Iowa Radio News

WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A man faces charges after an incident at a Hy-Vee in West Des Moines today. KCCI-TV reports store employees notified police when 41-year-old John Wesley Goodsell used a gift card that had been purchased with a stolen check. When officers arrived Goodsell got in his car and fled police, leaving his girlfriend behind. Officers followed Goodsell on a short chase that ended when he hit a retaining wall, then fled on foot into a neighborhood. Officers found him hiding in a back yard. He’s in jail. WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A West Des Moines man faces charges after police say he lit his apartment on fire in anger after his lease was not renewed. KCCI-TV reports 45-year-old Douglas Williams was upset that his lease was not renewed, and started yelling, stomping and screaming. When officers arrived, they noticed heavy smoking coming from Williams’ apartment, and neighbors trying to put out the fire with fire extinguishers. He’s in jail. OTTUMWA, IA (IRN) – Two men have been arrested in connection with an April robbery at Applebee’s in Ottumwa. KTVO-TV reports 22-year-old Bryce Sines of Batavia and 19-year-old Levi Mitchell of Richland are charged with First Degree Robbery. The two men approached employees at closing time wearing masks. One was armed with a hatchet, the other had a machete. They took about $1,400 in small bills. BURLINGTON, IA (IRN) – Police have confirmed that the foot found near Lake West near Burlington on June 8 is human. WQAD-TV reports the foot has been sent to the Department of Criminal Investigation lab for DNA extraction and analysis. Results aren’t expected for six to eight months. MADRID, IA (IRN) – Police found explosives at a Boone County residence west of Madrid yesterday, according to WHO-TV. The investigation began during a suspicious traffic stop Saturday. The driver, Leanna Haidsiak, consented to a search of her car, and the deputy found several pipe bombs. More were found at her residence. She and her housemate Tjaden Mallory face multiple charges. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowans are mourning those lost in the Orlando gay nightclub shootings. KCCI-TV reports Donna Red Wing, the Director of One Iowa, has planned an event — “’Love is Love is Love’: A Gathering to Remember”– as a chance for community leaders and residents to talk about the Orlando nightclub shooting, to mourn, to celebrate and to educate. The gathering begins at 6:30 p.m. tonight, and will take place at the John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park in Des Moines. JOHNSON COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Small radio transmitters are helping Cornell College students research a threatened species of turtles that currently nest in a remote, dry area of Johnson County. KCRG-TV reports it’s research about migration patterns. Turtles are on the move now, and Professor Andy McCollum says if we see turtles crossing the road to give them a hand by getting them off the roadway and pointing them the direction they were going.

ORAN, IA (IRN) – An Iowa man is facing charges after allegedly vandalizing cars Sunday in Oran in Fayette County. KWWL-TV reports 69-year-old Dennis Lee Weaver of Oelwein, was arrested and charged with Criminal Mischief, Aggravated Assault, and Possession of a Controlled Substance. Witnesses report he was slashing tires with an ice pick on Main Street. DENISON, IA (IRN) – Two Denison residents were killed in the collisions of three vehicles near Denison in western Iowa. The crashes were reported around noon Sunday on Iowa Highway 39. The Iowa State Patrol says a northbound car crashed into a southbound pickup, and then both of those vehicles struck another northbound vehicle. 22-year-old Robbie McMullen and 19-year-old Emiliano Ramos are dead. Three others were hospitalized. LE MARS, IA (IRN) – A northwest Iowa man has been accused of stabbing his sister to death. WQAD-TV reports 33-year-old Thomas Bibler was arrested Saturday night after a short standoff at his Le Mars apartment. He’s accused of fatally stabbing 27-year-old Shannon Bogh at her Le Mars home. Authorities have not released information on what led up to the stabbing. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Police in Des Moines are investigating the death of a baby they say was left inside a sweltering car while his father lingered in a barber shop. KCCI-TV reports 36-year-old Lance Williams Sr. returned to the car to find the boy dead. He is charged with child endangerment resulting in death. It was 91 degrees. ALTOONA, IA (IRN) – An Adventureland employee died from injuries sustained while working on a ride at the amusement park. WHO-TV reports Steve Booher slipped and fell on the park’s “Raging River” ride on Tuesday. Park officials say Booher was helping assist riders in getting onto the raft. The ride remains open. LAKE OF THE OZARKS, MO (IRN) – A Dubuque man drowned at the Lake of the Ozarks over the weekend. The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports 51-year-old Andy Burgmeier was swimming after getting off a boat in Anderson Hollow Cove on Saturday. Burgmeier went under the water, and did not resurface. The highway patrol’s dive team later recovered his body using a sonar scan. DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – An Iowa State student from Waukee has been crowned this year’s Miss Iowa. The Quad City-Times reports Kelly Koch was announced as the winner Saturday night in Davenport. Koch will now represent the state in the Miss America Pageant in September in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Koch entered the pageant as Miss Polk County. She was one of 17 women competing in the pageant.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A body was recovered from the Des Moines River Saturday night near Yellow Banks Park in Polk County, according to KCCI-TV. The body of an Asian man was recovered shortly after 9 p.m. and transported to the Medical Examiner’s Office. Officials are working to identify the man and the cause of death. MONTOUR, IA (IRN) – A motorcyclist died in a Tama County crash near Montour Saturday. The Iowa State Patrol reports 55-year-old Vincent Hamilton, of Belle Plaine, was driving east on Highway 30 when he lost control of his 2004 Harley Davidson on a curve and drove off the road. He died at the scene. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A 17-year-old girl is in the hospital after collapsing at the Cherry Hill Aquatic Center in Cedar Rapids. KCRG-TV reports it happened around 2 p.m. Friday on the deck of the aquatic center. The girl was unresponsive for a period of time, but became conscious after staff performed CPR. The event is being treated as a medical incident. WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A West Des Moines restaurant is raising money to help fight cancer. WHO-TV reports Firebird’s Wood Fired Grill is raising money for the “Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation.” The charity started when 4-year-old Alexandra Scott was diagnosed with cancer. She held a lemonade stand to help her family pay for medical bills. The restaurant has a yearly lemonade stand at each of their locations, and so far about $15,000 has been raised.

