MANCHESTER, IA (IRN) – A man accused of driving his vehicle into a loaded school bus in eastern Iowa wants to withdraw his guilty pleas. The Dubuque Telegraph-Herald reports the attorney for 42-year-old Monte Klink filed a motion Friday. Klink had pled guilty to 2nd offense driving while intoxicated and to two counts of causing serious injury by vehicle. Klink’s SUV collided with a bus near Manchester in 2015. 32 students were treated for minor injuries.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A rising star in the Iowa Democratic party says she won’t run for governor next year. KCRG-TV reports Liz Mathis has opted out of the race. There had been speculation the state senator would run in the Democratic primary to potentially challenge Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, who will move into the governor’s role once Terry Branstad resigns to join the Trump administration.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Former Republican State Senator Kent Sorenson was sentenced to 15 months in prison in relation to a 2012 Iowa Caucus payola scandal involving Ron Paul’s presidential campaign. Prosecutors recommended no jail time, only two years of probation. Judge Robert Pratt disagreed, saying Sorenson’s crimes could not go unpunished. Pratt says, “A slap on the wrist exacerbates the cycle of corruption in politics.”

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow a woman who gets an abortion to sue the doctor who performed the procedure if she experiences emotional distress later–at any time in her life. KCRG-TV reports if approved, the measure would be the first law of its kind in the U.S.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Iowa National Guard is sending 30 Soldiers and Airmen to assist federal, state, and local agencies with the Inauguration of Donald Trump Friday. Airmen from the 185th Air Refueling Wing based in Sioux City, the 132nd Wing in Des Moines, and Soldiers and Airmen from the 71st Civil Support Team from Des Moines will be deployed.

WINTERSET, IA (IRN) – Winterset resident Ruth Lampe just turned 104 years old. WHO-TV reports Lampe’s friends held a birthday party for her at the Winterset Senior Center. She’s still active, and on Mondays and Tuesdays comes and makes coffee, cleans tables, wraps silverware, and visits with people at the center. Lampe says her only regret is that she never would have sold her house if she had known she would live so long.

DES MOINES, IA – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is taking a job at the U.S. Dairy Export Council. The group is a nonprofit that promotes dairy products. Vilsack is entering the private sector after decades in public service. Before he was appointed agriculture secretary in 2009, he was Iowa’s governor for eight years. He also served in the Iowa state senate and as mayor of Mount Pleasant.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA (IRN) – A naked man spotted near a Council Bluffs park has been treated for exposure. KGAN-TV reports a 911 caller told authorities that the man wouldn’t answer when asked whether he needed help in the 33 degree temperature. He was taken to a hospital for treatment of exposure and a psychological evaluation.

OTTUMWA, IA (IRN) – A Valentine’s Day trial has been scheduled for the last of three people accused of kidnapping an Ottumwa woman. KCCI-TV reports Joel Herrarte Jr. has pled not guilty. His two accomplices were given 10 years in prison for the crime. Police say the three kidnapped the woman a year ago and held her captive for several days.

NORTH LIBERTY, IA (IRN) – A teen was shot in the leg in a North Liberty mobile home park yesterday, according to KWWL-TV. Witnesses say two teens were talking in a car when a man approached the vehicle, opened the door, and fired his weapon, injuring the teen. The suspect remains on the loose.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Iowa City Police are looking for the suspect in an attempted armed robbery that took place last night just blocks from the University of Iowa campus. KGAN-TV reports a woman had a handgun pointed at her in a parking lot, and was told by the would-be robber to fork over cash. The victim didn’t have any money on her, leading the suspect to flee on foot.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Five people have died from the flu in Iowa this year, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health. The flu hospitalized 43 people last week. The majority of those people are 64 years of age or older. So far this flu season, 130 people across the state have been hospitalized.

WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – The Waterloo Police Department is investigating a murder-suicide at George Wyth State Park. They were called to the park on Saturday morning for a report of a man’s body found by the lake. Shortly after they arrived, they found a woman’s body in a vehicle in the parking lot. It appears they were husband and wife.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Two men are okay after their truck slid off the road into the water near Ellis Harbor in Cedar Rapids. KGAN-TV reports the Chevy Silverado lost control and slid into Robbins Lake. Both men were able to escape without injury.

LINCOLN, NE (IRN) – An Iowa woman has died after being hit by a vehicle in southeast Nebraska. KCCI-TV reports 19-year-old Merzedes Hart of Council Bluffs was walking Friday night near Waverly, Nebraska when she was hit by a vehicle. She was pronounced dead at the scene. The vehicle left the scene after hitting Hart, but it and the driver were soon located.

MARSHALLTOWN, IA (IRN) – A man was killed when his vehicle was struck by a train Saturday night in Marshalltown. WHO-TV reports 63-year-old Kyle Quick was driving across the tracks when he was hit by the oncoming train.

JANESVILLE, IA (IRN) – A Janesville man is dead after colliding with a tractor about two miles south of Janesville Saturday. The Iowa State Patrol reports 56-year-old Gene Turner collided with a tractor which was backing into a residential drive. He wasn’t wearing a seatbelt.

THE AMERICAN MIDWEST (IRN) – The Midwest is taking the brunt of winter storm Jupiter, which has killed at least six people. States of emergency have been declared in Oklahoma and Missouri, where flights have been cancelled and thick ice is expected to last for days. Much of Iowa is covered with ice, and travel is not recommended.

NEVADA, IA (IRN) – A Nevada man already in the Story County Jail for impersonating a public official on three different occasions is piling up more charges as he sits behind bars. KCCI-TV reports during a traffic stop 27-year-old Richard Stinson told an officer he had blue lights on his vehicle because he was a firefighter. Other reports are surfacing where Stinson claimed to be an undercover officer, a firefighter, and an Army investigator.

DURANT, IA (IRN) – A man was able to get away with an undisclosed amount of cash after robbing a Casey’s General Store in Durant at gunpoint Saturday, according to WQAD-TV. No one was hurt.

WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A Waterloo police officer charged in connection with a road rage incident has been acquitted of assault. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports a jury took less than four hours Friday to find 45-year-old Lt. Corbin Payne not guilty of roughing up a delivery driver while he was off-duty. At trial, Payne’s attorney painted a picture of the other man as a habitually aggressive driver who started the altercation by cursing at Payne.

IOWA (IRN) – Meteorologists continue to track a strong winter storm that is likely to impact much of Iowa beginning this afternoon. Light snow and a wintry mix is possible initially, but will transition over to mainly freezing rain across much of the state. The most impactful weather is likely late Sunday night into the morning hours Monday, where significant amounts of freezing rain are possible, resulting in a very difficult Monday morning commute.