CEDAR FALLS, IA (IRN) – One person has died from their injuries after two people were shot near the University of Northern Iowa’s campus, according to KWWL-TV. Officers located a gunshot victim in a backyard, and the victim was transported to an area hospital. One hour later, officers were notified of a second gunshot victim who was taken to an area hospital by private vehicle. The first victim died died at the hospital from a single gunshot wound. Both were 18-year-old men from Waterloo.

NORTH LIBERTY, IA (IRN) – A North Liberty man is facing numerous charges after breaking into a home and robbing someone at gunpoint. KGAN-TV reports 33-year-old Beauhanan Walker knocked on the victim’s door and pointed a rifle at her head and entered the apartment. Walker then told her to lay face down on the bed while he searched for valuables, eventually leaving with $40 and a belt. He was also charged on a warrant for a sexual assault in 2014.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines police are investigating a home invasion. WHO-TV reports a couple say a man came to their door with a gun and demanded money. The male victim said he’d have to go to an ATM to get money because he didn’t have any in the house, hoping to get the suspect away from his wife and two small children. They drove to a grocery store ATM. Both entered the store and an argument ensued. The suspect fled, but not before firing a shot back at the grocery store. No one was injured.

QUAD CITIES (IRN) – Citing the need to level the playing field with competitors, leaders from the Quad Cities Convention and Visitors Bureau plan on creating a new voluntary destination fee that would tack an additional dollar or two on visitors’ hotel bills to be used for marketing the region as a tourism destination. WQAD-TV reports a combination of state budget cuts in both Illinois and Iowa means the organization needs to find a new revenue stream.

SIOUX CENTER, IA (IRN) – Students in Sioux Center are being praised for coming forward with sexual abuse claims against a 5th grade teacher. KCCI-TV reports 36-year-old Curtis Van Dam is facing 84 counts of sexual abuse. Other media report 140 charges. Police say the incidents between Van Dam and several children took place between August 2013 and last month. Van Dam was immediately fired from his job at Sioux Center Christian School when the allegations surfaced.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – An Iowa City Man has been charged in a stabbing. KCRG-TV reports the victim and his wife were walking past 66-year-old Ronal Rarey in May 2017 when Rarey called the victim’s wife a name and in response, the victim walked towards Rarey. Rarey pulled out a knife and stabbed the victim twice in the abdomen. Rarey admitted to stabbing the victim.

NEWTON, IA (IRN) – Two alleged heroin dealers are off the streets after the Mid-Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force found heroin, meth, cocaine and other drugs in a Newton home. Authorities said a large number of heroin overdoses in the Newton area in recent weeks led investigators to Tyler Gilbert and Crystal Mendenhall. They, along with four others, were arrested following Tuesday’s drug bust.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines police are looking for the gunman responsible for firing at two people, wounding one. WHO-TV reports two men were working on a vehicle, when shots were fired at them from behind a house. One of the victims has a permit to carry and returned fire. The other man was hit by a bullet, but is expected to survive. Police believe this to be an isolated situation.

BURLINGTON, IA (IRN) – A man walked into a Burlington gas station with a knife and demanded money from a clerk on Wednesday, according to WQAD-TV. After receiving the money, he fled. Police are examining security video.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A new report shows Iowa companies received high marks for practices that protect LGBTQ employees. The Human Rights Campaign Foundation released its Corporate Equality Index report Thursday. It rates major companies on non-discrimination policies, employment benefits, and public commitment to equality. Among the highest ranking companies are Rockwell Collins and Transamerica in Cedar Rapids, as well as Principal Financial Group and Wellmark in Des Moines.

