Iowa Radio News

IOWA COUNTY, IA (IRN) – The name of the victim has been released in the murder of a man at a truck stop on I-80 near Victor in the early morning hours Wednesday. KCII-radio reports 60-year-old Earnest Kummer from Monroe was found deceased from gunshot wounds in his semi. Authorities took 43-year-old Mariana Lesnic into custody. She’s been charged with murder in the first degree. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A 67-year-old woman has been hospitalized after being struck by a train in Waterloo Wednesday, according to KGAN-TV. The woman was taken to a hospital for treatment of severe leg injuries. WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Police are investigating a possible attempted abduction of a 15-year-old West Des Moines girl who was walking home from Valley High School. KCCI-TV reports a man driving a black Cadillac Escalade pickup truck tried to force the girl into his car. After a brief struggle, she was able to get away and run to a nearby apartment building for help. CRESTON, IA (IRN) – A group of Creston High School students will be disciplined for posting a photo on social media depicting them burning a cross while wearing white hoods. The Creston News Advertiser reports the photo shows five students wearing KKK-style white hoods while burning a cross and holding a Confederate flag. One of the boys in the photo is also holding a rifle. JASPER COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A case of road rage led to a threat with a gun on Interstate 80 near Newton this week. WHO-TV reports Jasper County dispatch received a call Tuesday from a driver on I-80 saying a passenger in another vehicle pointed a gun at them after a road rage incident. Authorities pulled over the offending vehicle, which held three adults and three children. A woman who was a passenger in the back seat was arrested. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Twelve years after the death of Saint John Paul the second, an official first class relic of his blood is here in Iowa, according to KCRG-TV. A first class relic is the physical remains of a saint, such as bone, hair, or blood. On Wednesday the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary brought the relic to Saint Patrick Catholic Church in Cedar Rapids. The relic will now go to Des Moines. It’ll be at the Saint Anthony Church today and then Saint Joseph Chapel at Dowling High School on Friday.

IOWA COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A man was shot and killed at a rest stop on Interstate 80 in Iowa County early this morning. KGAN-TV reports preliminary information suggests the homicide involved one male and one female driver. The female driver became upset with the male driver and shot and killed him. The FBI is investigating. OTTUMWA, IA (IRN) – Police say an Ottumwa woman is responsible for a drunken hit-and-run early Sunday. KTVO-TV reports 24-year-old Morgan Houk was charged with Serious Injury by Vehicle and Operating While Intoxicated. Witnesses at a Hy-Vee gas station told police Houk appeared to be drunk when she allegedly ran over someone who attempted to stop her. Houk kept driving. The victim was taken to the University of Iowa Hospitals with serious injuries. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A district court judge says Des Moines should pay back hundreds of dollars to drivers who received a speeding ticket. WHO-TV reports a lawsuit against the city claims drivers were denied due-process and alleges the city’s speed enforcement camera ordinance didn’t mention the option to contest violations. DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – Equipment manufacturer John Deere has hired about 250 workers in Dubuque since last fall thanks to surging demand for new products. The Telegraph Herald reports the John Deere Dubuque Works facility now employs 1,300 production workers, its highest total since 2000. There are another 1,300 employees at the plant who work in other capacities such as engineering, sales and marketing. The company plans to hire another 50 workers by October. CLEAR LAKE, IA (IRN) – A proposed smoking ban in Clear Lake could soon become a reality, according to KIMT-TV. The city council voted unanimously Tuesday to draft an ordinance that would prohibit smoking at city parks and beaches. The council conducted a survey, and approximately 1,000 respondents favor the ban, with 20 opposing it. JACKSON COUNTY, IA (IRN) – The votes are in, and Maquoketa Caves State Park is the 2017 Readers’ Choice for Best Iowa Attractions, according to USA Today. More than 150 thousand people go to the park every year. Rounding out the top five are the Surf Ballroom and Museum in Clear Lake, the Iowa 80 Trucking Museum in Walcott, the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium in Dubuque and the Grotto of the Redemption in West Bend.

