Iowa Radio News

SOLDIER, IA (IRN) – A crash killed one person in Monona County near the town of Soldier Monday night. KCAU-TV reports 42-year-old Clint Bothwell of Moorhead rolled his pick up several times. He wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, and was pronounced dead at the scene. ANKENY, IA (IRN) – An Ankeny man has been arrested after a short standoff with deputies Monday, according to the Des Moines Register. Billy Ray Pfeifer faces charges of domestic assault with a weapon and false imprisonment. The victim said that she Pfeifer had an argument and he wouldn’t let her leave. In the course of the argument, Pfeifer fired a gun. The victim escaped and called 911. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – An early morning two-vehicle accident involving an ambulance sent four people to the hospital in Des Moines on Christmas Day. WHO-TV reports the accident caused the ambulance to roll over on its side. The ambulance was carrying a patient, two medics and the driver. All four were transported to a local hospital with minor injuries. BETTENDORF, IA (IRN) – A fire broke out at a Bettendorf home as a family was getting ready for Christmas dinner, according to WQAD-TV. Seven people and a cat were able to escape. No one was injured. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A Cedar Rapids woman who was homeless five years ago cooked and gave away free meals for the less fortunate on Christmas Day. KGAN-TV reports Aphea Imperial-Fletcher is a native of the Philippines who found a home in Cedar Rapids for herself and her five children. She says she understands that Christmas can be hard if you can’t afford food for yourself or your loved ones, and she felt the only way she could make a true difference was to help with what she does best, cooking.

WATERLOO, IA (IRN0 – Waterloo firefighters were called to New Star Liquor early this morning for a fire. KWWL-TV reports when emergency crews arrived on scene, they saw smoke coming from all sides of the building. Firefighters broke through the front doors and found the fire in the office area, and report the flames had extended into the attic. No injuries were reported. TAMA COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A Walford woman is dead after her vehicle struck a deer east of Tama. The Iowa State Patrol reports 24-year-old Amy Smith of West Des Moines was driving a Toyota RAV 4 on U.S. 30 when she hit the deer. The deer went through the windshield and struck and killed her passenger, 57-year-old Donna Smith. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A Des Moines man is dead after he stole a car and led officers on a chase early Sunday morning. WHO-TV reports the car went airborne, hit a telephone pole and then rolled through several yards. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – The federal government is supporting a Christian group that’s suing the University of Iowa after losing campus recognition for denying a leadership position to a gay student. KGAN-TV reports the Justice Department filed a “statement of interest” backing a lawsuit filed by Business Leaders in Christ, arguing the university violated its rights to free speech and assembly. The group invalidated his election as vice president after he disclosed he’s gay. CENTERVILLE, IA (IRN) – An Appanoose County sheriff’s deputy is being lauded as a hero for rescuing a stranded hunter. KTVO-TV reports Deputy Dennis Daniels likely saved the life of Stephen Walker, 70, of Ewing, Missouri, after Walker had fallen into a creek. Daniels was on a routine patrol when he saw a pickup truck sitting on land used for public hunting. He got out and heard a cry for help. Minutes later, he located Walker and his dog near a creek bank. The hunter was soaking wet and suffering from hypothermia. Both Walker and his dog will be OK.

SHENANDOAH, IA (IRN) – A southwestern Iowa man died Friday in a head-on collision. According to an Iowa State Patrol crash report, 22-year-old Christian Carter of Shenandoah tried to pass a vehicle in a no-passing zone, and collided with an oncoming vehicle. Carter wasn’t wearing a seat belt. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – A man serving a life sentence in the murder of his infant daughter was pronounced dead due to apparent suicide Saturday. WHO-TV reports Ryan Trowbridge, 28, was convicted of first-degree murder and child endangerment resulting in death in 2012. His 4-month-old daughter Rylee died of abusive head trauma in February 2010, one-day after Trowbridge called 911 claiming his daughter’s head had become stuck facedown in between the mattress and the headboard. CORALVILLE, IA (IRN) – A minivan punched through the wall of a department store at a Coralville mall last night, according to KCRG-TV. Officers responded around 7:00 p.m. to the Dillard’s at Coral Ridge Mall to find the vehicle had penetrated an exterior wall of the store. The collision appeared to be accidental, as the driver suffered some kind of medical issue which led to the crash. Though the incident happened on one of the busiest shopping days of the year, no one was seriously hurt. IOWA CITY – Freshman Joe Wieskamp scored a career high 24 points as Iowa the Iowa men’s basketball team destroyed Savannah State 110-64. The Hawkeyes hit 19 threes as a team, a new school record.

