Iowa Radio News

NEVADA, IA (IRN) – The CyRide bus driver accused in a deadly hit and run has pled not guilty. WHO-TV reports twenty-three-year-old Benjamin Clague is accused of killing EmmaLee Jacobs near the Iowa State campus last December. Ames police say Clague hit the college student as she was crossing Lincoln Way. Jacobs later died in the hospital. CUMMING, IA (IRN) – A fatal crash involving a semi-trailer temporarily closed Interstate 35 near Cumming this morning, according to KCCI-TV. The crash was reported around 4 a.m. Iowa State Patrol officials confirmed the driver of the truck was killed in the crash. The identity of the driver has not yet been released. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A morning mobile home fire killed one person and sent another to the hospital in Cedar Rapids. KCRG-TV reports one person died and another was hospitalized. The victims were a couple, and a neighbor said the pair had lived together in the home for about 45 years. FORT DODGE, IA (IRN) – A teenager died and five people were injured in a car crash near Fort Dodge on Saturday afternoon. The Iowa State Patrol says the car entered a ditch before it rolled and ejected the passengers. 13-year-old Duane Touney of Fort Dodge was pronounced dead at the scene. He wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. The five other people in the vehicle were taken to a local hospital. Only one of them had been wearing a seatbelt. JOHNSON COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A 30 vehicle crash in Johnson County shut down westbound I-80 Sunday afternoon. KWWL-TV reports three people were injured, and traffic was backed up for hours. WRIGHT COUNTY, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation is investigating a shooting that happened in Wright County Sunday night. The shooting happened in Eagle Grove, and authorities say two people were involved. One person was transported to a Des Moines hospital by air ambulance and the other was taken to a local hospital. WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – In January, seafood inspectors at Hy-Vee’s distribution center in Ankeny stumbled on a rare orange lobster. This Cape Cod area-sourced lobster is rare because only one in approximately 10 million lobsters are orange. Hy-Vee named the lobster “R.C.” after its Responsible Choice seafood program. R.C never made it to a dinner plate, but instead found a permanent home at the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium in Dubuque.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – A boarding school for troubled teenagers in Keokuk that is being investigated by the FBI routinely kept pupils in small concrete isolation boxes for days or weeks and wouldn’t let them out unless they sat in a specific posture for 24 hours, according to several former students. KCCI-TV reports the former students say the Midwest Academy has dark, cell-like punishment rooms which were often filled with the sounds of students’ screams. BREMER COUNTY, IA – One person is dead in a two-car crash that happened in Bremer County, according to KWWL-TV. One vehicle failed to stop at a stop sign and collided in an intersection with another vehicle, causing that vehicle to roll into the ditch and land on its top. 22-year-old Jedidiah Wilson from Fairbank died. He was not wearing a seatbelt. BETTENDORF, IA (IRN) – Nearly three weeks after a van was run off Interstate 80 in Bettendorf in a road rage incident, a man has been charged and arrested. WQAD-TV reports 31-year-old Matthew Jensen from Bettendorf allegedly ran a Ford Windstar van off I-80 with his Ford F350 pickup. The Windstar went into the median, hitting safety tension cables where it eventually stopped. Jensen drove off. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A full-time Cedar Rapids mom decided to return to her old trade for a day to help the underprivileged. KCRG-TV reports former hair stylist, Ingrid Glessner, along with seven other stylists, gave free haircuts at Mission of Hope on Saturday. In all, 55 homeless people got a bit off the top. Rock Photography provided free portraits for those who received haircuts. Ingrid said she plans to make it an annual event.

URBANDALE, IA (IRN) – One person is dead after an officer-involved shooting at an Urbandale hotel early Saturday morning. WOI-TV reports officers were responding to a drug complaint at the Holiday Inn on Merle Hay Road when the altercation occurred. Officers confronted three individuals in the lobby of the hotel. A scuffle began and one person was in possession of a handgun and fired it during the scuffle. Officers returned fire and that individual was struck and killed. ANKENY, IA (IRN) – The Polk County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a deadly crash that happened just before noon on Friday in Ankeny. First responders found a car, on it’s side, pinned between two trees. The female driver of the car was pronounced dead at the scene. A young child who was a passenger was taken to a Des Moines Hospital. Names have not been released. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Police arrested a man Friday night after gunshots were fired near Drake University. KCCI-TV reports police were called to Platinum Kutz to a report of a man in his 50s or 60s standing in the parking lot, firing a gun in the air and yelling. The man, whose identity has not been confirmed, was taken into custody shortly thereafter. No one was hurt. BETTENDORF, IA (IRN) – A 60-year-old Bettendorf man was arrested after he allegedly drove a truck through a working fire scene and crashed into a fire truck. WQAD-TV reports Robert Sikma drove his Chevrolet Silverado through the fire scene and clipped a parked fire engine before he backed up, drove through his yard, and parked in his driveway. Sikma then went into his house, where police found and arrested him a short time later. No injuries were reported. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – As the sun came up over Highway 20 near Waterloo Thursday morning, a new life was born…on the highway. KWWL-TV reports an Iowa Falls couple was on their way to the hospital, but their little guy just couldn’t wait. Taryn Naill delivered her own baby while her boyfriend drove, and eventually pulled over to wait for paramedics. Both mother and baby are fine.