Iowa Radio News

DUBUQUE COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A barn in Asbury is a total loss after being destroyed by a fire, according to KWWL-TV. The Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office says the barn was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived. The value of the shed and the items inside are estimated at $150,000. FORT DODGE, IA (IRN) – A man was shot multiple times in the parking lot of Sneakers Eatery and Pub in Fort Dodge Friday, according to KCCI-TV. 25-year-old Damal Clayton received multiple gunshots wounds to his body. Officials located and seized multiple firearms and large quantities of narcotics from three residences throughout Fort Dodge in relation to the shooting. Arrest warrants have been issued for 22-year-old Torre Ashton Mosley. FAIRBANK, IA (IRN) – Buchanan County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a horse and buggy crash southeast of Fairbank Friday evening.  KWWL-TV reports 23-year-old Ashley Conner of Oelwein was driving a 2014 Chevy Cruze when she hit the Amish buggy. The collision caused severe damage to the buggy, but no serious injuries were reported to the seven people riding it. NORTH LIBERTY, IA (IRN) – Community leaders in North Liberty are considering renaming part of Highway 965 that runs through downtown. According to the Cedar Rapids Gazette, the idea is designed to give the community more of a sense of identity. The city is planning to take name suggestions from the public. Down the road from North Liberty, Coralville has changed road names before — Highway 965 became Coral Ridge Avenue and First Avenue became Hayden Fry Way. LINCOLN, NE (IRN) – The Iowa football team completed an impressive undefeated regular season on Friday as they defeated Nebraska 28-20 on the road. Iowa is now 12-0 for the first time in school history, and will now play in the Big Ten Championship Game on December 5 in Indianapolis against an as yet to be determined opponent.

DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – The DuTrac Community Credit Union in Dubuque was robbed this morning. KWWL-TV reports a man entered the credit union and passed a teller a note saying he was armed and wanted money. The teller complied and the man left with an undisclosed amount of cash. No weapon was displayed and no injuries were reported. SIOUX CITY, IA (IRN) – A former bank vice president and two accomplices have been sentenced for defrauding a bank in northern Iowa. KCCI-TV reports sixty-two-year-old Richard Jones of Emmetsburg and two conspirators were sentenced on Tuesday in U.S. District Court. Jones used his position at Iowa Trust and Savings Bank to forge customers’ signatures on fraudulent loan documents and direct nearly $476,000 to the other men. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – A West Liberty man has been accused of shooting his friend, and his friend has been accused of lying about how he got shot. KCCI-TV reports 21-year-old Jonathan Salas Jr., of West Liberty was riding with his friend 19-year-old Sergio Martinez of Iowa City,  when he pointed the gun at Martinez’s legs and pulled the trigger. The gun bullet went through both of Martinez’s legs. Martinez later told police he was shot by some men he didn’t know. DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – Two people were taken to a hospital and three drivers were cited after a five-vehicle crash Monday on the Dubuque-Wisconsin Bridge. The Dubuque Telegraph Herald reports 35-year-old Keith Brimeyer and his passenger 18-year-old Rain Bennett-Sweet, both of Kieler, Wis., were taken to Mercy Medical Center-Dubuque after the crash. Police said the bridge was icy. MUSCATINE, IA (IRN) – A Muscatine man and woman were arrested and charged in connection with the armed robbery of a hotel in Muscatine. WQAD-TV reports surveillance cameras captured images inside and outside of the hotel when a man – armed with a handgun – robbed the hotel clerk on Sunday. 35-year old Timothy Wadden and 39-year-old Tiffany Michelle Williams were charged with first-degree robbery. LAUREL, IA (IRN) – Authorities are investigating what’s been reported as an accidental shooting of a man in central Iowa. The Marshalltown Times-Republican reports that deputies were notified about the shooting around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday in Laurel. The man was taken to a Marshalltown hospital and then flown to a trauma center in Des Moines. His name hasn’t been released. Three people who were in the house when the man was shot are cooperating. WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Shoppers and workers were evacuated Thursday night at the Jordan Creek Target store in West Des Moines. KCCI-TV reports fire alarms went off in the store just hours after opening for Black Friday. No injuries and no serious damage was reported. The minor fire was reportedly inside the front end of the store. CEDAR FALLS, IA (IRN) –  A Thanksgiving Day fire in Cedar Falls has been ruled arson, according to KWWL-TV. Nicholas Kollasch of Cedar Falls has been arrested and charged with arson and criminal mischief in a fire that destroyed three vehicles and a garage. One of the vehicles caught in the fire was a van packed full of musical instruments belonging to the Evan Stock Band. The band has several performances over the weekend, and says the show must go on.  

MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – A north Iowa woman has been accused of stealing from the residents at a Clear Lake care facility. KIMT-TV reports 42-year-old Amy Lynn Palmer is charged with ongoing criminal conduct and 15 counts of dependent elder abuse.  Authorities say that while working at Opportunity Village Palmer withdrew money from the accounts of 15 residents for her own personal use. DES MOINES (IRN) – A Des Moines woman is facing charges in a crash that killed two people earlier this month, according to WHO-TV. 53-year-old Deanna Gliem is charged with two counts of vehicular homicide by operating while intoxicated and two counts of vehicular homicide by reckless driving. 60-year-old Richard Hummel and 59-year-old Randall Sonnenburg were killed. Police say Gliem was drunk and speeding at the time of the crash. She’s in jail. ORANGE CITY, IA (IRN) – A highway stop in northwest Iowa in which police pointed weapons at an innocent man and his 6-year-old son has prompted a federal lawsuit and racial profiling claims. KWWL-TV reports 32-year-old Levi Wilson of Orange City, of Indian descent, alleges the stop and search in 2014 were illegal. Authorities say officers acted appropriately because they were searching for Wilson’s brother, a wanted sex offender. The brothers sometimes drove the same truck. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – Waterloo police are investigating an armed robbery at an iWireless store for the second time in recent months, according to KCRG-TV. Police say someone with a knife entered the store and got away with cash. No one was injured. Police said two men with a gun in September held up an employee, while others robbed the store. Police later arrested six men in connection with that armed robbery. DES MOINES (IRN) – Your Thanksgiving meal this year is a bargain, according to the Farm Bureau. The average cost for a meal for ten is $50.10, which is 70 cents more than last year. That extra cost is primarily because of the avian flu earlier this year. Turkey has increased by about 9 cents per pound compared to last year. Many more items went down in price like milk, whipping cream, and cranberries.  

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A Des Moines woman has been sentenced to prison for filing a false tax return. Julilath Kouangvan (COW-ahn-gun) was sentenced to 14 months in prison for failing to report funds to the IRS. Kouangvan solicited investment funds from individuals by promising a high rate of return. Unbeknownst to those involved, the money was not invested. She was also ordered to pay over half a million dollars in restitution. LINN COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Firefighters from several departments responded Tuesday night to a fire near Central City in Linn County, according to KCRG-TV. Investigators determined the fire started in a camper, but spread to a house. One person in the house was treated for smoke inhalation, one firefighter was treated for a leg injury, and another for a dog bite. MOLINE, IL (IRN) – John Deere & Company released quarterly earnings Wednesday morning showing worldwide net sales and revenues have decreased 25 percent. The Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier reports weakness in global markets for farm and construction equipment has lead to a decline in sales and earnings. John Deere has multiple manufacturing plants in Iowa. WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – West Des Moines based Hy-Vee announced Tuesday that despite a recent USDA decision to grant permission for genetically engineered salmon to be sold in the United States, their stores will not sell it. The company says genetically engineered seafood has no place in its stores, as they only sell seafood safe for consumption that has been harvested or raised in a responsible manner. DES MOINES (IRN) – Officials have filed charges against the driver involved in a fatal crash Monday morning in Des Moines, according to WHO-TV. 24-year-old Troy Mure, Jr. has been charged with vehicular homicide by reckless driving, vehicular homicide by operating while intoxicated and operating while intoxicated. 22-year-old Scalicity Perez was killed in the crash. She is the mother of four. Mure is in jail. SCOTT COUNTY, IA (IRN) – An Eldridge man has been accused of exposing his kids to meth for the second time. KWQC-TV reports 34-year-old Nolan Michael Dufloth was arrested in August of 2014 and was on probation for exposing his children to meth. Dufloth now faces additional charges. Also arrested was 31-year-old Danielle Vance. Vance allegedly watched Dufloth’s two young children while he would make meth in the garage. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A terrifying case of road rage happened Monday in Waterloo. KWWL-TV reports an Iowa man is being charged after he followed a woman for miles then hit her car repeatedly with a crowbar in a parking lot. 39-year-old Joshua Dale is charged with third degree criminal mischief. Tali Stevens was in the car with her 10-year-old daughter she had just picked up from school. Stevens said Dale screamed at her that she had “cut him off.” LINN COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Iowa’s road system will shrink in the future, according to the head of Iowa’s Department of Transportation, Paul Trombino. KCRG-TV reports Trombino says it’s not affordable for the state to maintain Iowa’s current system and it’s not necessary to do so. Many rural landowners and farmers disagree, saying rural roads are needed for agricultural production. According to the DOT Iowa has 114,000 miles of roadway.  

