CRESTON, IA (IRN) – Investigators have determined the death of a Creston man on Valentine’s Day was a homicide. The Iowa Department of Public Safety says rescue crews were called to perform a welfare check at an apartment. When officers arrived, they found the body of a deceased male.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The campaign manager for Gov. Kim Reynolds has left her staff. KGAN-TV reports Phil Valenziano has moved on and that Gov. Reynolds would name his replacement in coming weeks. Reynolds had kept Valenziano despite an incident last summer, when he was arrested for public intoxication after being seen urinating outside a West Des Moines bar.

DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – Classes are cancelled at Dubuque Senior High School today due to the threat of a possible shooting. KDTH-Radio reports the school district sent out an alert late last night, informing parents of several social media reports of a possible threat. Police are investigating.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Senate Republicans’ plan to overhaul Iowa’s tax code is on the fast track, having passed through two key parts of the legislative process just over 24 hours after it was first introduced. KGAN-TV reports Republicans say the 130-page bill is projected to cut taxes by $1 billion annually and reduce personal income taxes rates by 30%. Democrats say there has been no analysis on the fiscal impact the bill would have on the state budget.

MUSCATINE, IA (IRN) – A train horn quiet zone was implemented this morning in downtown Muscatine. WHBF-TV reports Canadian Pacific engineers will no longer blow the locomotives’ horns on their approach to crossings in Muscatine. City leaders say the goal is to assist businesses and residents who live near the railroad tracks in the downtown area.

DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – Dubuque police have made an unusual drunk driving arrest. KCCI-TV reports police tried to pull a man over for running a red light, but he wouldn’t stop and the officer lost track of him. The driver then called dispatch to report himself for drinking and driving, hitting another car, and “losing the cops.” He now faces multiple charges.

CUMMING, IA (IRN) – A man was killed in an early-morning head-on crash Wednesday between a semitrailer and a car in rural Warren County. The Iowa State Patrol reports the crash happened at 3 a.m. on Interstate 35 near the Cumming exit. Thirty-two-year-old Wayne Christopher Field of Winterset died in the crash. He was traveling north in the southbound lanes. Field wasn’t wearing a seat belt.

RICEVILLE, IA (IRN) – A threat caused Riceville schools to cancel this morning, according to KIMT-TV. Officials say the threat involved a former student and the investigation is ongoing. The threat was reported to school officials by students.

IOWA (IRN) – As thousands headed to Florida’s Capitol Wednesday to push for tighter gun laws in the wake of the country’s latest mass shooting, students in Iowa are expressing solidarity. Students walked out of Cedar Rapids Washington and Jefferson High Schools, Indianola, and Des Moines Roosevelt. Many are calling for a ban of the AR-15, the weapon used to carry out the school shooting in Florida.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Iowa Congressman Rod Blum is facing ethics questions concerning his involvement with an internet company. KCRG-TV reports Blum didn’t disclose his stake in the company as required by members of Congress to indicate any potential conflicts of interest. Blum says the accusation is “yet another desperate, Democrat diversion,” and is “making a mountain out of a molehill for political gain.”

DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – An Iowa nurse who’d been convicted in a 2015 morphine theft case has been given probation in a second case involving the theft of painkillers. The Des Moines Register reports that Cassandra Pierce, of Ottumwa, was granted a deferred judgment and sentenced to three years’ probation. Pierce’s conviction will be removed from her record if she successfully completes the terms of her probation. She’s admitted to stealing painkillers in Davenport and Ottumwa.

DECORAH, IA (IRN) – The first eagle egg of 2018 has been laid before the Decorah Eagle cam. At 7:28 p.m. on Wednesday, Mom Decorah, one of Raptor Resource Project’s famous eagles, laid her first egg of the year. The eagles have gained worldwide attention, with millions of people tuning in to the live eagle cam to watch as the eggs are laid and then as the eaglets hatch and fledge.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA (IRN) – The Diocese of Des Moines suspended indefinitely a Council Bluffs priest Tuesday over an allegation of unwelcome advances. KETV reports Father Carlos Pineda Gomez serves as the vicar for the Corpus Christi Parish in Council Bluffs. The diocese took action against the priest after a hearing over an allegation of a “serious violation of boundary issues related to unwelcome advances toward an adult.”

