Iowa Radio News

OTTUMWA, IA (IRN) – Two people were taken to the hospital after a four-vehicle pile up in Ottumwa Friday. KTVO-TV reports all four vehicles were traveling north on Highway 63 around 2 p.m. The first vehicle slowed down to turn into a gas station. Another driver failed to stop, hitting the first vehicle and causing a chain reaction involving two more vehicles. WEST BRANCH, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Department of Transportation may widen Interstate 80 east of Iowa City from four lanes to six lanes. The study will look at the stretch of interstate from Iowa City to just past the West Branch exit. Interstate 80 has proven to be dangerous in that area. In February, three people were hurt in three crashes involving 33 vehicles near the West Branch exit on the same day. MUSCATINE, IA (IRN) – Crews have been busy cleaning up the Muscatine riverfront as the eastern Iowa city prepares for thousands of bicyclists to visit during RAGBRAI. The Muscatine Journal reports that crews have been dredging the Mississippi River where RAGBRAI riders will dip their tires at the end of the ride. City officials say without the dredging, riders coming to dip their bike tires in the river would find only large amounts of wet sediment. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – A woman and her friends are passing out water bottles, flowers and hugs to people in downtown Iowa City. KCRG-TV reports Jamie Miller, an Iowa City resident, says she wanted to spread happiness after recent tragedies in Dallas, Louisiana and Minnesota. Henry Emmons was walking by and says he was grateful to receive the small act of kindness. “I love it,” he said. “we’ve got to do some kind of action and what better thing to do than be kind.”

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A Cedar Rapids home was damaged by gunfire after a shooting which may have been sparked by an argument over a parking space. Mary Jo Kerns says she was with her boyfriend getting some food at a restaurant, when the argument started between her boyfriend and a stranger. The stranger followed them home and shot at the house. RINGGOLD COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Five people were killed in a crash on Highway 2 near Mount Ayr on Friday, according to the Iowa State Patrol. An SUV carrying seven passengers ran a stop sign into the path of a semi. Two adults from Redding, a 12-year-old, and a 2-year old were killed. A 4-year-old from Grant City, Missouri was also killed. A 9-year-old and a 1-year old were hospitalized. The driver of the truck was uninjured. DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – Davenport police shot and killed a pit bull that attacked an officer who was responding to a fight Friday morning, according to WQAD-TV. Two adults and a juvenile were arrested during the disturbance. While officers were dealing with the combatants, a pit bull charged out of the front door of a residence, attacking an officer and biting him. The officer who was bitten fired his service weapon and killed the dog. STORM LAKE, IA (IRN) – An attempt to cash an Iowa lottery ticket worth $250,000 has prompted an investigation. WHO-TV reports the “$250,000 Dollar Riches” scratch ticket was brought to the Storm Lake office of the Iowa Lottery to be cashed. The ticket had scribbling all over its back side, raising questions about whether the person possessing it was the original winner. The DCI is investigating. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The annual 80/35 concert is underway in downtown Des Moines. KCCI-TV reports police are keeping the peace and reacting to the slayings of five officers in Dallas. Police Sgt. Debra Richardson said the atmosphere was different Friday night. She says that as she walked through the crowd, she lost count of the number of people who felt compelled to approach her and thank her for her service.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA (IRN) – A Council Bluffs woman has been arrested after she viciously beat her husband with a snow globe. The Daily Nonpareil reports that officers found 29-year-old Christopher Evens bloodied and bruised. He and his wife, 35-year-old Jennifer Evens, had been arguing when she picked up a snow globe and began bashing him on the head with it. Police say she didn’t stop, even after breaking the globe on her husband’s face, cutting him. LAKE VIEW, IA (IRN) – A personal water craft exploded Tuesday on Black Hawk Lake in Sac County sending two people to the hospital. 40-year-old Chris Forman and his wife, 41-year-old Angie of Omaha flipped the craft. They got the vehicle upright, but gasoline had leaked into the engine compartment causing it to explode while being started. Both were thrown into the water by the blast, but were wearing life jackets. They’re OK. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – A Cedar Rapids teenager faces attempted murder and robbery charges after he fired a gun multiple times at three people in Iowa City. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports that the 16-year-old was arrested Wednesday. The teen and his victims were engaged in an ongoing dispute. The teen demanded that his victims empty their pockets, threatened to shoot them, and fired at them as they fled. No one was injured. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A Des Moines woman reported missing on Wednesday has been found safe, according to KCCI-TV. She had left home for a meeting with a man she met on the dating site Plenty of Fish. Her twin sister became concerned after she had been gone for a day and wasn’t answering her phone. DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – Federal charges have been filed against a Davenport man accused of trying to blow up an apartment where he lived with his girlfriend and her young son. The Quad-City Times reports 44-year-old Gramann Barnes and his girlfriend argued, then he hurt her and her 2-year-old son. After she took her child and left, Barnes placed paper towels inside the oven, fixed the burners on the stove to spew gas, turned on the oven and left. SOUTH SIOUX CITY, NE (IRN) – A Sioux City man has pled not guilty to assaulting two men with his sport utility vehicle in Nebraska. The Sioux City Journal reports that 47-year-old Ruben Vela argued with the other men on June 6 at a South Sioux City hotel. He then drove his SUV into a parked car, forcing it against a hotel wall and pinning two men standing behind the car. One of the men had to have his lower left leg amputated. CLARION, IA (IRN) – An attempted abduction in Clarion has the town on-edge. WHO-TV reports four children between the ages of 4 and 12 were playing outside when they were tempted with candy by 19-year-old Victor Gomez to get into his car. Police arrived, and Gomez ran. He was found later hiding in a trailer home. He was arrested, but posted bond and police aren’t sure where he is. As a result, police are increasing their patrols around town. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Four Rotary clubs in Johnson County are having a food fight — but it’s not the kind of food fight we normally expect. KGAN-TV reports the Rotary clubs are trying to collect as much food as they can with a friendly competition to see which group can give the most to those in need. All the food collected will be given to the Crisis Center of Johnson County’s “Thanksgiving in July” event.

