Iowa Radio News

OMAHA, NE (IRN) – A former Omaha school teacher and softball coach accused of child sexual assault has taken a plea deal. KETV-TV reports that 47-year-old Daryl Clark of Crescent, Iowa pled no contest Monday to enticement by electronic device and to attempted visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct. Prosecutors had already dropped three counts of child sexual assault when they determined the girl had been 16, the age of sexual consent in Nebraska. WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Firefighters were called to Valley West Mall in West Des Moines early Tuesday morning according to WHO-TV. A fire alarm at the mall’s Younkers store went off around 5:00 a.m. and when fire crews arrived there was smoke in the building. A fire was discovered in the mechanical room and was quickly put out. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – The man charged for the murder of a cab driver in Iowa City has now been charged with the murder of a bail bondsman. KGAN-TV reports 41-year-old Curtis Jones has been charged with first-degree murder for the death of 34-year-old Jonathan Wieseler, in addition to the previous murder charge. Jones was granted parole a year ago on a burglary charge, despite a parole officer deeming him a high risk to commit more violent crimes. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Two Denison children are safe after officials issued a statewide Amber Alert Monday. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation said 12-year-old Beyonce Carrasco and 13-year-old Rodolfo Penaflor Jr. left Denison in the middle of the night in Penaflor’s mother’s car. KCCI-TV reports Penaflor threatened to harm Carrasco and himself. Police stopped them on I-235 in Des Moines. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Ten people were killed in highway construction work zones so far this year, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation. The 10 deaths include three road construction workers, and it’s the second consecutive year with above average fatalities. Last year, 13 people died in work zone crashes, including one road construction worker. Iowa has averaged 655 work zone accidents annually over the past decade and 6.8 fatalities per year. GRANDVIEW, IA (IRN) – A man from the southeastern Iowa town of Grandview is one of the final twelve contestants on the television show “The Voice.” KWQC-TV reports Adam Cunningham’s parents started a gospel group when Adam was eight years old and would travel to different cities, singing at banquets, churches, and more. His parents say they are excited for him, and proud of him.

SIOUX CITY, IA (IRN) – Iowa foster care officials are leading efforts to recruit and retain foster families as the state deals with a shortage of available homes. The Sioux City Journal reports that over 4,000 children are in need of a foster home in Iowa. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The City of Des Moines has chosen to settle a two-year-old lawsuit filed against them in a fatal officer-involved shooting case. The Des Moines Register reports the city will pay $225,000 to the family of Ryan Bolinger. Bolinger was killed by former Des Moines police officer Vanessa Miller in June of 2015. Miller believed Bolinger was armed as he approached her vehicle after being pulled over. Even though Bolinger was not armed, the shooting was found to be justified. Bolinger’s family then filed a lawsuit against the city for negligence, battery, and wrongful death. DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – Three people were hurt, including two Davenport police officers, when police responded to reports of an early-morning burglary. WQAD-TV reports police responded to a call for a burglary in progress at an apartment building. Officers confronted a person and a physical altercation occurred. During the struggle, an officer fired their gun. Two officers, as well as the suspect, were injured. One officer was seriously injured and taken to the hospital. SHELL ROCK, IA (IRN) – A semi and SUV collision happened in Butler County near Shell Rock Saturday. The Iowa State Patrol reports 42-year-old Anna Schmitz of Ionia hit the rear end of a semi driven by 61-year-old Lee Winter of Charles City. Schmitz was taken by ambulance to Waverly Health Center. The State Patrol says her life was saved by wearing her seat belt. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Cedar Rapids police are looking for a man who robbed a Walmart at gunpoint Saturday night. KWWL-TV reports a man pulled a gun on an associate in electronics after asking to see a phone. The suspect took the phone and ran from the store. This comes after four recent armed robberies in Cedar Rapids and Hiawatha. ARKANSAS — The cost of a Thanksgiving feast is the cheapest it’s been since 2015, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. The organization has surveyed the average cost of a Thanksgiving Day meal since 1986. They found the national average for the Thanksgiving meal for ten people to be just over $49, or about 1.5% cheaper than in 2016. This marked the second consecutive year that the cost has declined.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Cedar Rapids police are investigating three armed robberies, according to KCRG-TV. Police say the suspect involved in the robberies may have also committed a robbery in Hiawatha. The robberies occurred at liquor stores and a fast food restaurant. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – More than 210,000 gallons of oil leaked from the Keystone pipeline in South Dakota this week, and though it doesn’t flow through Iowa, some people are worried that the Dakota Access pipeline could be next. One anti-pipeline activist says it hasn’t happened in Iowa yet, but “it’s just a question of when and where.” DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Someone in the Des Moines metro is stealing people’s gas from their cars. WOI-TV reports the thief targets a high profile vehicle, drills a hole into the gas tank from below, and drains it into gas cans. One surveillance video shows the suspect had a Domino’s Pizza sign on the top of their car. IOWA (IRN) – Thanksgiving is almost here, and Iowa cooks are googling recipes. What’s the most searched for recipe by Iowans this year? Monkey bread. That’s right. This sugary, sticky pull-apart treat is Iowa’s most Googled side dish. Also called Hungarian coffee cake or monkey puzzle bread, this baked good began showing up in bakeries and recipe books in the late 1800s. Monkey bread is a tightly-packed loaf of rounded pieces of yeast dough. It’s formed in a ring mold or bundt pan with butter, sugar, cinnamon and sometimes chopped nuts.

