IA (IRN) – A study released by Iowa State University says kids under the age of 18 whose parents have divorced are less likely to earn a bachelor’s degree. KCCI-TV reports researchers found 27 percent of children with divorced parents had a bachelor’s degree or higher — much lower than the 50 percent of those with married parents. Researchers say financial problems after a divorce may hinder a child’s ability to obtain a college degree.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The American Civil Liberties Union says panhandling is free speech. WHO-TV reports the ACLU says not allowing people to panhandle blocks free speech and criminalizes poverty. On Tuesday, the ACLU of Iowa sent letters to three Iowa cities demanding change. Those cities are Council Bluffs, Des Moines, and Grimes. It’s part of a larger effort nationwide to strike down ordinances that the organization believes are unconstitutional.

VINTON, IA (IRN) – An eastern Iowa couple who kept hundreds of animals in and outside their home have been given two years of probation for child endangerment. KCRG-TV reports In January officials found hundreds of animals in the their house and garage, including rabbits, rats, mice, hedgehogs, turtles, birds, guinea pigs, gerbils and a ball python.