Tuesday, September 5, 2017

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.

Monday, September 4, 2017

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.

Sunday, September 3, 2017

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.

Saturday, September 2, 2017

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – The woman who pled guilty to leaving her newborn baby in a trash can at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics was sentenced to probation and avoided prison time at a sentencing hearing Friday in Iowa City. The Des Moines Register reports the judge ruled that the prison time should be suspended in favor of five years of probation for 24-year-old Ashley Hautzenrader.

FORT DODGE, IA (IRN) – A boy was injured in a shooting in Fort Dodge Thursday night, according to WHO-TV. Police received reports of shots fired, and as they were investigating, they stopped two kids who were running near the scene. A short time later, a third child was admitted to a nearby hospital with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the leg. Police charged one of the boys who had been running with carrying weapons. They believe a second gun was involved, and more charges could be filed.

HOPKINTON, IA (IRN) – An Iowa man has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for polluting water and failing to pay employment taxes. Randy Less, of Hopkinton, was sentenced Wednesday. Less failed to pay nearly $655,000 in federal taxes for employees at his Permeate Refining Inc., in Hopkinton, Iowa, from 2009 through 2012. Less also admitted that he knowingly discharged ethanol into a tributary of the Maquoketa River in 2013 without a permit to do so.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey has been nominated for a top position in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The White House said in a statement Friday that Northey, a third-term secretary of agriculture for the state of Iowa, has been nominated to be undersecretary for farm production and conservation, and if confirmed, will oversee the Farm Service Agency, the Risk Management Agency, and the Natural Resource Conservation Service.

BONDURANT, IA (IRN) – The Bondurant community is rallying in support of a sixth-grader who has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. KCCI-TV reports Ava Hutchinson’s favorite colors are pink and purple. Those colors are now filling schools, streets, and stadiums in support of Ava.