Iowa Radio News

DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – Dubuque Police are investigating a murder that happened early this morning. KWWL-TV reports police received a report of a stabbing, and once on scene, found a dead woman. They also found a man inside the home. An investigation is underway. DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – A man broke into his ex-girlfriend’s apartment and used a knife to stick a copy of a no-contact order on a wall of her Dubuque apartment. Police say the gist of a message written on the order was: Who’s going to stop me? The Dubuque Telegraph Herald reports 24-year-old Bodhi-Kristoffer McGowan is in jail on charges of burglary and violating a no-contact order. The woman had returned from a trip and found that her apartment had been ransacked. Also, an ice cream container in her refrigerator had four knives stuck into it. SPRINGVILLE, IA (IRN) – A alleged drunk driver slammed into a storage shed in the Linn County town of Springville, starting a fire. KCRG-TV reports 37-year-old Kurt Hepker was taken into custody and charged with OWI. No one was hurt. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A huge anti-abortion rally took place at the Statehouse Thursday, according to KCCI-TV. Hundreds of “Rally for Life” participants gathered to encourage lawmakers to vote in favor of anti-abortion legislation. Chanting, “Unborn lives matter!” Iowans at the rally said they will not give up until abortions are banned in the state. MUSCATINE, IA (IRN) – Store owners at the Muscatine Mall are angry about a fake news story claiming the mall is closing in May. WQAD-TV reports the story, headlined “Say Bye to the Mall,” has gone viral on Facebook. The mall manager says the story is false, but that hasn’t stopped it from spreading. It originated on a website that encourages users to create fake news stories to “prank” their friends. Store owners say this has been was one of their worst weeks ever. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Polk County Jailers say they have a new tool to help improve inmate behavior, make the jail more efficient, and give inmates something to do. WHO-TV reports the jail was given 97 tablets, free of charge, from the company Telmate. Inmates are charged up to five cents per minute for streaming music, movies and playing games. Inmates can also use the tablets to sign up for Chaplain services, attorney visits, medical requests, and access the law library.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – An 88-year-old convicted sex offender accused of grabbing an Iowa state mental hospital worker has been found unfit to stand trial. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports William Cubbage grabbed the worker between the legs last year while she was showering him at the hospital in Independence. Cubbage was convicted of numerous sex crimes beginning in 1987, and gained notoriety after he was accused in 2011 of molesting a 95-year-old woman at a Pomeroy nursing home. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A Dubuque woman accused of stealing more than $70,000 from her employer has pled guilty. KWWL-TV reports 35-year-old Jennifer Shively wrote unauthorized checks on the accounts of her employer while she worked as the man’s bookkeeper. BELMOND, IA (IRN) – A man from the north-central Iowa town of Belmond passed away Monday afternoon in an accident at a cooperative. Dan Feller died after falling from a platform while loading a truck. The accident is under investigation. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – One day after introducing an amendment that would ban abortions in Iowa as soon as six weeks after conception, lawmakers have dropped the plan. WHO-TV reports the amendment approved by a House committee yesterday would have made it illegal for an abortion to be performed after a fetal heartbeat was detected. The amendment was added to a bill that already bans abortions 20 weeks after conception. The revised bill passed. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Gov. Terry Branstad has lowered his projections for Iowa’s upcoming budget year by about $173 million amid declining state revenues. KCCI-TV reports Branstad’s revised budget reduces funding to some departments, community colleges and the state’s three public universities. It also cuts money from a job skills training fund. DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – A Dubuque man’s proposal to his girlfriend drew lots of attention Tuesday. KCRG-TV reports Jeremy Valentine placed red plastic drinking cups into a fence to spell out his marriage proposal to his girlfriend, Lucy Reisen. It said simply, “Lucy, marry me. I ‘loe’ you.” The fence was on a overpass over busy Highway 20. Jeremy says he misspelled the word “love” because he got in a hurry when he noticed a policeman was watching him. There’s no word yet on whether or not Lucy has accepted.

