Iowa Radio News

ANKENY, IA (IRN) – A Polk County sheriff’s detective and his girlfriend have been given a year of probation for their roles in an Ankeny bar fight. KCCI-TV reports John Negrete and Tereasa Sunberg also were given deferred judgments at their sentencings Friday. That means their convictions can be removed from court records if they complete their probation terms. Negrete punched an Ankeny firefighter, Ross Frank, and Sunberg punched Frank’s wife, Danielle. Negrete and Sunberg say Frank groped Sunberg at a bar before the fight. Frank denied the accusation. Negrete was off-duty. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The two men who were shot Saturday at Prospect Park in Des Moines are expected to recover. KCCI-TV reports they were injured when they were caught in the middle of a gunfire exchange after a heated argument broke out between two groups. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Police are searching for a convicted murderer after he didn’t return to his work release center in Des Moines. The Department of Corrections says Vincent Brown didn’t show up for a head count Sunday afternoon. Brown was convicted of second-degree murder for the death of Phyllis Davis, who was shot and killed in April 1996. Brown was moved to work release in August. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A former Hawkeye football player might be the next White House lawyer. Axios reports Matt Whitaker, who played tight end for the Iowa Hawkeyes 1991 Rose Bowl team and later became U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa, has been named as a possible replacement for President Donald Trump’s legal counsel. Current White House counsel Don McGahn announced last month that he will leave. AMES, IA (IRN) – The city of Ames’ plantings in beds and containers not only keeps the downtown looking lush, they also feed the hungry. KWWL-TV reports Ames has substituted edible landscaping — including potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, squash, eggplant, cucumbers and okra — for the flowers it used to plant. On Friday, volunteers harvested more than 200 pounds of sweet potatoes from 25 planters. The vegetables are donated to a local food pantry.

VINTON, IA (IRN) – Police have arrested a Vinton man after they say he fired a gun towards officers Friday night. KCRG-TV reports officers returned fire, but no one was injured in the exchange of bullets. The man is in jail on multiple charges. SIOUX CITY, IA (IRN) – Sioux City police found a body under a bridge Friday, according to KCAU-TV. The body is believed to have been there for a while. Police say that the body was in such a state of decomposition that they have been unable to determine the remains’ race or sex. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A former Food Bank of Iowa employee has been arrested after police say she embezzled $35,000 from the non-profit organization. WHO-TV reports thirty-one-year-old Lauren Phillips turned herself in to authorities Thursday. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Mekhi Sargent scored on a 2-yard TD run with 4:47 left and Iowa beat Iowa State 13-3 on Saturday for the fourth year in a row. Miguel Recinos added a pair of field goals for the Hawkeyes (2-0). Iowa’s winning streak over the Cyclones (0-1) is the longest since the Hawkeyes won 15 straight from 1983-97.

WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – U.S. Marshals arrested a man wanted on charges of First Degree Murder, stemming from a 2016 homicide in Chicago. KWWL-TV reports the Chicago Police Department identified Chikym Lee as a suspect and issued a warrant for his arrest. Lee was arrested in Waterloo Thursday. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – No one was reported injured after multiple gunshots put an early end to Friday night’s homecoming football game between Des Moines North and Hoover. The Des Moines Register reports approximately 20 shots were fired in a nearby parking lot with roughly 2 minutes remaining in the game at Hoover’s McGrane Stadium. The host Huskies were leading the game 21-18. LECLAIRE, IA (IRN) – A man who robbed the convenience store in LeClaire where his ex-girlfriend works was arrested and charged with multiple counts after his former girlfriend identified him. WQAD-TV reports Jae Eads, 31, robbed a QC Mart Thursday. During the robbery, Eads showed a knife and told the cashier to open the register. She refused and activated the panic alarm. Eads then assaulted the cashier – who said Eads was her ex-boyfriend – and stole miscellaneous merchandise. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines police were forced to shoot and kill a pit bull that attacked its owner Friday. WHO-TV reports the dog attacked its 49-year-old female owner, causing serious injuries to her arm. The dog charged a police officer when they arrived on scene, forcing the officer to shoot it. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines police have arrested a man whom they dubbed the “damp hand bandit” after he allegedly stole hand-dryer units out of several public restrooms. KCCI-TV reports John Arthur Wilson, 46, was wanted on second-degree theft charges. The hand dryers are valued at $800 each. Police say Wilson may have taken the dryers for the copper inside or sold the units to “questionable contractors.”