BURLINGTON, IA (IRN) – An Iowa resident has been given five years of probation for scamming money from a South Carolina woman she met on a military oriented dating website. The Hawk Eye newspaper reports 46-year-old Doris Warth, of New London, was ordered to pay $11,000 in restitution. Warth convinced a South Carolina woman she was engaged to a serviceman in Afghanistan who needed money to get out of a legal jam, and the woman sent her money. SHEFFIELD, IA (IRN) – West Fork school officials in Sheffield will move to correct a tax levy error they said caused the district to over assess property taxpayers nearly $340,000 since 2013. The Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier reports for the past three years, the district’s levy was set at $1 per $1,000 in property valuation, rather than the allowed 67 cents per $1,000. To correct the error, the district will reduce the levy over the next two years. HAMDEN, CT (IRN) – A new Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll shows Donald Trump gets 25% of Iowa likely Republican Caucus participants in a too-close-to-call race with Senator Ted Cruz of Texas who is at 23%. Cruz’ support is double his support from four weeks ago. Dr. Ben Carson has 18%, with Senator Marco Rubio of Florida at 13%. DES MOINES (IRN) – Gov. Terry Branstad has pardoned two turkeys as part of an annual Thanksgiving tradition in Iowa, according to the Des Moines Register. Branstad issued the special proclamation Monday outside Terrace Hill in Des Moines for two turkeys named Zoey and Spike. The Des Moines Register reports Branstad’s grandchildren were present during the pardon. They chased the birds through the snow. DES MOINES (IRN) – Des Moines police were called to a fatal crash in a residential neighborhood west of downtown Monday after a vehicle travelling up to 100 mph hit a pole. KCCI-TV reports 22-year-old Scalicity Perez was killed and driver Troy Mure Jr. was hospitalized. The damage to the car was so severe that police couldn’t identify what make or model it was.  Perez is the mother of four children. DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – One person is dead after a fire at a three story apartment complex in Davenport Monday night, according to KWQC-TV. The fire started on the 2nd floor of the building. Firefighters entered an apartment and quickly extinguished the fire, before finding the deceased person inside. The building was evacuated. LELAND, IA (IRN) – A furnace malfunction could be to blame for an explosion that sent one man to the hospital in Leland. KIMT-TV reports firefighters responded to the scene to find a garage on fire from an apparent explosion. Winnebago County deputies say one man, who has not been identified, was injured when he attempted to start his furnace and it exploded. He was life-flighted to Mercy Medical Center in North Iowa for his injuries. WASHINGTON, D.C. (IRN) – Iowa egg farms are gradually recovering from the bird flu that destroyed 25 million of the state’s egg-laying hens this spring. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that Iowa egg production during October was 753 million eggs. That’s up 2 percent from September but down 47 percent from a year ago. Iowa, typically by far the nation’s leading egg producer, fell behind Ohio where hens laid 18 million more eggs last month.