Iowa Radio News

SHELLSBURG, IA (IRN) – A 79-year-old man died Monday after being pinned by an overturned tractor in rural Shellsburg. The Benton County Sheriff’s Office says Arlo Becker was driving the tractor when it overturned while pulling a sprayer up a steep grade. He was pronounced dead at the scene. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – An Alabama-based company is seeking to block Des Moines from enforcing rules limiting the sale of fireworks to industrial zones. KCCI-TV reports American Promotional Events, which bills itself as the nation’s largest distributor of consumer fireworks, filed the petition Monday in Polk County District Court. It seeks an injunction stopping Des Moines from enforcing its ordinance and an emergency hearing where the company would argue the local rules violate state law. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A man found guilty in a crash that killed a 12-year-old Des Moines girl has been sentenced. KCCI-TV reports Fernando Lopez-Aguilar caused a three-car crash in Des Moines which killed twelve-year-old Lea Phann. Her grandfather suffered serious traumatic brain injury in the crash. Lopez-Aguilar was sentenced to 20 years in prison. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Former lotto security director, Eddie Tipton–along with his brother Tommy–entered a plea agreement Monday with six other states including Iowa. He entered a guilty plea to theft by fraud and computer crime in Wisconsin, and has agreed to admit to ongoing criminal conduct charges in Iowa. Tipton is required to pay more than $2.2 million in restitution for rigging and winning seven lottery tickets in five states. He also faces up to 30 years in prison. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – President Donald Trump has rescheduled a previously postponed trip to Iowa in June, according to his campaign website. Trump is scheduled to appear at a rally in Cedar Rapids June 21. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines has announced it’s adding another baby to the family. The new addition, a Japanese macaque, was born on June 3rd. She weighed just over a pound at birth, which is big but healthy for a macaque. She is the first successful birth of a Japanese macaque at the zoo in more than 15 years. She will be named at this Friday’s Zoobilation event, which is a gala fundraiser for the zoo.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa’s Insurance Division is proposing a stopgap measure to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to ensure all Iowans have access to health insurance in 2018, saying no carriers will provide individual insurance in the state under the Affordable Care Act. Minnesota-based Medica is the only remaining statewide insurer on the exchange and has said it will drop out if changes aren’t made. MONTROSE, IA (IRN) – An officer responding to a burglary in progress call has shot a man in southeast Iowa. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation says the shooting occurred early Monday morning in rural Montrose. The man is being treated for his wounds. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa could see more than $100 million cut from federal grants that would reduce funding for early education, job training and low-income assistance. KCRG-TV reports the budget proposal by President Trump calls for the elimination of several block grants for the state. A spokeswoman for Gov. Kim Reynolds says her office will work with federal partners to ensure funding priorities are met. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Firefighters are investigating a fire in the Bowen Science Building on the University of Iowa campus Sunday. KWWL-TV reports the fire was put out quickly, and no one was injured. URBANDALE, IA (IRN) – Firefighters responded to a fire at a townhouse in Urbandale Sunday, according to WHO-TV. The flames started on the deck and then spread before firefighters were able to put out the fire in the attic. Fire officials say it is especially difficult to put out fires in hot, windy conditions, but crews were grateful for people in neighboring homes who brought out water to ensure the firefighters stayed hydrated. MARION, IA (IRN) – The city of Marion is working to help save Monarch butterflies, according to KGAN-TV. Monarchs need milkweed to survive. It’s what adults lay their eggs on and what the caterpillars eat for food. A group gathered yesterday to make milkweed seed balls for RAGBRAI. The goal is for cyclists to toss out the seed balls as they ride, with the hope more plants will sprout.

NORTH ENGLISH, IA (IRN) – The Iowa County Sheriff’s Office confirms one was killed following an officer-involved shooting in North English. Williamsburg Police and sheriff’s deputies responded to a domestic disturbance involving a gun Saturday night. The incident led to an officer involved shooting with a male subject who was pronounced dead at the scene. COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA (IRN) – A 26-year-old man from Denver, Colorado, was shot early Saturday in a motel in Council Bluffs. KETV reports the victim was found outside the hotel with a gunshot wound to his abdomen. Police have not made any arrests. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Despite President Trump’s decision to leave the Paris Climate Agreement, Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie is still on board, according to WHO-TV. Cownie says, “We have made a commitment. We plan on making good on our commitment. We have made steps on achieving those goals, and it’s not just Des Moines, Iowa, it’s mayors and cities around this country and around the world.” The mayors of Dubuque and Fairfield have also pledged to uphold the Paris agreement. WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Hy-Vee has saved 1 million pounds of produce from landfills with its Misfits produce program since January. For the past four months, Hy-Vee has been selling “ugly” produce at a lower cost to customers. “Ugly” produce are fruits and vegetables that would normally go unsold due to minor cosmetic anomalies that do not pass the industry’s size and shape standards. The produce is sold on average at a 30 percent discount.

DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – An eastern Iowa woman has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for neglecting her ailing son. KGAN-TV reports 30-year-old Valarie Clark of Eldridge pled guilty to neglect or abandonment of a dependent person. Clark’s son suffers from a medical disorder where the body cannot process proteins. The boy, then 6, was admitted to a hospital in 2016 for low blood sugar and starvation. Police say the boy was not being fed properly and had not received medical care for three years. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A Des Moines man will spend up to 25 years in prison for killing his passenger in a drunk driving crash. WHO-TV reports Dylan Winker pled guilty to vehicular homicide in a fatal crash last October. Winker had nine alcoholic drinks in a 90-minute time span before getting behind the wheel. He crashed head-on into another vehicle, killing his passenger. MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – A Mason City man who was facing an attempted murder charge has now been charged with first-degree murder, according to KIMT-TV. His alleged victim has died. 20-year-old Braedon Steven Bowers has been charged in the death of Wraymond Leon Todd. Todd died of a knife wound to the chest. MONONA, IA (IRN) – The Clayton County Sheriff’s Office and Monona Police Department were called to a robbery at Freedom Bank in Monona yesterday. KCRG-TV reports a suspect, 20-year-old Tyler Koehle, is in custody, charged with 2nd degree robbery. Koehler allegedly passed a note to an employee, demanding money. He also threatened to blow up the building if they didn’t comply. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa State Fire Marshal Jeff Quigle says five permanent locations have started selling fireworks in the state. KCCI-TV reports stores selling fireworks are now operating in Brooklyn, Grimes, Marion, Spirit Lake and Rembrandt. Other businesses are completing applications, including chains such as Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, Target, and Big Lots.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA (IRN) – Authorities have charged a Council Bluffs man accused of spanking his 2-year-old so hard she was left with bruises. 25-year-old Ryan Rapier is charged with felony child endangerment resulting in injury. The Daily Nonpareil reports Rapier told investigators that he’d spanked the girl twice Monday because she kept getting out of her crib and throwing things around the bedroom. He said he lost his temper and didn’t mean to hurt the child. BURLINGTON, IA (IRN) – An Iowa prosecutor said the motel clerk was a bad actor, and the jury agreed, convicting the man of theft and other crimes during a staged robbery. The Hawk Eye reports that 28-year-old Charles Smith and an accomplice faked a struggle during the fairytale robbery at a Burlington motel. The two “struggled,” and the other man fled with a wad of cash in one hand and a pistol in the other. Investigators found the performance unconvincing. CEDAR FALLS, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Board of Regents has approved a tuition increase at Iowa’s three public universities, starting in the fall. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports the board voted Thursday to approve an across-the-board $216 tuition hike. Regents say increases are needed because the Iowa Legislature has reduced state funding to the institutions by nearly $30 million. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Hospital Association is opposing the Republican proposal to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, according to KCRG-TV. The association says under the Act, fewer are using charity care, and that more than 150,000 Iowans gained access to health care because of the medicaid expansion back in 2014. They will lose coverage under the proposed plan. AMES, IA (IRN) – Experts at ISU and the DNR say a common chemical used by farmers is sickening oak leaves, leaving them deformed as if they’ve been eaten by insects. The condition is known as oak tatters, and scientists say the chemical acetochlor (ass-UH-toe-cluhr) is to blame. So far, the DNR has received more than 1,000 reports of oak tatters this spring — most of which are from the eastern half of the state where white oaks are most prevalent. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – After more than two months without a winner, the Powerball jackpot has grown to $435 million. The jackpot for Saturday night’s drawing will tie for the nation’s 10th largest lottery prize. No one has matched all the balls drawn in the game since April 1, when a player in Arizona won $60 million. The chance of winning the jackpot? About one in three million.