Iowa Radio News

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Gov. Terry Branstad has signed the legislation into law that sets new funding levels for K-12 education in the next state budget. KCCI-TV reports Branstad signed legislation Wednesday that will increase K-12 education spending by 2.25 percent for the fiscal year that begins in July. The state currently pays about $6,445 per student in most school programs. The new legislation will increase that by $145. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines police are investigating a robbery at a Git n’ Go convenience store Tuesday night. WHO-TV reports the suspect was armed with a knife and got away with money from the register and the store safe. Police say the suspect was a white male wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt and had scarf covering his face. He fled the area on foot. No one was injured in the robbery. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A former purchasing supervisor for John Deere in Waterloo is accused of a scheme that cost the company at least $250,000. KWWL-TV reports Harvey Ulfers faces federal charges of wire fraud and money laundering. Ulfers was responsible for coordinating the shipments of scrap metal to scrap yards. He’s accused of creating of false shipping orders that would understate how much the metal was worth. He then worked with others to sell it for what it was really worth and pocketed the difference. HARTFORD, IA (IRN) – The Warren County Sheriff is investigating an attempted abduction last week in Hartford, according to KCCI-TV. The 11-year-old girl said she was walking home when a white man in a red car pulled up behind her and got out. She said he grabbed her wrist and hip and told her to get into his car. The girl kicked the man in the shins and ran away. He chased her on foot until another car driving past scared him off. She says she’s seen him before in a white SUV. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – Waterloo police say a bullet hit a female victim in the head Tuesday evening. KCRG-TV reports police are searching for vehicles they think the suspects are driving. The bullet grazed the woman’s head, and her injuries are considered non-life-threatening. Police found shell casings at the scene. SIOUX CITY, IA (IRN) – For the second time this year, a credit card skimming device has been found on a Sioux City gas pump. KCAU-TV reports the device was attached to a pump at a Cenex station. Police say the skimmer was found after a routine inspection of the pumps. While the first skimming device in Sioux City was easily discovered from its suspicious appearance, this one was an internal skimmer that would have been almost undetectable without a trained eye. DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – A rare white stag, on the loose in Dubuque since late January, is back home with his owners, according to KWWL-TV. A white stag is a deer with a condition known as leucism (LOO-kihz-ihm) that causes its hair and skin to lose its natural colour. There were numerous sightings of the missing stag, including reports of him chasing brown does, meaning he could have impregnated them. So look out for more white stags near Dubuque – there’s a 50/50 chance that a white deer will be born when they breed.

WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – Police say a Waterloo man dumped a glass of beer on his wife’s head at Sac’s Pub in Waterloo Friday. KWWL-TV reports 23-year-old Brandon Bork then poured gasoline throughout their house and pulled a stove from the wall. The wife told police she smelled gasoline or natural gas when she got home. Bork also threatened to kill his wife if she called 911. He’s facing multiple charges for reckless use of explosives, first-degree harassment and domestic assault. WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Hancock Fabrics locations in Des Moines, Ankeny, Council Bluffs and Waterloo will be closing as part of a nationwide bankruptcy by the company. The company is closing all 185 remaining store locations after announcing in February that it would close 70. Two Cedar Rapids stores have already closed. LEE COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A Keokuk man died after crashing his truck into a tree Sunday night, according to WGEM-TV. 65-year-old Daniel McDowell Dawkins was driving when his 1996 Dodge pickup ran off the the side of the road and hit a tree. He later died at a local hospital. Alcohol is believed to have been involved in the crash. Tests showed Dawkins’ blood alcohol content was 0.17. CLINTON, IA (IRN) – A fire broke out at a manufacturing and processing facility in Clinton last night, according to WQAD-TV. The workers at the Collis Company were already evacuating when responders arrived. They were called when a machine involved in a powder coating process caught fire. No one was hurt during the incident. BLACK HAWK COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A head-on collision between a minivan and semi killed one person in Black Hawk County Monday morning. KWWL-TV reports the minivan was headed northbound on Highway 63 when it collided with the semi, which was traveling southbound. The minivan driver was taken to the hospital, but was dead upon arrival. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A Des Moines woman is in the Polk County Jail after police say she stabbed a man early Tuesday morning. WHO-TV reports fifty-one-year-old Kristine Blessing is charged with willful injury and domestic abuse assault display or use of a weapon. When police arrived on scene they found a man suffering from a stab wound to the upper torso. He was taken to a local hospital where his condition is unknown. OLIN, IA (IRN) – Firefighters responded Monday evening to a fire in Olin, a small community east of Cedar Rapids. KCRG-TV reports two people in the home at the time called in the fire and were able to escape without injuries. Fire investigators believe an electrical issue caused the fire. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa State Capitol is about to get a new look. An Iowa lighting company that has worked on the White House, the Statue of LIberty, and Mount Rushmore is at the Capitol this week testing new LED lights. Oskaloosa-based Musco Lighting is working to remove the orange glow that’s currently thrown on the building at night, to try to render the Capitol closer to the color it appears during the daytime. Musco isn’t charging for the lights. Just for the installation.

