Iowa Radio News

IRETON, IA (IRN) – A Sioux County man was killed over the weekend after being struck by a tree branch. The Sioux City Journal reports 49-year-old Christopher Soppe of Ireton was cutting down the tree branch outside a residence Saturday afternoon when it fell and hit him. Soppe was a high school special education teacher at Boyden-Hull and coached baseball. He was helping a neighbor clean up storm debris when the accident occurred. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Two armed robbers ganged up on a man at a stoplight in Des Moines yesterday. The Des Moines Register reports the 20-year-old Altoona man told police that men carrying silver revolvers came up on both sides of his car. The man says the robbers threatened to shoot him if he went to police and said they’d gotten his address from items in the car. They got away with the man’s Social Security card, credit cards and $50 in cash. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A construction worker was injured after falling through the roof at the historic Hostess Wonder Bread bakery building in Waterloo this morning. KWWL-TV reports witnesses say he landed on the concrete floor. His condition is unknown. Other construction workers say he was conscious, but in a lot of pain after the fall. The historic building is currently in the remodeling process to become a Single Speed Brewery location. WASHINGTON, IA (IRN) – One person is dead and another was injured in a house fire in Washington early Sunday morning. KCII-radio reports the fire was in a two story building, and a ladder truck was deployed to fight the fire. An adjacent building was damaged. The state fire marshal’s office is investigating. WEBSTER COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Search and rescue efforts by authorities continue for a man missing in the Des Moines River in Webster County. WHO-TV reports a 23-year-old man was last seen in the river near Lehigh just before 6 a.m. Sunday. Witnesses saw the man struggling to swim under a bridge. Once he went under water, he never resurfaced. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A motorcyclist was killed in a crash while fleeing police in Des Moines Saturday. The Des Moines Register reports a patrol officer attempted to stop 25-year-old Vincent Quang for a traffic violation. Quang rode into a parking lot, indicating that he was stopping, but then fled at a high speed. The officer didn’t pursue Quang and quickly lost sight of him. Police say they later found the motorcycle had crashed nearby. Quang was dead. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – There are at least 3,400 untested rape kits in storage around Iowa, according to KCCI-TV. The Crime Victim Assistance Division within the Iowa attorney general’s office says preliminary data indicate law enforcement agencies don’t have standardized rules for handling such evidence. The division received $2 million in federal funding to conduct research into how kits were being processed and some testing. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – The American Association of University Professors added the University of Iowa to its list of sanctioned colleges. KCRG-TV reports the AAUP based that decision on the Board of Regents hiring of President Bruce Harreld, in spite of faculty objections. Harreld has faced heat since he became president last fall for not having any academic administrative experience. Placement on the AAUP sanction list makes it more difficult for universities to hire professors.

CHICAGO, IL (IRN) – An Iowa City man drowned after he fell off a boat in Montrose Harbor in Chicago. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that 23-year-old Ryan Klingensmith fell off a boat Friday. A lifeguard pulled Klingensmith from the water, but could not resuscitate him. The death was ruled an accident. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A federal judge has ordered endangered lemurs and tigers housed at a private northeast Iowa zoo to be moved within 30 days. KGAN-TV reports the judge directed owners of Cricket Hollow Zoo near Manchester to move the animals to zoos in Wisconsin and Indiana. The decision stems from a 2014 lawsuit filed by the Animal Legal Defense Fund, which alleged the zoo maintained deplorable living conditions. CLEAR LAKE, IA (IRN) – Police in Clear Lake are asking for the public’s help in finding those responsible for a string of mailbox vandalism, according to KWWL-TV. Police Chief Pete Roth says the department has taken nearly 40 reports of mailboxes being damaged by a bat or heavy object this week. WEST BRANCH, IA (IRN) – It was a day of celebration in West Branch yesterday. It’s been nearly 2 1/2 years since a newborn boy kidnapped in Wisconsin was found alive and well in West Branch after a night in subzero temperatures. KCRG-TV reports family and police met to share the story at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum. West Branch Police Chief Mike Horihan found 4-day-old Kayden Powell in a plastic bin at a gas station. Kayden is fine. His aunt is serving 25 years in prison for kidnapping him.

INDIANOLA, IA (IRN) – The chief judge in the Fifth Judicial District of Iowa is making plans to temporarily vacate the Warren County Courthouse because it’s “not suitable for the business of the district court.” KCCI-TV reports the court is working with the sheriff and county attorney to find a new location. The judge cites serious mechanical, electrical and plumbing issues that could cause health and safety concerns as the reason for his decision. ELGIN, IA (IRN) – A 4-year-old boy is dead from a gunshot wound to the head at a mobile home in Fayette County. KCRG-TV reports deputies responded to the home in Elgin Friday evening for a report of a child who had been shot. Two adults and two other small children were in the home when deputies arrived. The Iowa DCI is assisting. No arrests have been made. BOYDEN, IA (IRN) – The former city clerk of Boyden in Sioux County is facing theft charges. WHO-TV reports 53-year-old Beth Sipma was arrested Thursday after a state audit revealed she misspent $36,000 during her 22 months on the job. The audit says more than $1,300 was spent on airline tickets to Scotland, more than $500 on a cell phone bill and $429 of personal purchases from IKEA, all on city credit cards. SIOUX CITY, IA (IRN) – An 18-year-old Sioux City man is facing charges after he stole a Coca-Cola delivery truck Friday and led police on a high speed chase. KCAU-TV reports Elliot Stowe hopped in the truck while the driver was inside making a delivery to a business in Sioux City. Stowe took the truck to a construction site and gave away approximately $1,000 worth of Cokes. After a high speed chase and a short foot chase, he was apprehended. He had illegal drugs in his possession. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – After windows were broken at a gay bar in Des Moines Thursday, a group of Christians pitched in to help with the cost of repairs, according to KCCI-TV. Members of Two Rivers Church showed up to the Blazing Saddle bar in the East Village yesterday with flowers and donated money to help repair the broken window.

DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – A suspect accused of breaking into a Key West mobile home and killing the resident is in the Dubuque County Jail, according to KDTH-radio. 19-year-old Tacari Minifee was arrested in Maryland last month after Dubuque County authorities identified him as one of the suspects involved in the murder of 21-year-old Collin Brown of Dubuque in early April. He’s in jail on a one million dollar bond. DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – A 33-year-old Davenport woman is being held in the Scott County Jail after police say she sexually abused a 13-year-old boy. The Quad-City Times reports Tabatha Jo Howard is being held on $10,000 bail. She’s been charged with third-degree sexual abuse and lascivious acts with a child. Each charge is a felony and punishable by up to 10 years in prison. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A driver found guilty in a crash that killed a bicyclist received the maximum sentence today, according to KCCI-TV. Jonathan Leyva Rodriguez received a sentence of 34 years in prison and must pay restitution of $150,000. Rodriguez was charged with vehicular homicide in a hit-and-run crash that killed bicyclist Gregory Franck. Two other bikers were also hurt in the crash. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa is among the worst states in the nation in having state mental hospital beds. WHO-TV reports a new study by the Treatment Advocacy Center says Iowa now ranks 49th in the country with just 64 state mental hospital beds. In the 1950’s there were 7,000 beds. Utah, Mississippi, Arkansas and Kansas are all similar to Iowa in population but have from 4 times to 8 times the number of state beds. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Police are investigating a shooting on the north side of Des Moines, according to WHO-TV. A man was standing outside with his brother Thursday evening when a car sped by, going about 50 miles per hour. The man yelled at the driver to slow down. The driver of the vehicle drove around the block, parked down the street, came out with a gun and shot at the two men. No one was injured, and police are investigating. DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – An Indiana man convicted in the armed robbery of a Muscatine bank was sentenced to life in federal prison Thursday. 40-year-old Thomas Alexander Davis III entered U.S. Bank in Muscatine in November 2012, presented the teller with a black bag, demanded money and displayed a handgun. The teller placed money in the bag. Davis had been convicted in 1995 of armed bank robbery and robbery with a deadly weapon in Indiana. BLAKESBURG, IA IIRN) – A Blakesburg woman woke up to a bedroom full of smoke Thursday afternoon, according to KTVO-TV. Helen Neville said she was asleep upstairs when she started choking on smoke. She grabbed her dogs and rushed out of the house. The home is a total loss. As friends comforted her, Neville said “I just lost everything, I mean I lost — everything.” Officials are investigating the cause of the fire. DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – Two traveling ship museums dropped anchor in the Port of Dubuque yesterday afternoon. KCRG-TV reports replicas of Christopher Columbus’s Nina and Pinta ships will be docked in Dubuque until June 26. Crews travel with the boats all over the world and are sailing the Upper Mississippi this summer. Visitors are welcome.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A Des Moines man is in jail after he stole a $21 shirt. KCCI-TV reports when the owner of the fashion shop saw a man take the shirt off of a display outside the store, she confronted him. He pulled out a large knife and threatened her. When police located 43-year-old Dustin Ortiz he was carrying the shirt and several knives in his backpack. He’s in jail. LUCAS COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A Lucas County woman charged in a double fatal OWI crash has again been arrested and charged with OWI. KCCI-TV reports Deanna Gliem had an open container when a sheriff’s deputy pulled her over. A search of her vehicle revealed a Gatorade bottle filled with a beverage that smelled like alcohol, a shot of rum in her purse, and an open frozen Daiquiri mix in a cooler in the trunk. She had a Blood Alcohol Concentration of .112. DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – Davenport police are searching for a man in connection with an attempted abduction. An adult woman was jogging around Glen Armil Park yesterday afternoon when a four-door sedan pulled up next to her. The man inside the vehicle asked her for directions but when the woman moved closer to speak with him, he attempted to pull her into the vehicle through the driver side window. She got away. He’s described as a chubby white male in his 20’s. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Crews responded to a three-alarm fire in the Court Avenue district in downtown Des Moines late last night. KCCI-TV reports crews were called to the Elliott Apartments next to Fong’s Pizza. Crews worked to rescue people in the 80-unit apartment complex. Everyone was safely evacuated from the building, and the cause is under investigation. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Gov. Branstad’s oldest son will be leading Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in Iowa. Eric Branstad confirmed to KCRG-TV he will serve as Trump’s Iowa campaign chief. Branstad runs a public affairs and fundraising firm in Des Moines. Gov. Branstad has been calling on Iowa Republicans to unite behind Trump’s bid for the White House. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – Muslim Americans in eastern Iowa are showing their support for the Orlando nightclub shooting victims. KWWL-TV reports Muslims at the Waterloo Islamic Center are praying for those 49 lives taken. Seema Iqbal says shooter Omar Mateen does not represent the Muslim community. She adds, “Islam does not teach us violence. Islam does not condone taking the lives of others. It’s the biggest sin you can imagine. There’s no forgiveness for murder.” ALTOONA, IA (IRN) – The IRS says Prairie Meadows racetrack and casino in Altoona owes $60 million dollars in back taxes dating to 2012. WHO-TV reports the IRS claims the casino makes too much money and should not be considered a nonprofit. Prairie Meadows board members say they’re confident they will be able to keep the tax-exempt status. They plan an appeal.