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Two men were arrested following an early Friday morning chase that had officers speeding through snowy Des Moines streets. WHO-TV reports thirty-one-year-old Zeferino Padilla and 33-year-old Felipe Padilla are now in the Polk County Jail. Police say they were responding to a report of an attempted burglary when the two men sped off in a car, leading officers on a high-speed chase. Stop sticks flattened their tires, and the men ran into the woods. Officers were able to follow their footprints in the fresh snow and arrest them. DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – An eastern Iowa woman has been sentenced for insurance fraud and filing a false report. The Dubuque Telegraph Herald reports Stephanie Settle of Asbury was given probation, 30 days in jail, suspended, and a deferred judgment. Settle told officers a man armed with a knife broke into her home in January 2015, attacked her and stole about $15,000 worth of jewelry. It didn’t happen. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – The owners of a private northeast Iowa zoo must remove their tigers and lemurs after a federal judge ruled that they failed to provide appropriate living conditions for the endangered animals. WQAD-TV reports the owners of the roadside Cricket Hollow Zoo, near Manchester, have been ordered to transfer the animals to a U.S. Department of Agriculture-licensed facility within 90 days. CORALVILLE, IA (IRN) – A Union County man who pled guilty to two counts of murder in January is dead, an apparent suicide. Jerry Dillinger was found in his cell Wednesday night hanging from a bed sheet. Dillinger had pled guilty to the murders of Michael Robinson and Loretta Dillinger. Loretta was Jerry Dillinger’s ex sister-in-law and Michael was the boyfriend of his niece. Loretta’s body was discovered in a farm pond near Lorimor. Michael’s body was found nearby. SIOUX CITY, IA (IRN) – A Sioux City man accused of impersonating a police officer and enticing young girls and inappropriately touching them has been sentenced to seven years in prison. The Sioux City Journal reports that 31-year-old Joey Alberts pled guilty Wednesday to enticing away a minor, indecent contact with a child and three counts of impersonating a public official. AMES, IA (IRN) – Iowa State University researchers are testing a metal 3D printer that could change the entire manufacturing industry. KCCI-TV reports the ProX 300 printer lays down a fine layer of metal powder. Then a 500-watt laser welds the powder together, one pass at a time and layer after layer. The part is made up of 300 to 400 layers. It takes just a few hours to create a new part, instead of weeks or months to retool and rebuild. MARSHALLTOWN, IA (IRN) – A Casey’s General Store manager in Marshalltown saved a man’s life while at work. The Times-Republican reports that Lorey Smith was working at the convenience store when Frito-Lay salesperson John Schlichte backed his truck into the side entrance of store, then collapsed. He was apparently having a seizure, his head banging the bumper of the truck, unable to breathe. She cleared his airway while another employee dialed 911. He’s OK.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Legislation being considered in the Iowa Legislature will reduce the number of counties from 99 to 40. Rep. Jake Highfill, a Republican from Johnston, has proposed the reduction as a way to save taxpayer dollars and modernize local government. Highfille says “I’m just trying to be a good steward of the taxpayers’ money, and we need less brick-and-mortar than we did in the past. ” MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – A motorist paid the price Thursday morning for not obeying railroad signals near Rockwell in Cerro Gordo County. KIMT-TV reports 48-year-old Tracy Ingham of Swaledale failed to stop at a railroad crossing. The Sheriff’s Office says both the warning lights and cross arm were activated. The front of an oncoming train hit the rear of Ingham’s vehicle and sent it into the ditch. The vehicle was a total loss but Ingham was not injured. SIOUX CITY, IA (IRN) – Two women accused of staging a bank robbery in Sioux City have each been sentenced to five years in prison. The Sioux City Journal reports that 19-year-old Heaven Zevenbergen and 18-year-old Angelica Perez were sentenced Wednesday. Perez entered a bank branch at a Hy-Vee supermarket last August in a disguise, and warned Zevenbergen via a note that she was armed. Zevenbergen, then a teller at the bank, knew Perez and gave her $10,000. ORANGE CITY, IA (IRN) – A northwest Iowa woman has been given probation and an order to repay more than $19,000 she stole from her former employer. KCCI-TV reports 38-year-old Heather Bloemendaal, of Rock Valley, was sentenced Tuesday to four years of probation, given a suspended 10-year prison sentence, and was told to make restitution to Stone Soup Cafe in Rock Valley. Bloemendaal stole the money from the restaurant’s bank deposits. NEWTON, IA (IRN) – A Newton jury has convicted a man of helping his mother stab his wife to death in 2013. WQAD-TV reports jurors found 40-year-old Dustin Jefferson guilty of aiding and abetting first-degree murder. His mother, Ginger Jefferson, is serving life in prison for the murder. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – An overheated circuit caused a fire that destroyed a duplex in Waterloo on Tuesday. KCRG-TV reports firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke coming from the home, which had been turned into apartments. Everyone inside the duplex was able to make it out OK, but the building is a total loss. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A Des Moines man is facing an additional charge after he bolted from his court appearance Wednesday. The Des Moines Register reports 35-year-old Nicky Beery made a mad dash out of the Polk County Courthouse fearing he would face jail time for a driving while barred charge. Deputies chased Beery down the street, and found him hiding in the basement of a bank. Beery was right. He’s in jail. Only now he faces additional charges. SHEFFIELD, IA (IRN) – A Sheffield teen overcame major challenges to hit the hardwood with his basketball team for the first time Tuesday, according to KCCI-TV. Born with cerebral palsy and a seizure disorder, doctors told Dakota Reason’s parents he wouldn’t live past the age of five. Now 18 years old, Dakota has been the manager of the boys basketball team in Sheffield for four years. To show Dakota just how much a part of the team he is, coaches surprised him Tuesday by telling him to take the court on senior night. And he did.