BLACK HAWK COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Investigators have found the body of a Waterloo man who was reported missing earlier this week. KCCI-TV reports the body of 23-year-old Denis Maric was found in a wooded area near the Turkey Ridge Wildlife Area. No foul play is suspected.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Smoking led to the death of a man in a Cedar Rapids apartment fire Saturday, according to KCRG-TV. Smoking materials ignited a chair, and the apartment caught fire. 57-year-old Thomas Jones was found close to the chair when firefighters made entry. Jones was taken to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics with severe burns where he later died.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Two women were pulled from a fully engulfed house fire in Des Moines last night. KCCI-TV reports one woman was taken from the home in a stretcher and given CPR. The other woman was uninjured. Investigators say the home had been without utilities for quite some time, raising suspicions as to whether or not the occupants legally lived in the home.

FORT DODGE, IA (IRN) – An overnight chase Monday ended with a cruiser on fire in Fort Dodge. The Messenger reports police chased a stolen vehicle through cornfields before it crashed into a ravine. 32-year-old Bradley Baumann of Fort Dodge was taken into custody. A parked patrol vehicle caught fire.

CEDAR FALLS, IA (IRN) – Cedar Valley Dental Associates in Cedar Falls just got a new “assistant.” KWWL-TV reports Maya is a 4-month-old chocolate lab mix. She’s a rescue puppy from Missouri. She was in a litter of 6, and they were found in Missouri malnourished and out in the cold. Maya is training to become a therapy dog, and the goal is for Maya to eventually be able to sit with patients, and to help ease any anxiety they might have. Staff say Maya is the perfect addition for a dentist with the motto, “We cater to cowards.”

ANKENY, IA (IRN) – An Ankeny man who enticed and sexually abused a child was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Monday. The Des Moines Register reports 58-year-old Jeff Lee Altmayer approached two girls in Colfax and offered them $100 bills if one of them would get in his car and come to his home in Des Moines to do yard work. One girl declined and the other 11-year-old girl agreed to go with him, but later escaped. He faces similar charges in other counties.

OTTUMWA, IA (IRN) – The vice president of the Ottumwa School Board has resigned. KTVO-TV reports Alex Barr stepped down after he was arrested for drunk driving earlier this month. It was Barr’s fourth drunk driving arrest since 2001. Following his latest arrest, the board asked Barr to resign. One board member confronted Barr during their last meeting, saying she’s not interested in giving him a second chance.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Dozens of students walked out of Iowa City classrooms Monday in an effort to send a message to lawmakers: school shootings must stop. The Iowa City Press citizen reports by 11:45 a.m., more than 200 students were gathered and chanting in front of the Old Capitol, and more were arriving. At noon, students began marching through the streets of downtown chanting “The NRA has got to go” and “Not one more.”

JOHNSTON, IA (IRN) – A former accounting clerk for the city of Johnston is facing seven charges, including five felonies, for stealing from the district. WHO-TV reports 52-year-old Teresa Osburne allegedly didn’t deposit more than $13,000 in city funds.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Two bills that could help winter weather driving become safer have cleared the Iowa Senate. One would require all snow plows to have flashing blue safety lights. Current law only requires the plows to have orange lights. The DOT says the blue safety lights would help reduce collisions with plows. The second bill would require all drivers to turn on their headlights whenever there’s fog, snow, sleet, or rain. Current law only requires drivers to turn on their lights if they can’t see 500 feet in front of them.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowans soon will be able to own a piece of one of the state’s most iconic landmarks: the state Capitol building’s golden dome. For $100 each, the Capitol Planning Commission is selling the bricks used in the dome’s original construction to raise money to renovate monuments around the Capitol complex. The bricks date back to 1880.