SHERRILL, IA (IRN) – The body of a man was recovered in a wooded area near the Mississippi River in Dubuque County yesterday. KCRG-TV reports no foul play is suspected. TRENTON, IA (IRN) – A weekend crash injured two southeast Iowa men in Trenton, according to KTVO-TV. Shortly before 4:00 a.m. Sunday, a truck driven by 18-year-old Maxallen Otto Graf of New London, struck a guardrail. The truck flipped onto its rooftop and landed in the ditch. Graf told Henry County Sheriff’s deputies that he lost control after looking at his cell phone. Authorities also learned that he was drunk. Both Graf and a passenger in the truck suffered minor injuries. URBANDALE, IA (IRN) – A 77-year-old Urbandale man is recovering after he was stabbed in his home early Sunday, according to KCCI-TV. The victim suffered serious stab wounds and was taken to a nearby hospital. He’s expected to survive. The assailant also stole the man’s car. IOWA (IRN) – In Des Moines and in over 300 cities across the nation, fast food and hospital workers went on a Labor Day strike to protest for higher wages. Two rallies took place in Des Moines, one at a Burger King and the other at a McDonald’s. Protesters then marched from the McDonalds to Mercy Medical Hospital. They say corporations are making record profits and not rewarding employees. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Cedar Rapids’ largest employer, Rockwell Collins, is being sold for $30 billion, according to KGAN-TV. United Technologies Corp. of Connecticut announced Monday that it will acquire Rockwell Collins for $140.00 per share, in cash and stock. Rockwell Collins employs about 8,000 people in Cedar Rapids – and another 1,300 at other locations in eastern Iowa. DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – A Dubuque man made a unique donation to a veterans group last week: a 1906 Cadillac. Jon Luckstead bought it in 1995 for $19,000 at auction, and no longer drives it, so he donated the car to the Veteran’s Freedom Center in Dubuque. Jim Wagner runs the center, and says they are happy to receive the gift–they’ll drive the antique car in parades.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – An orangish-grey haze is covering much of Iowa, according to the National Weather Service. Forest fires in Montana and Canada are the cause. Those sensitive to smoke may want to stay inside. BLUE GRASS, IA (IRN) – The Scott County Sheriff’s office is investigating a crash that left one person dead Sunday morning. WQAD-TV reports a car attempted to overtake another car to its right on the gravel shoulder. The driver lost control, crossed both lanes of traffic, entered the median, and rolled. The driver was ejected from the car and was pronounced dead at the scene. ANKENY, IA (IRN) – Workers at an Ankeny Burger King say the kitchen’s air conditioning is faulty, they’re always short staffed and they don’t make enough money. The Des Moines Register reports Sunday night at 11 p.m, workers closed the fast food restaurant in protest. Workers say the air conditioning in the kitchen only works sporadically, making the space unbearably hot in the summer. High turnover means they’re often short-staffed, so team members often have to stay late without making overtime. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines police are investigating a fatal car crash Sunday night. WHO-TV reports the crash involved three vehicles. Two people were transported to the hospital, and a third person died at the scene. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A shooting in Des Moines sent three to the hospital overnight, according to KCCI-TV. Several people may have witnessed the shootings. Two were taken into custody. PALO, IA (IRN) – A Linn County man is in the hospital this morning after authorities say he fell out of his golf cart near Palo. KGAN-TV reports 51-year-old James Yount failed to negotiate a left turn, and fell out of the golf cart onto the roadway. Yount was flown to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics with what appeared to be life-threatening injuries. CAPE CANAVERAL, FL (IRN) – The world’s most experienced spacewoman returned to Earth Saturday. NASA astronaut and Iowan Peggy Whitson is home after 9 ½ months. Counting all her flights, she has logged 665 days in space. Her streak is unmatched by any other American. During her third and latest mission, the 57-year-old biochemist became the oldest woman in space. She also performed her 10th spacewalk, more than any other woman. She says she’s craving pizza – and flush toilets.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – The owner of a gun that a 4-year-old boy used to kill himself last year has pled guilty. 30-year-old Daniel Henriksen pled guilty Friday to a federal count of possessing a firearm while being an unlawful user of marijuana. Henricksen had left his 45-caliber handgun in a mobile home where Jayden Choate and two other preschoolers were staying. Jayden found the gun near where he and the other children had been napping and accidentally shot himself in the head. JACKSON COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A Jackson County crash took the life of an Anamosa police officer Saturday morning. The Iowa State Patrol reports that officer Mitchell Kelchen was a passenger in a car that was struck head on by another vehicle that had crossed the centerline. BLAKESBURG, IA (IRN) – The Wapello County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a series of burglaries in Blakesburg, according to KTVO-TV. In two of the burglaries, someone stole a large quantity of cigarettes from a convenience store. Deputies searched a house Friday and found many items, including the cigarettes that they believe are tied to the robberies. No charges have been filed. AMES, IA (IRN) – Iowa State and Northern Iowa fans did their part to help Harvey victims as they loaded a Hy-Vee tractor-trailer with food, water, clothes and other everyday necessities before the in-state rival game at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames. Organizers also set a goal of raising $10,000 by the end of the game, which will go toward buying bottled water. ISU won the game 42-24.