Iowa Radio News

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines police are investigating the city’s first double homicide this year, which stemmed from a dispute at a party. KCCI-TV reports it is unclear what started the dispute. Police say officers dealt with a “hostile crowd” and witnesses weren’t cooperating with detectives. No arrests have been made. The slayings mark the city’s 17th and 18th homicides this year, compared with 13 homicides in all of 2016. MOUNT VERNON, IA (IRN) – The Linn County Sheriff’s Office has identified a man who drowned in the Cedar River near Mount Vernon Friday. Rescue workers were called for a report of a man falling into the river. First responders found 68-year-old Jeffery Fordyce, of Dike, unresponsive, and attempts to revive him were unsuccessful. MARSHALLTOWN, IA (IRN) – Crews in Marshalltown responded to a report of a house fire early Saturday morning. WHO-TV reports upon arriving at the residence, fire officials found smoke coming from the basement and first floor windows; the fire was later found in a wall in the basement, caused by a faulty outlet. The homeowner said he and his wife had been sleeping when they were woken up by the home’s fire alarms. They made it out safely. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – The Iowa City landfill wants to ban corrugated cardboard. KCRG-TV reports corrugated cardboard is a lot thicker than regular cardboard. Some common examples include moving boxes and pizza boxes. The city estimates banning corrugated cardboard would divert 12,000 to 14,000 tons of materials from the landfill.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines Police are investigating a shooting that happened early Saturday morning. When officers arrived on scene they found two gunshot victims. These are the city’s 17th and 18th homicides of 2017. DEWITT, IA (IRN) – A man slit his father’s throat and stabbed his mother, according to KCRG-TV. 18-year-old Gavin Glasz of DeWitt is charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Glasz’s father did not report to work, and deputies checked the home. They found Gavin Glasz with wounds on his hands. They also found his father’s body wrapped in blankets with his throat slit. His mother’s body was found in the basement, also wrapped in blankets. Both parents had been strangled and stabbed multiple times. BUCHANAN COUNTY, IA (IRN) – New details have been released regarding the deadly crash involving reality TV personality Chris Soules, according to WHO-TV. Soules rear-ended a tractor in Buchanan County in April, killing the driver. Soules called 9-1-1 at the time of the accident, but is charged with leaving the scene before police arrived. Tests show Soules was sober at the time of accident. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa’s unemployment rate for May remained at 3.1% for the third straight month. The Iowa Workforce Development agency reports the rate was 3.8% a year ago. The national rate for May was 4.3 percent. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Patients at Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines got a surprise visit Friday. KCCI-TV reports four window washers dressed as superheroes flew down the side of the hospital to say “Hi” to the kids in the playroom. The window washers came from Larry’s Window Cleaning Service. The kids got to meet Batman, Superman, Spiderman, and Captain America. One patient even got to play tic-tac-toe through the window with Batman.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Police are looking for more information after a report of gunshots in Iowa City last night. KGAN-TV reports multiple vehicles fled the scene right after the shooting. Police found shell casings and a home and a vehicle with damage from gunshots. No injuries were reported. MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – A car crashed into a convenience store Friday morning in downtown Mason City, according to KIMT-TV. Reports are the vehicle involved was a Subaru and it’s estimated the collision caused at least $20,000 to the store, included a destroyed counter inside. The cause of the incident is under investigation. AMES, IA (IRN) – A jury has convicted an Ames woman of voluntary manslaughter for killing her husband. The Des Moines Register reports 36-year-old Candace Cummings was charged with first-degree murder for killing 36-year-old Harland Cummings. Prosecutors say she shot him as he slept. She says she killed her husband because of stress in their marriage and the years of abuse she’d suffered at his hands. BUCHANAN COUNTY, IA (IRN) – The body of an adult woman was found in the Wapsipinicon River near Littleton in Buchanan County Thursday night. KCRG-TV reports authorities can’t confirm the identity of the victim at this time, but are investigating a missing person’s case for a Waterloo woman, Rhonda Apfel. 47-year-old Apfel went missing last month near the river. SHERRILL, IA (IRN) – Crews are working to clean up a train derailment in Dubuque County near Sherrill. KWWL-TV reports seven Canadian Pacific cars derailed. Nobody was hurt and there were no hazardous materials involved. They are currently working to get the cars back onto the track. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Gov. Kim Reynolds informally announced she will run for Governor in 2018, and that acting Lt. Gov Adam Gregg will be her running mate. She also announced new staff hires and a campaign committee as part of her election team. A formal announcement will be made in the coming months.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Police were busy at the Des Moines International Airport Wednesday after a loaded weapon was found in a carry-on bag. WHO-TV reports the gun was discovered at the security screening checkpoint. When police arrived, they took the Diamondback .380, which was loaded with seven rounds, and gave the owner of the bag a citation. The bag’s owner was then allowed to board their flight. WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Police are searching for the driver of a car that crashed into a family burial site that sits in the middle of a West Des Moines roundabout. The Des Moines Register reports the driver abandoned the car in Huston Cemetery around 3:30 a.m. Saturday. The vehicle had damaged the fence, landscaping and some headstones before coming to rest. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Cedar Rapids police have arrested a North Texas man they say attended church services and scammed members by claiming his family was killed in Syria, and he needed money to fly home. KCRG-TV reports that 41-year-old Alan Michael Farha of Carrollton, Texas, allegedly scammed churches out of $5,000 to $6,000. He’s been charged in similar schemes in six other states. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Police are investigating an alleged attempted kidnapping that happened Monday in Des Moines. KCCI-TV reports a woman called police, saying she was being chased by three men in a white, rusty minivan. The men were yelling, “hey, hey you! Get into our car!” After she ignored them, they cut across three lanes of traffic, pulled in front of her, opened the passenger door, and tried to get her to get in. She fled to the safety of a coffee shop. BUCHANAN COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Chris Soules and his defense has requested the former “Bachelor” star’s trial be pushed back. KGAN-TV reports they say they need more time to prepare for trial. Soules is charged with leaving the scene of an April 24 crash in which he rear-ended a tractor, killing 66-year-old Kenneth Mosher. He has pled not guilty. MAYNARD, IA (IRN) – Angelo Pizzo, screenwriter for the sports movies Hoosiers and Rudy, is now looking to Iowa for inspiration. KWWL-TV reports PIzzo is writing a script where an Iowa girls high school basketball team will be the stars. It is set in 1956, when the Maynard High School girls won the State Championship. The movie will be based on the 2013 book, Maynard 8 Miles, which features an Iowa farm family and the immense impact of six on six girls basketball in Iowa in the 1950’s.

SIOUX CITY, IA (IRN) – A teenager accused of using a BB gun to shoot his 3-year-old sister has pled not guilty in Sioux City. The 17-year-old is charged with willful injury and child endangerment. KETV reports one BB was removed during surgery, but the other BB entered near one of the girl’s eyes and lodged next to her brain. Doctors say it is too risky to remove, so it’s been left in place. MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – A Mason City woman found herself in a hospital due to an unexpected encounter Sunday in her yard. KIMT-TV reports the women felt something hurt her foot, looked down and saw a cut. She didn’t think much about it until several hours later when the cut became more painful, and she couldn’t walk. He foot turned purple, she grew nauseated and dizzy, so she went to the hospital. It turns out she was bitten by a rattlesnake. Fortunately, the anti-venom worked, and she will be OK. DEWITT, IA (IRN) – Law enforcement agencies are investigating the deaths of two people near DeWitt. KCRG-TV reports family members didn’t get an answer when they tried calling yesterday, after one didn’t show up for work. Sheriff’s deputies found the bodies inside their home. LUCAS COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A construction worker from Waterloo was hit and killed by a driver yesterday in a construction zone in Lucas County. The Iowa State Patrol reports 32-year-old Brady Rasmus, of Chariton, failed to see 48-year-old Barbarella Moore, of Waterloo. Moore was flagging vehicles while another worker was cutting concrete. Moore was hit by Rasmus’ SUV and died at the scene. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Governor Kim Reynolds on behalf of disabled Iowans. The lawsuit claims Iowans with severe disabilities are suffering from cuts in services following the state’s privatization of Medicaid under then Governor Branstad. The plaintiffs say Reynolds and her human services director should be held responsible for depriving thousands of Iowans with disabilities the health care they desperately need. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa’s former U.S. attorney and Hawkeye football tight end is now weighing in as an analyst on CNN. KCCI-TV reports Matt Whitaker is making a name for himself as a CNN panelist, sparring with Anderson Cooper and his cable show experts. Whitaker said at first he was intimidated meeting and sparing with political legends like Carl Bernstein and David Axelrod, but then realized they put their pants on one leg at a time just like everyone else.