Iowa Radio News

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Cedar Rapids Police say one person was shot in the leg Friday night at a grocery store. KCRG-TV reports police heard gunshots in the area of Jim’s Foods. Police arrived at the store’s parking lot and found blood, but no victim. A short time later a 24-year-old male went to a local hospital with a non-life threatening gunshot wound to his leg. Investigators say the victim was wounded in the parking lot at Jim’s Foods, and the investigation continues. DECATUR COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A southern Iowa sheriff resigned Friday after allegations of sexual harassment. KCCI-TV reports Decatur County Sheriff Bert Muir’s resignation comes the same day a West Des Moines attorney filed a petition to remove Muir from office. Court documents specify reasons are allegations of sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment. One Davis City resident says the county is now better off, and that “the reign of terror is over.” OSAGE, IA (IRN) – A Mitchell County man has died in an auto accident, according to KIMT-TV. Sheriff Greg Beaver says 50-year-old Theodore McPhail of Osage was killed around 3:20 am Friday in Osage. It’s believed alcohol was a factor in the crash. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A pastor from Michigan has been sleeping outside Methodist Churches every night for the past three months, according to WHO-TV. Rev. Mike Tupper is now in Des Moines as part of the protest. He calls it a “tent witness,” which symbolizes the discrimination in the policy of the United Methodist Church regarding LGBT people. Tupper has been sleeping out in the elements across the country for 96 days now due to complaints he and eight other pastors have received after officiating same-sex marriages. He wants the church to change their policy. MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – A Mason City police sergeant won’t be cited for running into two parked cars, according to the Mason City Globe Gazette. Sgt. Steve Klemas was issued a warning for failure to maintain control of his sport utility vehicle. He hit the cars while on patrol on Feb. 18. Cerro Gordo County sheriff’s deputy Chris Flatness says that Klemas “was lost in a train of thought” that night, and that not every accident warrants a citation.

WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Hy-Vee grocery chain says it is not giving you $150 in free groceries. KCRG-TV reports the company says a fraudulent “grocery giveaway” is popping up on Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms. The company also urges people who clicked on the link and provided personal information to the site to change their passwords and scan their computers for viruses and malware. COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA (IRN) – A Nebraska jail officer has been arrested in connection with an Iowa child sex case, according to KCCI-TV. 36-year-old Shawn Beu is charged with sexual exploitation of a minor and possessing child porn. Beu was arrested on warrants Thursday after a search of his Council Bluffs home. He’s a corrections sergeant for Douglas County in Nebraska. WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A fire at a West Des Moines mobile home park overnight forced several people out of their homes. WHO-TV reports the fire started just after 11:00 p.m. Thursday in a trailer in the Western Village mobile home park. Flames and smoke broke out in one mobile home, forcing fire crews to evacuate people inside the homes nearby. The person who lives in the mobile home was at work when the fire started. WASHINGTON D.C. – An Iowa judge is reportedly being vetted by the White House as a potential Supreme Court Justice replacement for the late Antonin Scalia. The New York Times reports that Judge Jane Kelly is going through background checks conducted by the F.B.I. Kelly is a federal appeals court judge based in Cedar Rapids. She was confirmed unanimously in April 2013. Senator Chuck Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is vowing not to hold any hearings until a new President is in office. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Senator Chuck Grassley is about to face another election challenge. The Des Moines Register reports former Lieutenant Governor Patty Judge plans to announce her candidacy for the Democratic nomination for Senate. Judge was the Secretary of Agriculture before she served as Lieutenant Governor under Governor Chet Culver. Judge will first challenge State Senator Rob Hogg (HOEG), Bob Krause and Tom Fiegen in the June primary. CLINTON, IA (IRN) – Hundreds of jobs are on the line after Swiss Colony announced it would close its call center in Clinton. WQAD-TV reports a letter was sent out to employees yesterday. There are about 309 part-time jobs and about seven full-time positions that will be lost. Swiss Colony is based in Monroe, Wisconsin, and sells sausage, cheese, candy, and other items online and through catalogues. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – A new program at the Iowa City Animal Care and Adoption Center will have kids reading to cats. KCRG-TV reports the “Read to the Paw” program was launched this week. A shelter spokesperson says “The cats are soothed by the young reader’s voice, and students are able to strengthen their reading skills and build confidence by reading out loud in front of a non-judgmental audience.”