AMES, IA (IRN) – An Ames man in his 20’s is dead after two masked men entered his apartment and shot him. KCCI-TV reports when officers arrived they found the victim with a single gunshot wound to his upper chest. Several other people were inside the apartment at the time of the murder. Witnesses told police two suspects entered the apartment wearing masks in what seemed like a robbery. URBANDALE, IA (IRN) – A federal judge sentenced an Urbandale man to life in prison for sex trafficking of children. WHO-TV reports Clark Betts was convicted of sex trafficking and drug charges in June. Prosecutors say he provided two minors to a drug dealer, exchanging sex with the victims for crack cocaine. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Polk County health officials are warning Iowans of a new synthetic opioid that is 10,000 times more potent than morphine. KCCI-TV reports a drop of carfentanil, a synthetic variation of the opioid fentanyl, is lethal. It’s considered to be an elephant tranquilizer. KCCI-TV reports there have been six deaths from carfentanil in the past year in Polk County. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Iowa City Police are trying to find out who’s been slashing tires on vehicles. KCRG-TV reports since Tuesday night, police have responded to more than 20 incidents. AMES, IA (IRN) – An Ames-based company is marketing one of agriculture’s first driverless systems for tractors. Smart Ag has software that automates its machinery. Farmers can operate the tractor from a tablet.

ANKENY, IA (IRN) – An Ankeny couple were arrested Wednesday following the August death of their 7-month-old child. KCCI-TV reports 33-year-old Michelle Atwell and 48-year-old Matthew Cohara face child endangerment and drug charges. Atwell left her baby daughter sleeping after nursing her in the middle of the night. The next morning, she found the child wedged between the wall and the mattress. When officers arrived at the scene, they smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming from the bedroom. A search found marijuana and other drugs. NORTH LIBERTY, IA (IRN) – One person is in custody after a threat was made that resulted in North Liberty schools being closed today, according to KWWL-TV. Police received reports of an anonymous chat on Instagram threatening harm at Liberty High School, naming individual students. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A man was stabbed outside a strip club in Polk County last night, according to KCCI-TV. Sheriff’s deputies are investigating an incident at The Lumberyard where two patrons had an altercation in the parking lot and one man was stabbed in the arm. URBANDALE, IA (IRN) – Police in Urbandale are investigating after an early morning burglary at a gun store. WHO-TV reports police investigated after an alarm at the JLM Gun Shoppe was triggered. When police arrived, they found the front door had been smashed in. No information has been released about what was taken or if there are any suspects. MARION, IA (IRN) – A Marion resident found a hand grenade in their home yesterday while cleaning and called police. KCRG-TV reports it appears the grenade is from World War II. The Linn County bomb squad disposed of it. COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA (IRN) – No injuries were reported Thursday after a bus struck a train trestle in Council Bluffs. KJAN-radio reports the bus was too tall to make it under the trestle. The bus was owned by an assisted-living facility. There were six people on the bus and the driver. The clearance for the bridge is only eight feet eight inches.