DYERSVILLE, IA (IRN) – A man wanted on federal charges is now behind bars in Linn County, according to KWWL-TV. Authorities have been looking for Darryl Grigsby for 17 years. Grigsby was on the U.S. Army’s most wanted list for attempted rape and attempted armed robbery. Law enforcement says he was able to avoid being captured for 17 years, using many aliases and hiding in plain sight. He was arrested in Dyersville. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The man accused of killing two Des Moines metro police officers in ambush-style killings will receive a change of venue for this trial. Scott Greene is charged with the murders of Des Moines police Sgt. Anthony Beminio and Urbandale Officer Justin Martin. Judge Karen Romano has ruled that the trial will be moved to Dubuque County because of extensive pretrial publicity in Polk County. LE MARS, IA (IRN) – A man charged with stabbing his sister to death has chosen to have a judge, not a jury, decide his fate. The Sioux City Journal reports that 34-year-old Thomas Bibler waived his right to a jury trial. Bibler has pled not guilty to first-degree murder in connection with the stabbing death of 27-year-old Shannon Bogh, of Le Mars. He was arrested that day after a short standoff at his Le Mars apartment. BUCHANAN COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A Waterloo man was driving drunk and possibly high on drugs when he crashed his vehicle into the Aurora library in Buchanan County. KCRG-TV reports the crash caused extensive damage to the exterior and interior of the building, and to items and equipment inside. It also broke a water pipe, which flooded the building. 28-year-old Jerod Siebel faces multiple charges. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Republicans in the Iowa House unveiled last-minute fetal heartbeat legislation Tuesday. KCCI-TV reports the provision would ban abortions when a fetal heartbeat is present. Democrats say they are angry the plan was unveiled just minutes before it was scheduled for a vote. Republicans say they have always campaigned on pro-life issues, so Democrats should not be surprised. The vote was postponed. PLEASANT HILL, IA (IRN) – On Tuesday night, the Pleasant Hill City Council honored a man for his heroism. WHO-TV reports the mayor awarded Damian Bell the Carnegie Medal for saving a man from drowning in an icy lake in Indianola this February. The victim was treated for exposure at the hospital and released. The DNR says the man would not have survived if it wasn’t for Damian’s actions.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A new survey suggests that farmland values in Iowa have inched upward in the past six months. A report from the Iowa Realtors Land Institute says values climbed nearly 1 percent from September to March, hitting $6,545 an acre. The Des Moines Register reports the increase was the first since September 2013. The increase, though small, is encouraging as the average value of Iowa’s farmland has dropped 25 percent since March 2013. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A fire in Waterloo early this morning is being called suspicious, according to KWWL-TV. Officers found leaves on fire and a broken beer bottle in the kitchen that had been lit and thrown through a window. No one was hurt. There are no suspects. So far, there are no suspects. WEVER, IA (IRN) – Authorities have released the cause of death for a man found in Indian Path Park in Wever last month, according to KHQA-TV. The body of 47-year-old James Nelson was discovered the morning of February 11. Yesterday, the Lee County Medical Examiner said that Nelson died from a gunshot wound to the head. His death is being considered a homicide, and the investigation continues. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – One person is in critical condition after getting shot in the face Monday night. KCRG-TV reports the gunshot victim walked into a Waterloo hospital emergency room a little after 9 p.m. An ambulance transferred the victim to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics for life-threatening injures. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – An Iowa House panel has approved a bill that would toughen Iowa’s regulations for texting and driving. The bill would allow a law enforcement officer to pull over a driver specifically for texting. It’s a secondary offense under current law, meaning an officer must have another reason to initiate a traffic stop. The proposed legislation has bipartisan support. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Local government control over the minimum wage in Iowa is in jeopardy. The State Senate has approved a measure setting Iowa’s minimum wage at $7.25 per hour–the current federal minimum wage. It also blocks local governments from increasing the wage above the state minimum. The bill now goes to Governor Branstad for his signature.

WASHINGTON COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A high-speed chase through Jefferson, Keokuk and Washington counties ended when the vehicle hit a deer. KCII-Radio reports an officer tried to initiate a traffic stop for equipment violations when 25-year-old Jaimye Southern of Fairfield fled. The 27-minute pursuit ended when Southern hit the deer and fled on foot. After she was apprehended in a field, marijuana was found in her vehicle. She’s in jail. WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Over 700 students at Valley Southwoods High School in West Des Moines returned to school this morning after learning the principal and vice principal were abruptly placed on administrative leave. KCCI-TV reports it’s unclear why the principal, Mitch Kuhnert, and assistant principal, Bryan Stearns, were placed on administrative leave, but a letter to parents said it stems from a complaint. BOONE, IA (IRN) – A Boone man has been sentenced to 205 years in prison after he was convicted of sexually abusing five boys, three of whom were under the age of 12. KCCI-TV reports 38-year-old Ryan Barnhardt must serve a mandatory 122 1/2 years before he’s eligible for parole. CEDAR FALLS, IA (IRN) – Two NFL football players were arrested after a fight on College Hill in Cedar Falls Saturday night. KWWL-TV reports Deiondre Hall with the Chicago Bears and Makinton Dorleant with the Green Bay Packers are former UNI football players. Hall was cited for disorderly conduct, public intoxication, and interference. Dorleant was cited for interference. A bouncer was hit, and a Cedar Falls police officer was hit in the back of the head with a beer bottle. He’s OK. IOWA (IRN) – An Iowa Democrat hopes there will be one less Republican in Washington next year. Kim Weaver announced Sunday she will run for Iowa’s fourth congressional district seat against Republican Steve King again in 2018. She was defeated by King in the 2016 election. King has been receiving national attention recently for controversial tweets. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Choosing to celebrate each other’s differences, hundreds gathered outside the Mother Mosque of America in Cedar Rapids Sunday. KCRG-TV reports Islam, Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Atheist and Native American speakers shared some of their practices. One speaker said the rally was “about the values of America … they want to see everyone in America equal … with freedom of religion.”