BURLINGTON, IA (IRN) – A Dallas City, Illinois woman was arrested Wednesday in connection with approximately $27,000 missing funds from an ambulance service. 29-year-old Misty Mitchell was arrested by the Burlington Police Department on a warrant. The investigation started when it was discovered the funds were missing from the Lomax Ambulance Service, where Mitchell had been the treasurer. She has been accused of embezzling the missing $27,000 over a one-year period. BURLINGTON, IA (IRN) – The body found by Burlington Police in an alley late Wednesday night shortly after a “shots fired” complaint is that of a Burlington High School student, according to KBUR-radio. Burlington School Superintendent Pat Coen says that the deceased is a 16-17 year old male student. He called the death a “tragic loss.” DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – 6,000 copies of the U.S. Constitution will be delivered to Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley’s offices today. KCCI-TV reports Why Courts Matter Iowa coalition members said the message it wants to deliver to Grassley is to “Do your job.” Grassley is on the Senate committee tasked with holding Supreme Court nomination hearings but has said he believes President Barack Obama should not make a nomination but instead wait for the next president to do so. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – Four people were taken to the hospital overnight in Waterloo for treatment of carbon monoxide poisoning. The Waterloo Fire Department responded to the scene and found one adult unconscious. Three adults and one child were hospitalized. Firefighters said a gas power generator running inside the home was the source of the carbon monoxide. All are expected to recover. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – The Cedar Rapids Police Department arrested a man for firing shots outside a Cedar Rapids bar this morning. KWWL-TV reports it happened behind Hazzard County American Saloon around 12:45 a.m. Police say they arrested 21-year-old Derek Bailey who was firing shots into the air. Bailey was arrested for Public Intoxication and Reckless Use of a Firearm. There was no damage to the bar and no one was injured. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa lawmakers have proposed a bill that would eliminate front license plates. WQAD-TV reports that under the house bill, only one registration plate would be issued and attached to the rear of a vehicle. The plan could save the state nearly $500,000 annually. Car enthusiasts like the idea, but law enforcement officials don’t. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – A college education could soon become more affordable for Iowa students. WHO-TV reports the University of Iowa has introduced a new program called “Raise.me.” It rewards high school students with micro-scholarships for completing certain tasks. For example, students earn up to $1,200 by getting good grades, participating in activities, and visiting colleges. One district in each county is eligible for the program.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa —A Waterloo man has pled guilty to second degree-murder in his girlfriend’s death in Linn County. KCCI-TV reports thirty-eight-year-old Shawn Hogan admitted Tuesday to beating 28-year-old Crystal Gaffney with a wrench and stabbing her in the head with a screwdriver. Authorities found Gaffney’s body on a road near Walker in July 2014. DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – A 17-year-old Davenport girl is in the hospital with life-threatening injuries after suffering a gunshot wound on Monday. WQAD-TV reports police responded to an intersection where they found her lying in the street. A 15-year-old male from Rock Island has been charged with Attempted Murder in relation to the shooting. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A Waterloo man is in the hospital recovering from stab wounds received Tuesday, according to KWWL-TV. Waterloo police say the man had to be taken to the hospital but is expected to survive. Police took a woman into custody, and charges are pending. Police say it was a domestic situation but did not elaborate on what happened. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Blank Park Zoo is expanding its facilities in hopes of an expanding giraffe family in Des Moines. WHO-TV reports the zoo is planning to build a $1.8 million expansion to its giraffe barn. The new facility would be open to visitors so they can still see the giraffes on cold and rainy days. It would also provide more space for what the zoo hopes will be a growing giraffe family. CEDAR FALLS, IA (IRN) – Cedar Falls Fire and Rescue is crediting a cat with alerting a resident to an apartment fire. KCRG-TV reports Fire Chief John Schilling said the resident told him a pet cat kept meowing at the ceiling Monday night. The resident investigated, found he could feel heat on the ceiling and heard crackling sounds. Firefighters found a fire in the building’s attic that caused significant damage. Crews put the fire out quickly, and no one was injured, thanks to the cat.

OSKALOOSA, IA (IRN) – An Oskaloosa chiropractor convicted of sexually abusing patients in 2011 is scheduled to be paroled today. KCCI-TV reports 39-year-old Dr. Jason Ebelsheiser was sentenced to 12 years in prison for sexually abusing patients. A jury convicted him on four counts, acquitted him on two other counts and couldn’t reach a verdict on two more counts. Ebelsheiser was arrested and charged in 2009 after being accused of abusing women, ages 17 to 46. SIOUX CITY, IA (IRN) – An 18-year-old man accused of shooting a Sioux City police officer last month has pled not guilty. The Sioux City Journal reports that Isaiah Mothershed pled not guilty Monday to two counts of attempted murder and five counts of first-degree robbery. Mothershed is accused of pulling a gun from a couch while his hands were handcuffed behind his back, and shooting an officer in the leg. DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – A Dubuque woman faces a criminal charge for assaulting another woman with a Pepsi bottle. The Dubuque Telegraph Herald reports 24-year old Nina Hammerbeck was with 54-year-old Pamela Meana at a residence Sunday when Meana turned up the music playing. Meana said Hammerbeck told her not to turn it up and threw a Pepsi bottle at her face. The bottle struck Meana in the left eye, fracturing her eye socket. Hammerbeck admitted to throwing the bottle. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) A Des Moines man faces multiple charges after an attempted robbery Saturday night at the Embassy Suites downtown. KCCI-TV reports 55-year-old La Forest Bennett pulled out a knife and tried to rob a man in front of the hotel. The robbery failed, but he took off in the man’s car. What Bennett didn’t know was that the man is married to a Des Moines police detective and the hotel was full of hundreds of cops for the annual Black and Blue Ball. He was caught after a short chase and wrecking the vehicle. He’s in jail. NEWTON, IA (IRN) – The two inmates who escaped from the Newton Minimum Security Correctional Release Center over the weekend remain at large. Michael Amodeo and Jessy Foley were both serving sentences on drug charges. Danny Homan, of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, blames the escape on what he calls critically-low staffing levels in Iowa’s correctional system. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Two people are in the hospital after a fire early this morning in Cedar Rapids. KCRG-TV reports firefighters arrived to find flames coming out of one side of the building, which was an older home subdivided into three apartments. Everyone made it out safely, but two men have been hospitalized for treatment of smoke inhalation. MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – A hockey game in Mason City pitting north Iowa law enforcement against firefighters and medical personnel resulted in much more than just a victory for one side. According to organizers of the 6th Annual Battle of the Badges, this year’s game raised nearly $42,000 dollars for Make-A-Wish. This year’s game began with a ceremonial puck drop by local “wish kids.” The final score? Firefighters and EMS 7, Law Enforcement 2.