Iowa Radio News

JOHNSON COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Alexander Kozak, the man who was convicted of killing 20-year-old Andrea Farrington in the Coral Ridge Mall, has filed a motion for a new trial, according to KCCI-TV. Kozak was convicted April 26th of first-degree murder. He is scheduled to be sentenced June 6th in Johnson County. A conviction of first-degree murder in the state of Iowa carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole. URBANDALE, IA (IRN) – Urbandale police are investigating a report of a drive-by shooting shortly after noon today, according to KCCI-TV. Minor injuries to one younger adult male was reported. The investigation is ongoing. MONROE COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A Bloomfield man died in a car and minivan head-on crash Saturday. The Iowa State Patrol reports a car driven by 47-year-old Mark Garretson of Bloomfield was traveling north on Highway 5 in Monroe County and a minivan driven by 69-year-old Marlyn Copeland of Ottumwa, was driving south. The minivan entered the northbound lanes and hit the car head-on. Copeland was hurt in the crash as well as two children. They were hospitalized. COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA (IRN) – Authorities evacuated the federal building in Council Bluffs after reports of an odor of natural gas this morning, according to KETV. Crews responded, checked out the building, and cleared everyone to go back inside. LOUISA COUNTY, IA (IRN) – One person was killed in a single-vehicle crash in rural Louisa County Saturday morning, according to the Iowa State Patrol. 24-year-old Ruger Dean told troopers he swerved to avoid hitting a deer in the roadway, lost control, and the vehicle flipped. The passenger, 24-year-old Alexandria Edwards of Columbus Junction, was pronounced dead at the scene. JOHNSON COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A Cedar Rapids man is dead after losing control of his vehicle Sunday morning. KWWL-TV reports 26-year-old Rashad Carrington was driving northbound on I-380 when he lost control. His vehicle struck a guardrail, and came to a rest in a ditch. Carrington was a starting point guard and team leader for the Cedar Valley CourtKings, a minor league basketball team. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Police in Des Moines are investigating a shooting that occurred on Sunday night on the east side of the city. WHO-TV reports that a man was shot in the stomach and is now in the hospital in stable condition. Police say they’ve made arrests. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The families of about 60 Iowa Army National Guard soldiers said goodbye Sunday as the 185th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, based out of Camp Dodge, is headed into a yearlong deployment in Afghanistan. KCCI-TV reports the Mother’s Day departure was an emotional one, not only for the soldiers, but also for the over 1,000 friends, family, and other well-wishers attending the send-off ceremony.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Police are investigating after finding the charred remains of a human body at a homeless camp in northeast Des Moines last month. The Des Moines Register reports that the victim has not been identified. The body was found near a burned shed near the homeless camp on private property. SPERRY, IA (IRN) – A man has died after being pinned by a piece of farm machinery near the southeastern Iowa town of Sperry, according to the Hawk Eye. The farmer’s name and other information are being withheld pending notification of his family. DES MOINES, IA – Des Moines police are still searching for the two men who seriously injured a man riding his bike last Sunday, according to WHO-TV. 65-year-old Charles Wesley Brown was riding his bicycle when two white males in their 20s’ assaulted him. Brown was hospitalized and is still in critical condition almost a week later. Police say it appears to have been a “random, cowardly act of violence against a guy who was minding his own business.” LOUISVILLE, KY (IRN) – An Iowa based horse proved he was one of the fastest horses in the nation with a seventh place finish in the Kentucky Derby. Brody’s Cause is owned by Dennis Albaugh and Jason Loutsch of Albaugh Family Stables in Ankeny. Nyquist, the favorite at 2-1, won the race with Exaggerator coming in second.

MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – On Tuesday Mason City City Leaders voted 3-3 to deny Prestage Farms an incentive package to build on the south end of town. KIMT-TV reports those with Prestage Farms say they are disappointed in the decision saying they believed Mason City was the perfect location. The company is still looking to find a location for their processing plant, but this sets them back about a year. 15 Iowa communities have already reached out to try and start working on a plan. OSAGE, IA (IRN) – A northern Iowa teen convicted of killing his mother has been sentenced to prison. KCRG-TV reports 17-year-old Noah Crooks was sentenced to up to 50 years in prison for the March 2012 shooting death of his mother, 37-year-old Gretchen Crooks. He will go to prison once he turns 18 this summer. Crooks was 13 years old when he repeatedly shot his mother in their Osage home. DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – Police have charged a Davenport man in connection with hitting a bicyclist last month, according to WQAD-TV. 24-year-old Walid Grewal is charged with leaving the scene of a crash resulting in serious injury. Grewal was driving a Mercedes on loan from a dealership in Illinois, when he hit the 56-year-old bicyclist and fled. Police were able to identify the Mercedes based on the car parts left at the scene. DES MOINES, IA – The city of Des Moines is about to start a yearlong study on which one-way streets downtown should be converted to two-way streets, according to KCCI-TV. East Village businesses are thriving, and the city is considering adopting the model for the rest of downtown. Business owners find that two-way streets often mean more people come through business doors. If the city decides to convert more roads, the process could take 20 years. LOUISVILLE, KY – Officials are hoping to see record attendance at today’s Kentucky Derby, according to WHO-TV. Horse racing is coming off its biggest year in over four decades, mainly because last year saw a Triple Crown winner for the first time since 1978. Iowa has an entry this year–Brody’s Cause, from Ankeny. Over 200,000 people are expected to be in the grandstands today–and many of them will be sipping mint juleps.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled that deceased Slipknot bassist Paul Gray’s child may sue for loss of a parent’s companionship, affirming the rights of children born after a parent’s death. The ruling Friday comes in the wrongful death lawsuit that Gray’s widow filed after the heavy metal bassist died of a drug overdose in May 2010. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Cedar Rapids Police are investigating what appears to be a fight between five people in a parking lot at Jefferson High School that left one person injured and one under arrest. KCRG-TV reports by the time officers arrived, not all those they believe were involved in the fight were still at the scene. Police said both adults and school-aged children were involved. ATALISSA, IA (IRN) – A man driving a piece of farm equipment has been hospitalized after it was struck by a train in eastern Iowa, according to KCRG-TV. The accident occurred Thursday near Atalissa. The Muscatine County Sheriff’s Office says 40-year-old Matthew Carlson, of Muscatine, was injured when the fertilizer sprayer he was operating crossed a track and was struck by the locomotive. He was flown to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. DES MOINES, IA – Des Moines city officials are once again tearing down a homeless camp. KCCI-TV reports the area is north of the Raccoon River and Gray’s Lake. Crews are using heavy equipment to remove the camp. The people living there were warned of the eviction earlier this week. TAMA COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Dustin Jefferson will spend the rest of his life in prison for helping his mother kill his wife. KCRG-TV reports the 40-year-old Jefferson was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. He helped his mother, Ginger Jefferson, stab to death his wife, Kerry O’Clair Jefferson in 2013. Ginger Jefferson is already serving a life sentence for committing first-degree murder. EASTERN IOWA (IRN) – Eight people have been arrested after 29 search warrants were executed by the FBI across eastern Iowa and Wisconsin into a methamphetamine conspiracy. KWWL-TV reports the 29 search warrants were executed in Des Moines, Marshalltown, Waterloo, Cedar Falls, Denver, Dubuque, Greeley and Benton, Wisconsin. A total of 250 law enforcement officers participated in the arrests and search warrants. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A federal jury in Iowa has convicted three campaign advisers to 2012 presidential candidate Ron Paul on charges they conspired to cover up campaign payments to a former state senator. KCCI-TV reports Paul’s staff illegally passed on $73,000 to Iowa Republican Senator Kent Sorenson. He dropped support for Michele Bachmann and endorsed Paul six days before the 2012 Iowa caucuses. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The investigation into who stole an Iowa lawmaker’s beehives continues, and detectives now have new evidence, according to WHO-TV. Surveillance video shows a white pickup truck hauling away two beehives belonging to Iowa Rep. Rob Taylor. It also shows a Volkswagen Jetta arriving and leaving with the truck, acting as a watchdog. The theft is more common than one might think. Since the start of the dwindling bee population in 2006, the number of bee related thefts has increased. Officials say to expect more.

CUMMING, IA (IRN) – Rescue crews were called to a fatal crash Thursday just west of Interstate 35 at the Cumming exit south of Des Moines, according to KCCI-TV. A Ford van collided head-on with a Slingshot three-wheeled vehicle at the intersection. Josephine Rose Snyder, of Winterset, was killed in the crash. Two others were hospitalized. AMES, IA (IRN) – Police in Ames say they’ve tracked down the people behind a pesky, but pricey crime, according to WHO-TV. Over the span of just two days last month, about 40 to 60 people had their car windows shattered by BB guns. Now police say they’ve arrested two 16-year-old boys in connection to the BB shootings. They’ll both be charged in juvenile court. SIDNEY, IA (IRN) – A southwest Iowa pastor has been given 25 years in prison for sexually abusing a 5-year-old girl. KWWL-TV reports 68-year-old Roger Kissel was convicted of sex abuse and two counts of lascivious acts with a child. When he was arrested, Kissel was a pastor at the nondenominational Sidney Cowboy Church. DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – A rural Dubuque man faces seven assault and weapons charges after he shot at his wife three times, his son once, and pointed the gun at deputies. The Dubuque Telegraph Herald reports 67-year-old Thomas Steines was arguing with his wife, and then left the room. He returned with a .40-caliber handgun and fired one shot at her while she sat at the table and two shots as she walked away. She texted her son, and when he arrived his father took a shot at him. Both say he was drunk, and that he wasn’t trying to kill them. JEWELL, IA (IRN) – The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office and Jewell Police Department received numerous phone calls Tuesday of a possible animal abuse case. KCCI-TV reports the calls referred authorities to a video 22-year-old Paul Gage Arndt posted on Facebook. Police viewed the video, went to the home and found a pit bull puppy that needed immediate assistance. The puppy is now with a vet, and Arndt faces possible animal abuse and drug charges. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines police are investigating a shooting that left a bullet hole in a home, according to WHO-TV. On scene they found numerous shell casings. The occupants of the home heard six or seven shots. No one was injured. WINNESHIEK COUNTY, IA – (IRN) – A Wednesday afternoon fire at a farm outside of Ft. Atkinson killed about 20,000 birds, according to KWWL-TV. The fire started sometime Wednesday afternoon at S&C Organic Farms in Winneshiek County. The fire caused nearly half a million dollars in damage, including about $100,000 in poultry alone. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – A brother-sister duo from Iowa City are producing and preparing to sell decks of playing cards that honor American women. KCRG-TV reports Zach and Zebby Wahls came up with the idea after Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump made a comment saying Hillary Clinton is playing the “woman card.” The deck will feature 13 famous women, each in all four suits. Some of the women include Clinton, Amelia Earhart, and Susan B. Anthony.