SIOUX CENTER, IA (IRN) – A former northwest Iowa fifth grade teacher is facing 140 criminal charges for allegedly sexually abusing students. WHO-TV reports 35-year-old Curtis Van Dam faces 14 counts of sexual exploitation by a teacher, 72 counts of 2nd degree sexual abuse, 12 counts of 3rd degree sexual abuse, three counts of lascivious acts with a child, 34 counts of lascivious conduct with a minor, and five counts of indecent exposure. More charges are expected. The alleged abuse happened while Van Dam taught at Sioux Center Christian School.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A man was arrested after forcing someone to withdraw cash from an ATM in Cedar Rapids Tuesday. KGAN-TV reports a man was sitting in his pickup in a Target parking lot when 31-year-old Quincy Franklin approached. He then allegedly showed the victim what appeared to be a handgun and told him to withdraw cash. Police say Franklin followed the victim into the store where he withdrew cash. Franklin was identified in video surveillance and was arrested at a nearby hotel.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A man charged with first-degree murder and arson in the death of his stepson is back in Iowa, according to KCCI-TV. 41-year-old Randy Miles Jr. of Des Moines, had been in a North Dakota jail on unrelated charges. Miles is accused of intentionally setting his stepson on fire. Prosecutors say Miles set a car on fire in August while his stepson was inside.

PALO, IA (IRN) – A Palo man is recovering from an accident while hunting. KCRG-TV reports Jeff Pavek was bow hunting by himself when he fell 20 feet backwards off a tree stand. When he didn’t come home that night, Pavek’s girlfriend and friend Ron Grimm went looking for him. Ron said that he knew where to find him, because they had hunted in the same place for 30 years. The pair found Pavek facedown, hidden in the brush, with a collapsed lung, broken ribs, vertebrae, a broken sternum, and a skull fracture.

VAN BUREN COUNTY, IA (IRN) – The Van Buren and Harmony School Districts in southeastern Iowa are one step closer to merging, according to KTVO-TV. The merger will go up for a vote in February to residents in both school districts. If a majority of voters from both districts approve the reorganization, the new school district will be called Van Buren Community School District. The completed merger is expected in July 2018.

AMES, IA (IRN) – An Ames High School Chemistry Teacher has been named the Iowa 2018 Teacher of the Year by the Iowa Department of Education. Aileen Sullivan and the entire High School were called to a secret assembly for the announcement. Sullivan said she knew she wanted to be a teacher in the third grade, when she drew a picture of herself at a desk in front of a classroom.

MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – 25-year-old Codie Matz has been booked into the Cerro Gordo County Jail on two counts of 1st degree murder. KIMT-TV reports police went to a Mason City home for a welfare check and found two bodies. Matz was taken into custody near Bondurant.

MISSOURI VALLEY, IA (IRN) – Harrison County Supervisor Russ Kurth died Tuesday morning in a grain bin accident in Missouri Valley, according to KETV. Kurth was 63. Kurth and another man were checking a door on a recently-filled grain bin where corn was spilling out. The door burst open, burying Kurth in corn. The other man escaped. It took more than an hour to rescue Kurth from under the pile of corn. He was elected to the Harrison County Board of Supervisors in 2014.

DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – A 24-year-old man was shot three times in a Dubuque alley Tuesday, according to KCRG-TV. Police say the victim told them three males wearing masks tried to rob him and then shot him. The suspects remain at large.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines Police are investigating after a woman was shot in the shoulder overnight. KCCI-TV reports the woman walked into a QuikTrip convenience store with a gunshot wound and was transported to a hospital.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – An eastern Iowa man is facing charges after allegedly threatening doctors and police officers at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. WHO-TV reports 49-year-old Scott Colebank walked into the hospital drunk and began arguing with staff Monday. When an ER physician tried to talk to him, he allegedly threatened to start killing people. A bystander started suffering chest pains during the altercation. When police arrived, Colebank fought with officers. He’s in jail.

JOHNSTON, IA (IRN) – What’s the smartest city in Iowa? The career website Zippia says the answer is Johnston. Johnston beat out number two Iowa City and number three West Des Moines for the “smartest city” honor. Don’t feel bad–experts say there’s more than one way to measure intelligence.