MADISON COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A Waukee man was killed Sunday in a motorcycle crash near Winterset. KCCI-TV reports deputies found 58-year-old Brian McKeon of Waukee dead at the scene. A preliminary investigation showed that McKeon was northbound on the highway when he apparently missed a curve and entered the eastside ditch. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A man ran away after he struck someone in a Kwik Star parking lot in Waterloo. KWWL-TV reports 36-year-old Curtis Austin hit 59-year-old Reginold Wade and then fled. Police say Austin was driving illegally. He was arrested and charged for driving while barred and cited for leaving the scene. The victim has a fractured leg. DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – Authorities have released the name of a man who was fatally shot inside his trailer home at a mobile home park south of Dubuque. KCCI-TV reports police identified him as 21-year-old Collin Brown. Several men forced their way into Brown’s home early Saturday and fired several shots. Brown ran to a neighbor’s home and collapsed. He was pronounced dead later at a Dubuque hospital. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Two people were nearly crushed when a falling tree hit their sport utility vehicle as they drove down a Cedar Rapids street. KCRG-TV reports the tree was about 3 feet in diameter but snapped when a wind gust struck it Saturday morning. The tree trunk came down on the front of the SUV, stopping it in its tracks. Two people inside were taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries. Wind gusts to 58 mph were recorded in Cedar Rapids Saturday. PLANO, IA (IRN) – An Appanoose County man is dead and three others were taken to the hospital after an early morning crash Sunday. KTVO-TV reports the single vehicle accident happened north of Plano. The driver, 30-year-old Chase McElvain of Seymour, lost control going around a curve. McElvain and two of his passengers were not wearing seatbelts and were ejected. The third passenger was wearing a seatbelt and wasn’t ejected from the vehicle. McElvain was pronounced dead at the scene. WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – West Des Moines police are investigating a body found across the street from Valley West Mall, according to KCCI-TV. Authorities were called to the Valley West Inn Sunday morning after an unresponsive man was found outside one of the rooms. Officers found the body of a 40-year-old white man whose identity was unknown. Police said there were no signs of trauma to the body, and the death is not considered suspicious. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines police are looking for whoever is responsible for stabbing someone at a middle school during a soccer game. WHO-TV reports police were sent to Brody Middle School around noon on Sunday. There they found a victim suffering from multiple stab wounds, which did not appear to be life-threatening. The stabbing happened after a dispute during an adult soccer game. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – Two men are in jail after stealing a man’s shoes in Waterloo, according to KWWL-TV. A nearly $50,000 collection of Air Jordans were taken this weekend. Devin Hoskins says the burglars took approximately 150 pairs of shoes, which were his prized possession, leaving behind two flat screen TV’s and an iPad. One of the burglars was his cousin. The shoes have been recovered.

MARSHALLTOWN, IA (IRN) – Marshalltown police arrested a man Saturday following an early-morning murder near the Center Street Station bar. KCCI-TV reports around 2 a.m., officers were called to the scene concerning a man who was on the ground and bleeding from his head. He was transported to an emergency room, where he died. Police arrested 31-year-old Brandon Paul Skidmore at the scene. He is charged with second-degree murder. DUBUQUE COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Authorities in Dubuque County are investigating a fatal shooting at a mobile home park, according to WHO-TV. Officers responded to the mobile home Saturday morning on a report of shots fired. They found a 21-year-old male suffering from a gunshot wound. An investigation shows the man was confronted by multiple male suspects who forcibly entered the victim’s trailer and shot him. MAPLETON, IA (IRN) – A rollover accident Thursday morning in Monona County claimed the life of a Kiron woman, according to KTIV-TV.The sheriff’s office identifies the victim as 24-year-old Samantha Berg. Her car rolled several times into a ditch on a county road east of Mapleton. She had been ejected from the vehicle. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Kids at Horace Mann Elementary School in Iowa City are gaining confidence in their reading thanks to the help of a golden retriever named Sidda. KCRG-TV reports the dog is owned by the school’s principal, Julie Robinson. Sidda is specially trained to work in schools and help kids with their reading. Robinson says Sidda is “One of our most popular staff members… certainly the fluffiest.”

ANKENY, IA (IRN) – A Nevada man has been arrested following a kidnapping and sexual assault, according to KCCI-TV. 33-year-old Jason Weigel was charged with first-degree kidnapping, third-degree sexual abuse and domestic abuse. Shortly after midnight on March 12, his estranged wife was walking in Ankeny. She was taken against her will by Weigel, was forced into a vehicle and driven to her home, where she was physically and sexually assaulted. GRUNDY CENTER, IA (IRN) – A former Eldora reserve police officer has been charged with several felonies for assaulting his former girlfriend, often while in uniform and on duty. KCRG-TV reports 36-year-old Dennis Beadle of Iowa Falls allegedly assaulted his former girlfriend several times when she tried to end their relationship. Beadle followed the woman to her workplace, yelled at her in public and physically and sexually assaulted her. NORTHWOOD, IA (IRN) – A former northern Iowa mayor is facing fraud charges. KCCI-TV reports 52-year-old Randy Severson was arrested and charged with defrauding $300,000 from Northwood State Bank while he was the president of Northwood Lumber. He’s accused of using the names of family members, customers and acquaintances without their knowledge to make phony invoices that were submitted to the bank to create lines of credit. DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – Several emergency vehicles were at Williams Intermediate School in Davenport, Friday after a can of pepper spray went off in the school’s lunch room where 60 students were having lunch. WQAD-TV reports 26 students were taken to the hospital by ambulance following complaints of respiratory issues after the pepper spray went off during the last lunch period. Police are investigating. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A longtime Iowa philanthropist who donated millions of dollars to the state’s three universities and other organizations has died at age 79. The Des Moines Register reports that Richard Jacobson died Friday. Among his donations, were $100 million to the Mayo Clinic, and he also gave UNI $15 million, the largest donation in the school’s history. He made his money in the shipping business.