Iowa Radio News

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A Cedar Rapids teenager died in a shooting Friday in Cedar Rapids, according to KCRG-TV. When police arrived on scene, they found 15-year-old Senquez Jackson inside the home with a gunshot wound. Jackson was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead on Saturday evening. BUFFALO, IA (IRN) – A Muscatine County man suspected of burglary assaulted a sheriff’s deputy and then took off in a transport vehicle Friday. WQAD-TV reports 38-year-old Barry Bennett was arrested for robbery. Bennett was being taken to jail but was able to able to escape by breaking the rear window. Bennett assaulted the officer in the front seat, took the vehicle’s keys and led officers on a pursuit that ended in rural Muscatine County. He faces multiple charges, and is in jail. The deputy is OK. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Police in Des Moines say a man is recovering from a gunshot wound he received Saturday morning. WHO-TV reports the man told police he was walking home when he was shot in the leg. The victim walked to a nearby home for help and was taken to Mercy Medical Center. DENVER, IA (IRN) – Georges Niang scored 28 points in a 78-61 win over Little Rock in the second round of the men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament. The Cyclones advanced to their second Sweet 16 in three years. They will play the Virginia-Butler winner in Chicago next weekend. The UNI Panthers and Iowa Hawkeyes play today.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A plane with 192 people on board made a safe landing Friday morning at the Des Moines International Airport after an odor was reported in the cockpit. WHO-TV reports the issue was resolved while the plane was still in the air but as a precaution, the plane was still diverted to Des Moines. American Airlines called the odor a “mechanical issue.” CLINTON, IA (IRN) – A body found in the Mississippi River near Clinton on Thursday has been confirmed to be that of missing 36-year-old Joshua Snyder. WQAD-TV reports Snyder went missing in January when he left home to walk to his brother’s house a few blocks away. The family believed he was in danger because he hadn’t taken medicine he needs to control his seizures. The case is under investigation. FORT WORTH, IA (IRN) – A Fort Worth, Texas, police officer with Iowa ties is in critical condition Friday after he was shot seven times while chasing an assault suspect and his son. KCCI-TV reports Officer Matt Pearce was rushed by helicopter to a nearby hospital and has undergone several surgeries. Family who live in Polk City say Pearce is a loving husband, proud father of two girls and is a dedicated officer who’s served on the Fort Worth police force since 2009. TIFFIN, IA (IRN) – Johnson County authorities have accused a Tiffin man of trying to have the county jail pay his cable and phone bill, according to KCRG-TV. 33-year-old Lorenzo Johnson was released from the jail in late December and received a check for the balance on his commissary account. Johnson allegedly used the bank and routing numbers on that check to pay his $350 cable and phone bill. Johnson faces one count of identity theft. OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (IRN) – Northern Iowa is the third men’s college basketball team in the state of Iowa to advance past the first round of this year’s NCAA Tournament, according to WHO-TV. In a stunning ending, Panther Paul Jesperson hit a game-winning half-court bank shot at the buzzer to beat Texas and send Northern Iowa to the second round. UNI now takes on Texas A&M Sunday, while the Hawkeyes play Villanova, also on Sunday, and the Cyclones play the University of Arkansas at Little Rock today.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A motorcyclist’s leg was amputated during a crash Thursday in Des Moines, according to KCCI-TV. The crash was reported near the Iowa State Fairgrounds. 33-year-old Mathew Brooks rear-ended a car with his motorcycle. The crash was so intense it broke the car’s rear axle and Brooks lost one of his legs. Police said alcohol was a factor. The driver of the car, 24-year-old Maria Ly of Pleasant Hill, was arrested and charged with OWI. Brooks is also expected to be charged. DUNKERTON, IA (IRN) – A former Dunkerton High School student is appealing his conviction for having a gun on school grounds to the Iowa Supreme Court. KCRG-TV reports in March 2014, a judge convicted Mar’yo Lindsey of having a gun on school grounds, possessing a firearm as a felon, going armed with a dangerous weapon, and possession of a controlled substance. Lindsey contends after he was injured in a football game and sent to the hospital, school officials conducted an illegal search of his bag. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines police are investigating a report of gunshots fired near a military recruitment office Thursday night. WHO-TV reports police were called to the Fort Des Moines Marine Corps Office around 8:00 p.m. A soldier leaving the building reported hearing shots fired. Police say no arrests have been made yet in the case, but a possible suspect has been identified. HINTON, IA (IRN) – Two people were seriously injured Thursday in a northwest Iowa grain elevator explosion. The Sioux City Journal reports the explosion occurred at Central Valley Ag in Hinton. Two people were taken to a Sioux City hospital in serious condition. Authorities have not identified the victims, and the cause of the explosion hasn’t been determined. AMES, IA (IRN) – An Iowa State University student fell out a third-story window while she was sleeping early Thursday, according to WHO-TV. Someone called police after hearing the woman call for help outside the building at 3:00 a.m. The woman has an elevated bed next to her bedroom window and was sleeping with her window open when she apparently rolled out. Drugs or alcohol do not appear to be involved. Her condition has not been released. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – Waterloo firefighters say discarded smoking materials caused a garage to catch on fire early this morning. KWWL-TV reports smoking materials were left in a trash can outside the garage but once they started smoldering, the fire spread to the garage. No one was hurt. AMES, IA (IRN) – An Ames family got a free meal and a life lesson after a stranger paid for their meal. KCCI-TV reports Amy Forbes took her daughters to El Azteca Mexican Restaurant for their first time this week. Instead of a check, Forbes received an anonymous note saying their meal had been paid for in memory of a girl who passed away from cancer.