Iowa Radio News

INDIANAPOLIS, IN (IRN) – Number 4 Iowa lost to Number 5 Michigan State in the Big Ten championship game at Indianapolis Saturday. Iowa held a lead late into the fourth quarter, when Michigan State was able to score with 27 seconds left to play. The final score was 16-13 Michigan State. ALTA, IA (IRN) – An Alta man was arrested after a month long investigation into a report of suspected child abuse. KTIV-TV reports 30-year-old Andrew Russell was charged with child endangerment. The investigation began after a report was made to the Department of Human Services by a mandatory reporter, alleging that a 6-year-old boy was being physically abused. Russell was booked into the Buena Vista County Jail. DUBUQUE, IA (IRN) – A Dubuque man has been arrested after leading police on a chase before crashing his car in the yard of a home. KWWL-TV reports 24-year-old James A. Brown is facing charges of eluding, not having a valid driver’s license, reckless driving, and careless driving. While attempting to elude police, Brown tried to negotiate a curve at a high speed and rolled the car into the yard causing the car to stop upside down. WASHINGTON, D.C. (IRN) – While the Hawkeye football team lost on Saturday, you wouldn’t know it from Senator Joni Ernst’s twitter account. The Des Moines Register reports the Senator erroneously tweeted a congratulatory post to the University of Iowa football team on their big victory. Ernst blamed a staffer for the error.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Police in Des Moines are conducting a homicide investigation after discovering a man’s body inside a home after a report of an altercation on the southeast side. WHO-TV reports officers arrived on scene and found the body of an adult male inside the residence. Another resident was transported to the hospital for treatment of unspecified injuries. This is the 20th homicide of the year in Des Moines. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A man has been arrested in connection with a double shooting that killed one person and injured another in downtown Des Moines’ popular Court Avenue District last weekend. WHO-TV reports 24-year-old Dresean Maurice Barber of Des Moines has been charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder. CEDAR FALLS, IA (IRN) – Cedar Falls police have arrested a man accused of sexual assaulting an eight-year-old at an AMVETS post.  KWWL-TV reports police say 72-year-old Ronald Nielsen took the child into a closet at the post. The incident ended after the victim’s father walked in. Nielsen is charged with second degree sexual abuse and lascivious acts with a child. AMES, IA (IRN) – Ames ranked No. 1 and Iowa City ranked No. 3 in a new national list of the best college towns in the USA for 2016. KCCI-TV reports the American Institute for Economic Research rated the top 75 college towns. The rankings were based on cost of rent, city accessibility, arts and entertainment, culture, bars and restaurants, diversity and cost of living. INDIANAPOLIS, IN (IRN) – It’s one of the biggest days in Iowa football history. Big Ten Coach of the Year Kirk Ferentz leads the record setting 12-0 Hawkeyes to Indianapolis to take on Michigan State today. A trip to the College Football Playoff is on the line as Big Ten West Division winner, No. 4 Iowa will face Big Ten East Division winner, No. 5 Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship game tonight. Kickoff is at 7:17 PM.

DES MOINES (IRN) – A truck went off I-235 in Des Moines Friday morning and crashed into a house. KCCI-TV reports the truck with a male driver and two dogs went off I-235, hit a light pole, went through a fence, hit a car parked in front of the home and then crashed into the home. Police are investigating what happened, but believe it might have been caused by a medical problem. Neighbors say this isn’t the first time a vehicle has left the freeway and hit a house in the neighborhood. DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – After another gas station was robbed in Davenport, police say it’s possible the crime is related to similar recent robberies in Bettendorf and Davenport. WQAD-TV reports a man, armed with a handgun, demanded money but left without any cash when he tried to rob the Super Stop gas station. It’s at least the third gas station robbery reported in Davenport this week. DES MOINES (IRN) – Des Moines police responded to an armed robbery at a Hy-Vee in south Des Moines Thursday night, according to the Des Moines Register. The man had a handgun and wore a ski mask. It’s unknown what was taken. He fled the scene before police arrived. DES MOINES (IRN) – An important key chain was stolen out of a Des Moines city vehicle Monday. KCCI-TV reports the keys allow access to city property across Des Moines. The effort to replace a significant number of locks is underway. A city employee was eating inside a KFC when someone went into his unlocked city truck and stole his lunch box. Inside was the large set of keys to locks around the city. MARSHALL COUNTY, IA (IRN) – Three Kirksville, Missouri men convicted of a brutal murder in central Iowa nearly 20 years ago will be back in court. The Marshalltown Times-Republican reports Rebecca Hauser, a mother of four children, was found murdered on a rural road in Marshall County in 1994. The three Missouri men, all juveniles at the time, were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole. They will be resentenced following a decision by the Iowa Supreme Court that made mandatory life sentences for juveniles illegal. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – The original electronic security and master control system at the jail in Waterloo is beginning to fail, according to KCRG-TV. The repairs could be an expensive fix. The system that controls jail doors, intercoms and other functions crashed three weeks ago. Technicians were able to revive the system then, but say it won’t function much longer. It was installed when the jail opened 20 years ago and will cost $2 million to replace. IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – Regents for Iowa’s public universities have agreed to increase undergraduate tuition for resident students at the University of Iowa and keep tuition the same at two other universities. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports regents approved a 3% tuition increase at the University of Iowa. Undergraduate tuition for resident students at the University of Northern Iowa and Iowa State University will remain the same. DES MOINES, IA – Iowa posted another record year of liquor and wine consumption while beer sales went flat in fiscal 2015, according to the latest figures released Tuesday by the state Alcoholic Beverages Division. Overall, sales of distilled spirits, beer and wine totaled over $319 million, which represents a 5.4% increase for the year. The top selling distilled spirit? Black Velvet Canadian whiskey.  

