DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A man died after crashing his car into construction equipment in Des Moines. KCCI-TV reports 33-year-old Ed McDaniel was driving a car Friday night when the car left the road, entered a parking lot, and crashed into parked construction equipment at a high rate of speed.

BETTENDORF, IA (IRN) – Fire crews spent several hours battling an apartment fire in Bettendorf on Saturday. WQAD-TV reports a witness saw one person taken to the hospital.
One resident she went back in to grab some personal items, but the smoke quickly made it hard to breathe. She says, “Everything kinda went black when I saw all the smoke inside. I just ran out, and I got out in time, because it was coming in really fast. The fire was strong and dangerous, so I ran out.” Smoke was visible from several miles away.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – A group of protesters pushed for a boycott of an Iowa City Farmers Market vendor Saturday, saying the man spreads “White Nationalist rhetoric” online. KCRG-TV reports the man posted “multiculturalism IS white genocide. it should be terrifying to everyone,” among other posts protestors find offensive. Protesters say “he has every right to say what he wants,” but so do they.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The votes–or rather, the kernels–are in on who will be Iowa’s next Governor, according to Iowa State Fair attendees who cast their kernel for Iowa’s next Governor over the run of the fair through Saturday. The winner? Current Governor Kim Reynolds. The highest polling Democrat was State Senator Nate Boulton of Des Moines.

DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – A man was shot to death in a Davenport neighborhood Friday, according to WQAD-TV. A woman who lives in the neighborhood said she was scared for her own safety. “It’s happening everywhere lately. You hear of more shootings and more shootings and more shootings. These kids must be going crazy. I don’t understand it,” she said, “It’s petrifying. Makes you afraid to even go out of your house.”

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – A parade float blaring “God Bless America” and loaded with Trump memorabilia made its way through downtown Iowa City Friday. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports that the Trump Unity Bridge, a 30-foot-long trailer with dozens of signs, a carved wooden eagle, a Statue of Liberty statue and 8-foot tall vertical letters spelling “TRUMP,” stopped in the college town. The Unity Bridge is traveling to the nation’s capital for the Mother of All Rallies, or M.O.A.R., on Sept. 16.

MARION, IA (IRN) – A Marion woman was shaken up after a water bottle smashed through her car window Friday, according to WHO-TV. Meegan Dyrland says two people in a passing car tossed full water bottles out their windows, and that her sunglasses were the only thing that kept the glass from the shattered windshield from getting into her eyes. At least two other drivers were hit by water bottles the same day.

DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – Wahlert Catholic High School in Dubuque is using a new helmet technology to measure head impacts to football players. KCRG-TV reports players are equipped with helmets that have InSight concussion technology. If a players gets a hard hit to the helmet, a sensor will set off an alarm that goes to the athletic trainer, who can check on the player. The helmets cost approximately $560.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA (IRN) – An Iowa man accused of trying to sell a stolen refrigeration unit back to its owner has pled guilty to a felony theft charge. The Daily Nonpareil reports that 38-year-old Roger Otts of Council Bluffs stole a refrigeration unit worth $12,000 from a trucking company and tried to sell it back to the owner for $8,000. Otts was arrested that day.

RIVERSIDE, IA (IRN) – The death of a 17-month-old child in Riverside is being investigated as a homicide, according to KCII-Radio. Avery McCoy died at her home in Riverside on November 9, 2016. Officials say the child died as a result of malnutrition and neglect. McCoy was the daughter of Anthony McCoy and Ambrashia Chrzan. She had 12 siblings, one of which preceded her in death.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A Des Moines man out for a walk with his dog was hurt when another dog attacked them Thursday. WHO-TV reports the man was walking his Basenji when a pit bull escaped a fence and attacked them. The man was bitten on the hand, and the Basenji suffered severe lacerations, but will be OK. Pit bull owners in Des Moines are required to have special insurance. The owners of the attacking dog didn’t have it. They insist their dog is an American bulldog. A consulting veterinarian disagrees.

CAMANCHE, IA (IRN) – Production has begun once again at the TMK IPSCO plant in Camanche, bringing more than 100 jobs back to the area. WQAD-TV reports the plant, which manufactures pipes for the oil and gas industry, was idled in 2015. Company officials say increased demand allowed for the re-opening. Salaries range from $70,000 to $100,000.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa State Fair isn’t over yet, but organizers are already planning for next year – and they’re not messing around. KCCI-TV reports the first official Grandstand performance at the 2018 fair will be none other than the Queen of Country herself, Reba McEntire.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – An Iowa couple whose adopted baby was killed after his birth parents regained custody has won a $3.25 million judgment in a lawsuit against their adoption lawyer. The Des Moines Register reports their attorney allowed them to believe he’d gotten the baby’s birth mother to sign a critical release-of-custody document when he had not done so. The 3-month-old baby was returned to his birth mother. The child’s father, then 17, murdered the baby. He is serving a 50 year prison sentence.

LOUISA COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A teenager riding a bicycle died when hit by a car in Louisa County Wednesday evening just after sunset. KCII-TV reports a Ford Taurus driven by 26-year-old Alexander Cortes-Wolfe of Wapello was westbound and struck and killed 14-year-old Raeanna Reynolds of Muscatine.

WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A Waterloo woman died weeks after receiving serious burns in a bonfire accident July 15. The Courier reports that 43-year-old Mary Ann Blow was burned when she poured a flammable liquid on a fire behind a relative’s home.

ALGONA, IA (IRN) – A Kossuth County auto dealer has been accused of theft. 56-year-old Scott Alan Krause is the owner and operator of the McGregor & Dodge car dealership in Algona. Krause allegedly overcharged customers by nearly $19,000 in tax, title and license fees, and illegally sold seven vehicles with liens on them.

AMES, IA (IRN) – Governor Kim Reynolds is asking the Board of Regents to find another way to deal with budget problems instead of raising tuition. WHO-TV reports school presidents say a lack of state funding is forcing their hands. They blame the state’s declining interest in funding higher education. In 1971 Iowa State University got nearly three-quarters of its budget from state funding. In 2016 just 26% of the school’s funding came from state dollars.

HIAWATHA, IA (IRN) – A new program in eastern Iowa is using music to help those with Down syndrome, according to KCRG-TV. The Hawkeye Area Down Syndrome Association hosts music therapy classes called Do Re Mi at the Hiawatha Library. One mother says music helps the children become better at speech, and that her daughter, “really comes alive when we incorporate the ABC song and other music” into the program.