KNOXVILLE AND RVR DON’T READ YOUR OWN STORIES PERRY, IA (IRN) – The adoptive father of 16-year-old Sabrina Ray, whose 2017 starvation death sparked statewide outrage, admitted in court Friday to imprisoning his three children in their Perry home. Raccoon Valley Radio reports Marc Ray, 43, pleaded guilty to four felony charges. He faces a minimum of 35 years in prison. KNOXVILLE, IA (IRN) – A man is dead as a result of an apparent knife wound in Knoxville, according to KNIA/KRLS Radio. No name has been released, and the DCI is assisting the investigation. HAMPTON, IA (IRN) – A Franklin County man is facing several felony charges. KIMT-TV reports security video from an apartment complex in Hampton shows Brady Joe Hunt, 38, leaving an apartment where $3,000 in cash was stolen. The video shows Hunt going into the laundry room on the third floor, where he reportedly dropped the money down the dryer vent to the 2nd floor. Hunt collected the cash from the 2nd floor, then returned a short time later to hide $1,310 in cash along with 10 grams of methamphetamine, less than an ounce of marijuana, syringes, one Viagra pill, and 69 Alprazolam pills. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines police responded to an armed robbery Friday evening. WHO-TV reports officers were called to Cash Advance on Southeast 14th Street around 6 p.m. The suspect wore a facemask and robbed the business at gunpoint. No one was injured, and investigators are reviewing store security video. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The latest unemployment figures for November show Iowa and Hawaii have the lowest jobless rates in the country at 2.4%. The latest Iowa Workforce Development figures released Friday indicate 1,900 more Iowans entered the workforce during the month bringing the total number of employed Iowans to 1.64 million, the most in state history.

FORT DODGE, IA (IRN) – A man has been imprisoned for setting fire to a vehicle in the parking garage of Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge. The Messenger reports that 22-year-old Terrell Adams pleaded guilty to arson and criminal mischief. He was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in prison. Adams admitted that he set fire to the vehicle of an acquaintance that was parked in the garage. That fire then spread, damaging at least 10 vehicles and causing structural damage to the garage. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A Des Moines man has been arrested and charged in the stabbing death of his cousin, according to WHO-TV. 30-year-old Sean Michael Foster was charged with first degree murder in the death of 50-year-old Albert Barron III. Barron’s employer asked police to check on him after he hadn’t shown up for work for a few days. When officers arrived, they found a bloody crime scene. They also found Foster, who was asleep. Barron had been dead for several days. NORTH LIBERTY, IA (IRN) – Police in North Liberty are investigating a stabbing that injured an employee at a Little Caesars Pizza. KCRG-TV reports the employee was stabbed by two men who fled the scene. Employees told investigators they did not believe this was a robbery attempt and the suspects intended to only harm the victim. INDIANOLA, IA (IRN) – City State Bank in Indianola was robbed by a man with a handgun Thursday afternoon, according to KNIA Radio. He fled with an undisclosed amount of cash, and is still at large. CHARLES CITY, IA (IRN) – A Mason City driver apparently lost control of a vehicle and ran into a house in Charles City Wednesday afternoon. KIMT-TV reports the 49-year-old driver suffered minor injuries, but will be OK. MACKSBURG, IA (IRN) – A man from the Madison County town of Macksburg who shot himself in the heart lived to tell his story. KCCI-TV reports Ronnie Butler accidentally shot himself during a hunting trip, and he said he’s grateful to be alive. Friends say he was lucky. Butler says, “that’s the word everybody uses: lucky. It wasn’t luck. I was blessed.”