CHARLES CITY, IA (IRN) – A reported assault led to the discovery of marijuana plants in a Charles City home, according to KIMT-TV. Witnesses say on Thursday 31-year-old Carlos Cooper slapped and punched a woman. Officers say when they arrived, witnesses were holding Cooper back and the woman was seizing on the floor. Cooper was arrested for domestic abuse assault. Police say they also found four marijuana plants in the apartment. The woman’s condition is unknown. ANKENY, IA (IRN) – A drunken driver caused a deadly collision and a massive tie-up Friday on Interstate 35 near Ankeny, according to KCCI-TV. Police say 45-year-old William Phipps struck a 2010 Subaru driven by Zachary McMahon, who was transported to a nearby hospital. The passenger, Alexander Koch, died. Phipps faces charges of vehicular homicide, OWI third offense, driving while barred, and leaving the scene of an accident. DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – Two Dubuque police officers were assaulted by a Dubuque man while arresting him in a city park Wednesday morning. KCRG-TV reports police were called to Miller Riverview Park on a report of a domestic disturbance. Police located 33-year-old Daniel Adams and arrested him on a warrant for having left a local Iowa Department of Corrections facility. While being booked, Adams pushed and spit on one officer, and head-butted another. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The director of a Des Moines daycare center faces charges in a drunk driving incident. WHO-TV reports 28-year old Tiffany McCauley crashed into a construction site. McCauley admitted to drinking and the officer noticed what appeared to be vomit on her shirt. Witnesses saw her throw a marijuana pipe out of her car. She blew a .361, more than four times the legal limit. McCauley is the director of Teddy Bear Town daycare at SCAVO High School. ELDON, IA (IRN) – The 46th Annual American Gothic Days in Eldon is underway this weekend. The festival is named after the house located in Eldon which is the backdrop of Grant Wood’s famous painting “American Gothic.” The most unusual event? Cardboard boat races.

BUFFALO, IA (IRN) – Investigators are seeking information on the death of a Davenport man whose body was pulled from the Mississippi River near Buffalo, Iowa. WQAD-TV reports 35-year-old Gregory Dunbar was last seen leaving his apartment building on May 8. Later that week his body was pulled from the Mississippi. GENEVA, IA (IRN) – A parolee accused of burning an icehouse in Franklin County has pled guilty. KIMT-TV reports 27-year-old Brandon Deetz entered the plea Wednesday. Deetz was arrested after deputies stopped a car that witnesses spotted leaving the fire scene near Geneva on March 9. Deetz was on parole for 2012 arson convictions when he was arrested. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A woman in custody at the Polk County jail has died. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is conducting an investigation into the death of 50-year-old Linda Spencer of Des Moines. Jail staff members found Spencer, initiated life-saving measures, and were able to revive her. She was later pronounced dead at the hospital. She was in jail to serve 29 days for possession of methamphetamine. ANKENY, IA (IRN) – One person has died and another was hospitalized following a four-vehicle accident on Interstate 35 near Ankeny. The Des Moines Register reports one of the drivers in the crash fled the scene on foot, but was apprehended by police. JACKSON, NE (IRN) – Two residents of Council Bluffs are dead and two others were injured in an accident in Jackson, Nebraska, according to KETV. Shortly before dawn yesterday, deputies found the car down an embankment in a creek. They say the driver, 45-year-old Christopher Cox, is OK. 57-year-old Connie Fauzae and 9-year-old Espionza Lara were killed, and 10-year-old Jose Lara is hospitalized. Cox said he swerved to avoid a deer and lost control. MUSCATINE, IA (IRN) – A jury has found a former Muscatine police officer guilty of sexually assaulting a Davenport woman while he was on duty. WQAD-TV reports Tom Tovar, the ex-police officer, says the sex was consensual. She says it wasn’t. He gave her a ride in his squad car to her hotel after her boyfriend was arrested for drunk driving. Tovar faces a mandatory ten years in prison. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is investigating an attempted abduction that happened on the north side of Des Moines. A 14-year-old girl reported that she was walking when a man jumped out of a car and started chasing her. The girl ran to a nearby home and asked the occupants to call police. The man fled. AMES, IA (IRN) – The president of the board that governs Iowa’s three public universities says he’s backing a tuition hike that’s been criticized by Gov. Terry Branstad. KCCI-TV reports Board of Regents President Bruce Rastetter says the legislature has underfunded the universities. Branstad disagrees. A public split is unusual between Branstad and Rastetter, one of the governor’s top donors.