JOHNSON COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A trial date of October 4 has been set for a man accused of trying to hire a hitman to kill a business associate and his family. WHO-TV reports 36-year-old Justin DeWitt of North Liberty faces charges of attempted murder and solicitation to commit murder. Police say he offered $1,000 as down payment to an undercover agent to carry out the murders – which included a man, his wife, and their two children — ages four and two. COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA (IRN) – An Iowa casino supervisor, dealer and patron are charged with conspiring to cheat at roulette and split thousands of dollars in illicit winnings. KTEV reports the trio carried out the scheme at the Horseshoe Casino in Council Bluffs. They allegedly split between $20,000 and $30,000 in earnings. The conspiracy involved moving and adding additional chips to winning numbers, accepting late bets and placing additional wagers for guests. DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – A pair of Davenport teenagers have been charged with first degree murder and intimidation with a dangerous weapon in connection with the June 26 shooting death of 15-year-old Ayana Culbreath at a backyard party. WQAD-TV reports Davenport Police charged 17-year-old Trevor Owens and 14-year-old Kamario Hill. PLAINFIELD, IA (IRN) – Authorities are looking for a missing 76-year-old woman with dementia who was last seen on Tuesday. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that Cloris Mehmen wandered away from her home near Plainfield Tuesday. More than 100 people helped authorities search roads, ditches and fields around Mehmen’s home, but they didn’t find her. Mehmen has wandered off before, but she was found quickly in the past. VAN METER, IA (IRN) – Some residents of Van Meter woke up Wednesday morning to find the tires of their vehicles had been slashed, according to KCCI-TV. Vandals slashed five tires at one residence, and three at another. All four tires on the police department’s Humvee were also slashed overnight. Van Meter police have possible witnesses, but no arrests have been made. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Iowa City police say one suspect is in custody after a shooting close to Mercer Park. KCRG-TV reports officers took one person into custody. No one has reported any injuries. MONTICELLO, IA (IRN) – Straight line winds Tuesday night uprooted more than 40 trees at the Monticello Jellystone Park campground. KWWL-TV reports 12 campers and two cars were damaged, but nobody was injured. Owner Chip Smith says “Scared me to death. You know, I worked in prisons for 16 years, I’ve been through 4 riots, and I’ve never been so scared as I was last night.” Some of the trees lost were over 100 years old. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) The University of Iowa is renaming its restrooms to include all genders, according to KGAN-TV. The signs will say “single use restroom,” and additional language says anyone can use the restroom regardless of gender identity. All of the signs for the restrooms should be completed by the end of fall.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – A federal appeals court upheld jail sentences today for two egg industry executives whose Iowa-based company caused a nationwide salmonella outbreak in 2010. KGAN-TV reports the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals backed three-month jail sentences issued last year to Austin “Jack” DeCoster and son Peter DeCoster. Investigators argued the DeCosters knew their Iowa egg facilities were at risk for salmonella contamination before the outbreak that sickened up to 56,000 people. KEOTA, IA (IRN) – The likely cause of the Keota High School gymnasium fire is fireworks, according to KCII-Radio. On Monday, July 4th, some time before 6 a.m. the roof of the gym caught fire, and before fire fighters could put it out, a 15 by 20 foot hole had been created by the flames. The roof of the gym was made up of a mostly rubber material. There were no injuries reported. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – Two children are recovering after being bitten by a pit bull in Waterloo Tuesday night, according to KWWL-TV. A young girl and boy, who did not know each other, were bitten in separate incidents by the same dog around the same time. The boy was bitten on the ankle while riding a bike, while the girl was walking home with a friend when attacked. Animal control took a grey pit bull into custody. MAHASKA COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A two-year-old girl is dead in Mahaska County after being found in a family pond, according to the Oskaloosa News. CPR was performed on scene before medical personnel arrived. The child was taken to the hospital where she was pronounced dead. The name of the child has not been released. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Three people were killed in a wrong-way crash Tuesday morning on I-380 near Cedar Rapids. KCRG-TV reports 21-year-old Jordan Dietrich of Victor was driving south in the northbound lanes at a high rate of speed. He hit a vehicle driven by 22-year-old Furaha Nyabitanga of Iowa City. Nyabitanga’s passenger, 26-year-old Djumapili Shabani of Cedar Rapids, also died in the crash. The patrol says it’s too early to tell if alcohol played a role. BLAIRSBURG, IA (IRN) – During the thunderstorms which moved through early this morning a fire was reported at a house near the Hamilton County town of Blairsburg, according to WHO-TV. The fire started in the garage, and destroyed the garage, a shed, and four vehicles, before spreading to the house. No one was injured, and the cause is unknown. One resident of the house said they heard a loud pop, then the garage was on fire. MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – A regional airline jet on its way from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to Chicago made an emergency landing in northern Iowa yesterday because of smoke inside the cockpit. KCCI-TV reports the American Eagle jet made an unplanned stop at the Mason City Airport around 1 p.m. Tuesday. 45 passengers and three crew members left the plane safely following the landing.