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A 7-year-old girl wearing only her underwear knocked on her neighbor’s apartment door at 2:10 a.m. Tuesday to report she couldn’t find her mother. KCCI-TV reports the girl told the neighbor that her mother, 34-year-old Melissa Moon, had been gone for a long time and had left with her boyfriend. Police had been at the same apartment earlier in the night on a report of a domestic fight between the mother and boyfriend. Moon told police she had been with her boyfriend who she said tried to crash her car and had flattened two of her tires. Moon was arrested and charged with child endangerment. COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA (IRN) – A 30-year-old man is suspected of killing his mother and grandmother at the home they shared in Council Bluffs. KCCI-TV reports officers arrested Michael Dieckmann Wednesday. Dieckmann is in jail on two counts of murder. He’s accused of killing 63-year-old Jacqueline Dieckmann, and her mother, 91-year-old Illa Pfeiffer. One of the women was stabbed but the cause of the other’s death awaits more investigation. HENRY COUNTY, IA (IRN) Eight search warrants led to three arrests and the seizure of approximately five pounds of methamphetamine and more than $125,000 in cash in rural Henry County early Wednesday. KCII-Radio reports 50-year-old Kevin Wood of New London, 55-year-old John Knapp of rural Danville, 53-year-old Renee Drew of rural Danville and 55-year-old Tamie Stephenson of Fairfield face multiple drug charges. At least 13 different law enforcement agencies assisted with the arrests. COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA (IRN) – A man has been arrested in relation to a homicide in Council Bluffs earlier this month, according to KETV. 30-year-old Markis Moses Davis was taken into custody Wednesday. Davis was booked on charges of first-degree murder, attempted murder and robbery. Two people had already been arrested on charges related to the homicide, which left Anthony Walker dead of a gunshot wound in a Council Bluffs apartment. MT. VERNON, IA (IRN) – A $10,000 reward is being offered for information about a fire that destroyed Don Mar Lanes, a Mount Vernon bowling alley last year, according to KWWL-TV. The state Fire Marshal announced the reward for any information that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the fire. More than 100 firefighters from 16 different departments fought the blaze. The State Fire Marshal says the fire is suspicious and was likely set on purpose. DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – A fire at Verena Street Coffee Company in Dubuque County caused $40,000 worth of damage on Wednesday. Sherrill and Asbury fire departments responded to the fire, which was contained to a bean coasting cooling tray where it had originated from. No one was injured. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – When a popular waitress at a Zombie Burger in Des Moines closed out one of her table’s Tuesday night she found a note from a patron. WHO-TV reports on a tab worth $17.26, the tip line was crossed out. “Tips are only for normal looking people,” the patron wrote. Waitress Taelor Beeck describes herself as an individual, and that she dresses and expresses herself artistically. Zombie Burger released a statement that says Zombie Burger is a unique place, and that they are 100% in support of their staff expressing themselves.

DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – Dubuque fire crews put out a fire at Loras College this morning. A fire broke out at about 5 a.m. at the Visitation Complex. Fire Chief Rick Steines says a police officer noticed sparks in the cupola. The fire engulfed the roof and attic, so crews were pulled out to fight the blaze from the outside fearing it might collapse. Everyone was evacuated, and no one was injured. Lightning may have caused the fire. QUAD CITIES, IA/IL (IRN) – Strong storms hit the Quad Cities and surrounding communities Tuesday night, according to WQAD-TV. The National Weather Service began sorting out multiple reports of tornadoes and funnel clouds in the area early Tuesday evening. The National Weather Service received two spotter reports of a funnel cloud crossing the Mississippi river about two miles south of Keokuk just before 6 p.m. High winds are expected today. COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA (IRN) – A Council Bluffs teenage driver is facing charges after an investigation indicated she had marijuana in her system during a rollover crash that killed one of her passengers. KWWL-TV reports the 16-year-old girl has been charged with motor vehicle homicide. A 16-year-old passenger was partially ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A string of assaults and a homicide on Court Avenue in downtown Des Moines last year led many to question why the area did not have security cameras. KCCI-TV reports law enforcement can now keep watch over Court Avenue activity thanks to newly installed security cameras. Police say they may look into adding additional cameras for other downtown areas later, if needed. ANKENY, IA (IRN) – An assault charge has been dropped against an Ankeny mom who confronted a student at Northview Middle School. WHO-TV reports Alisha Morton was charged with assault following an altercation with a student at the school on Jan. 11. Morton says she was protecting her 14-year-old daughter from bullying. Morton’s daughter said she was the victim of bullying for several months. As part of a plea deal, the charge will be dropped if Morton attends a first-time offender class. DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – High school students in Dubuque’s Alternative Learning Center are getting some real experience in the world of economics. According to KCRG-TV they started a business that makes and sells chicken coops. Students learned in economics class that more people are taking an interest in raising chickens. The students decided to start their own business called “Key City Coops.” They sell for $500, and when the semester ends, another group of students will take over the business.