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A Des Moines man has been charged in connection with the death of a 2-year-old boy, according to KCCI-TV. Nicholas Rivera has been charged with child endangerment causing death. The child was in the care of Rivera and a 17-year-old relative at the time of the injuries. Rivera brought the boy to Mercy Hospital in May with serious injuries that led to the child’s death. Police said they could not release the cause of the child’s death but saithat d the child suffered head injuries and it was not an accident. LINN COUNTY, IA (IRN) – The Linn County Sheriff’s Office located the body of a man along Indian Creek Thursday. KCRG-TV reports officials believe it is the body of John Michael Conley, 34, who went missing after his kayak capsized in the creek Monday. The body was found less than a mile from where he was last seen. ATLANTIC, IA (IRN) – A Cass County man is dead after being hit by an SUV while riding his bicycle Wednesday night. The Iowa State Patrol reports 21-year-old Kayla Elliott was driving a suburban when she struck 21-year-old Rudy Moses’ bicycle. Moses was airlifted to the hospital but later died. STORY COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A Nevada woman faces charges of child endangerment and reckless driving after she allegedly intentionally crashed her vehicle into a barrier on Interstate 35. KCCI-TV reports 31-year-old Danielle Baker was driving the car that her boyfriend and their 2-year-old child were riding in. Baker and her boyfriend were in an argument. No one was hurt. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The controversial Nike ad featuring former San Francisco 49ers Quarterback Colin Kaepernick saying, “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything,” will be on Iowans’ minds during the Iowa-Iowa State football game Saturday. Both teams will be wearing Nike apparel. In 2016 Forbes reported the Iowa athletics department received two million dollars from Nike, while Iowa State raked in nearly one and a half million.

BROOKLYN, IA (IRN) – Federal, state and local agents are at the Iowa dairy farm that employed and housed the man charged with killing Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts. KCCI-TV reports agents from the Poweshiek County sheriff’s office, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and federal agencies were seen Thursday morning at Yarrabee Farms in Brooklyn. NEWTON, IA (IRN) – Two people accused in the death of a man whose body was found in a vehicle earlier this year in Newton have had their charges upgraded to murder. The Des Moines Register reports Jeffrey Stendrup, 50, and Jaycie Sheeder, 24, were charged with first-degree murder in the death of Jeremy McDowell, 38. Stendrup, of Clive, allegedly assaulted McDowell with a baseball bat. A witness says Stendrup struck McDowell about 12 times. GRINNELL, IA (IRN) – A new national poll commissioned by Grinnell College shows President Trump’s chances of re-election in two years are dim. According to the poll, if the 2020 Presidential election were held today: 36% will definitely vote for Trump, 43% definitely will vote for someone else, and 17% would consider someone else. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – People in Iowa City are once again raising concerns over the “Kinnick style” house a neighbor is building. KCRG-TV reports last year, neighbors sued to stop construction, saying it doesn’t fit the profile of the neighborhood and would likely be a “party house.” A judge dismissed the case. Now since football season has begun, neighbors are complaining of traffic problems the house is causing. FORT DODGE, IA (IRN) – Two sisters from Fort Dodge heard their mom’s heartbeat for the first time since she passed away 15 years ago. KCAU-TV reports their mom was an organ donor, and the woman she saved with her heart and lungs wanted to thank her family in person. They met, and the daughters were able listen to her heart beating one more time. Mom was able to save seven people’s lives with her donated organs.