DUNKERTON, IA (IRN) – A 21-year-old woman was killed in a two-vehicle crash in eastern Iowa. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that Alexis Behrends of Dunkerton died in a crash Wednesday. Authorities say the roads were ice covered when the crash occurred. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – A young woman is undergoing mental evaluation after she was accused of trying to take a 9-year-old boy from a Waterloo school bus stop. The 9-year-old was waiting for the school bus when a woman in her early twenties told his bus driver that the boy needed to go with her. The boy told the bus driver he didn’t know her, and the driver called police. Police say the woman was hallucinating and thought the boy was a relative who needed help. MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – The North Central Iowa Narcotics Task Force has arrested 14 Mason City residents as part of a drug warrant sweep, according to KGLO-radio. The Task Force made the arrests Tuesday and Wednesday as a result of several independent investigations. The arrests deal with selling illegal drugs, in most cases methamphetamine, to individuals cooperating and under the control of the Task Force. DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – Davenport police are searching for two suspects who robbed a Dollar General store. KWQC-TV reports a man armed with a handgun and a woman entered the store and demanded money. The two were caught on surveillance cameras, and images from those cameras are being made public. The suspects left the Dollar General with an undisclosed amount of money. PLYMOUTH, IA (IRN) – A man working under a vehicle in Plymouth was injured Sunday afternoon when the vehicle fell on him, according to KIMT-TV. The Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s office says the victim is a 63-year-old man who suffered head injuries. WEST LIBERTY, IA (IRN) – West Liberty police are searching for a man whom an 11-year old boy says tried to abduct him on Wednesday. KCRG-TV reports the boy told police he was walking when a white van pulled up to the curb and a man told the boy to get in. Instead, the boy ran to a friend’s home nearby and police were called. The suspect is a white man in his late 30s who is balding and has a dark short beard. WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Authorities investigated a suspicious package at the West Des Moines Police Station on Wednesday afternoon. KCCI-TV reports the package turned out to contain crushed candy. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – The Cedar Rapids Police Department recently dedicated a memorial to the many K9s, both past and present, that have helped make the community a safer place. KWWL-TV reports that for decades K9s have been working with officers in Cedar Rapids. Now, their service is physically recognized with a memorial, and their names are engraved in stone.

WELLMAN, IA (IRN) – Approximately 4,000 pigs died in a fire near Wellman Tuesday night, according to KCII radio. Three fire departments responded to the hog confinement fire about two miles south of Wellman. The building belongs to Brenneman Pork. Officials with the company say the cause of the fire is under investigation, but heat lamps were not in use at the time of the fire. Brenneman Pork is a family farm business with facilities in Iowa and Missouri. HAMPTON, IA (IRN) – A Hampton man was injured Saturday while pheasant hunting east of Faulkner near the Franklin-Butler County line. The DNR reports 76-year-old Bob Abbas was hunting with three others when a pellet from a shotgun being fired at a pheasant hit him above the right eye. He was transported by private vehicle to Franklin General Hospital in Hampton where the pellet was removed and he was released. DALLAS COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A Des Moines man wanted in connection with a double homicide surrendered and was taken into custody after a nearly four hour standoff near Bouton Tuesday evening. Raccoon Valley Radio reports Woodward Police Chief Joe Cox saw the 39-year-old suspect, Michael Wanchanic, at the Casey’s General Store.  Cox chased the suspect in his van until the van died, and a standoff ensued. Authorities believe the man eventually got cold and surrendered. MUSCATINE, IA (IRN) – Authorities are investigating the cause of a fire that destroyed a historic house in Muscatine Tuesday. The Muscatine Journal reports flames were reported from the roof and rear of the brick two-story house, which was built in 1892. Firefighters battled the blaze from outside after a floor collapsed. A person inside the home when the fire started received minor injuries. CASCADE, IA (IRN) – A Cascade student has died as a result of injuries received in a Thanksgiving Day crash, according to KWWL-TV. The vehicle 16-year-old Justin Shaffer was driving went onto the right shoulder, over-corrected, and crossed over the center line, where he was hit by another car going the other way. The man who hit Shaffer is listed in stable condition in Iowa City. Shaffer was the second student in the district to die this year. WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – DEA agents removed items from a West Des Moines dentist’s home Tuesday morning. KCCI-TV reports Dr. Shawn Kerby’s license is currently under probation. He was charged previously with indiscriminately prescribing or dispensing drugs before the Iowa Dental Board. Agents were seen removing guns, computers, Kerby’s pickup truck and other items from the property. His staff at the dental office said he was “gone for the day.” CERRO GORDO COUNTY, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation is investigating an inmate death in the Cerro Gordo County Jail. A correctional officer discovered an unresponsive male in his jail cell. Lifesaving efforts were started and the man was transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Brandon Wilson just can’t stop hiding drugs in his rectum. According to the Cedar Rapids Gazette, for the second time this year 26-year-old Wilson has been arrested and accused of hiding baggies of drugs in his rectum. After being arrested on a warrant and during a search Sunday, officers discovered 51 baggies of crack cocaine and marijuana. This past February he tried sneak 109 baggies of crack cocaine into the Linn County Jail in the same manner. His total for the year? 160 bags of drugs. Jail staff say it’s a record.