Iowa Radio News

DAVIS COUNTY, IA (IRN) – An arrest has been made in a Davis County Death investigation. 16-year-old Michael Thomas Goodwin, Jr. was charged with 1st Degree Murder, a Class A felony in the death of his father, Michael Thomas Goodwin, Sr. No other information has been released. DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Iowa Department of Public Health officials report Monday that flu cases are increasing in Iowa right now. Flu season in Iowa typically peaks in late January or February. All three flu viruses covered by this year’s vaccines are currently circulating in Iowa. It’s not too late to get a flu shot. MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – A woman in her 30’s found lying unresponsive outside a Mason City strip mall late Thursday night was pronounced dead after being transported to a local hospital. The Mason City Globe-Gazette reports a passer-by reported the woman was lying on the sidewalk. The investigation is ongoing. WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A local firefighter is in the hospital after being injured in a early morning fire. WOI-TV reports West Des Moines firefighters were called to the fire around 3:30 a.m. Sunday. When crews got there the house was engulfed in flames. The house collapsed and the firefighter was injured when an exterior wall fell and struck him. The house is a total loss and the cause of the fire is being investigated. DES MOINES (IRN) – It’s a new year and a new session for the Iowa State Legislature. KCCI-TV reports several Iowa lawmakers made stops Sunday afternoon at the Capitol as they prepared to start the 2016 legislative session today. Among the issues to be considered are K-12 public education, and the Governor’s move toward private management of the state Medicaid system. It’s expected to be a contentious and partisan session. MADISON COUNTY, IA (IRN) – One man is dead following a fatal car crash late Saturday night. WHO-TV reports the Madison County Sheriff’s Office responded to a two-vehicle accident near Winterset. Upon arrival, deputies found one vehicle fully engulfed in flames. The driver of the vehicle, 48-year-old John Eller of Winterset, was pronounced dead at the scene. No one in the second vehicle was injured. It appears the vehicle driven by Eller hit the back of the other one. WATERLOO, IA (IRN) – Five teenagers are facing felony charges after Waterloo police say they robbed a food delivery driver after calling in an order. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports officers responded to a robbery in progress at a vacant house. Police said when a driver from the China King restaurant delivered to the house, the five teens robbed him of money and food. The teens used a handgun in the incident. DES MOINES (IRN) – When Linda Upmeyer gavels in the Iowa House of Representatives today, it will be an historic day. Upmeyer, a Republican from Clear Lake, will become the first woman to serve as speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives. And she will assume the same speaker’s seat from which her father, Del Stromer, governed 34 years ago. It’s believed Stromer and Upmeyer are the first father-daughter duo to serve as a state’s House speaker in the nation’s history.

SAC COUNTY (IRN) – A 19-year-old died after losing control of his vehicle in Sac County. KWWL-TV reports the driver lost control, rolled the vehicle, and was thrown from the vehicle and landed on the highway. A second vehicle then ran over him. Anthony Sanfratello, of Chicago, died at the scene. SAC COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A deadly house fire that occurred Friday in the northwestern Iowa town of Auburn is under investigation. WHO-TV reports by the time Auburn firefighters arrived, the house had burned to the ground. Authorities found human remains in the rubble. The Sac County sheriff’s office says the homeowner had not shown up for work that day. MUSCATINE COUNTY, IA (IRN) – A Muscatine woman died in an early morning crash Saturday. The Iowa State Patrol reports 23-year-old Scharell Shavers was attempting to pass a semi when she came up on a disabled car in the middle of the road. When Shavers tried to move back into the other lane, she lost control on the ice and collided with the semi. Shavers was pronounced dead at the scene while the semi driver was not injured. Shavers was not wearing a seatbelt. DECORAH, IA (IRN) – An Academy Award winning movie that is one of Disney’s biggest successes ever has a connection to Iowa. KIMT-TV reports Disney representatives contacted staff at the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum for help. The movie ‘Frozen’ is set in Norway, so Disney creators wanted some artifacts to help inspire the film. The Museum provided them with 21 objects typical of what Norwegians would have used in the 1800’s. Disney will keep the artifacts from the museum on display in Epcot for three years.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – The Cedar Rapids Police Department is investigating three late night shootings in Cedar Rapids, according to KCRG-TV. In each incident, police say at least one person suffered injuries. No one has been arrested. INDIANOLA, IA (IRN) – An Indianola man has been charged with threatening terrorism after allegedly trying to buy a gun from a friend so he could “kill a lot of people,” according to the Des Moines Register. 21-year-old Trey Sudbrock of Indianola was first arrested Nov. 24 on domestic assault charges and a no contact order was filed, ordering him to stay away from the victim. He posted bond and was released from jail, only later to violate the order and torture and kill his girlfriend’s dog. Police found his threat credible and charged him with threatening terrorism. MARION, IA (IRN) – Unattended stovetop cooking started a kitchen fire at a Marion apartment complex Friday. KCRG-TV reports fire crews found smoke coming from the apartment when they arrived. Alarms warned occupants about the smoke and everyone was evacuated. The fire was extinguished quickly, and two people were treated for smoke inhalation. CLINTON, IA (IRN) – Volunteers from as far away as Minnesota have joined family and friends in Clinton to search for missing 36-year-old Joshua Snyder. Snyder was last seen Wednesday leaving his fiance’s house. Family and friends are worried because Snyder sometimes has seizures, and he is without his medication. NEWTON, IA (IRN) – A Newton pastor was hit by a 19-year-old drunk driver while helping another driver out of a ditch Wednesday. KCCI-TV reports Pastor Cory Stout is resting at home after suffering numerous bruises and seven stitches. Stout has a message for the driver — he forgives him.

FORT DODGE, IA (IRN) – Two juveniles and two adults have been arrested in relation to a kidnapping case Thursday in Fort Dodge. WHO-TV reports a juvenile contacted police claiming he’d been assaulted and had damage done to his vehicle. The victim said the suspects forced him into his car at gunpoint and made him drive to a park. A 15-year-old male is charged with two counts of second degree kidnapping and possession with intent to deliver. A 17-year-old male is also charged with third degree criminal mischief and serious assault. Nineteen-year-old Dakota Marnach and 18-year-old Ricki Riley are both charged with possession with intent to deliver. WINTERSET, IA (IRN) – A Madison County Jail inmate found unresponsive in his cell Thursday has died. The Des Moines Register reports the inmate was taken to Madison County Memorial Hospital in Winterset. Sheriff Jason Barnes says the inmate died there later that day. The inmate has been identified as 33-year-old Joshua Barker, of Winterset. He’d been arrested Sunday on drug and other charges. An investigation is underway, but no foul play is suspected. DECORAH, IA (IRN) – A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a Decorah man to five years probation for selling goats he’d used as collateral for a farm loan. KCRG-TV reports 36-year-old Andrew Hansen admitted to selling goats and farm equipment that had been used as collateral on FSA loans he got to run a dairy goat farm. He says he used the money for his own purposes rather than to pay off the loans. Hansen also has to pay $35,000 in restitution. ALTOONA, IA (IRN) – The Iowa State Patrol says a 15-year-old girl reported as a runaway led officers in three cities on a high-speed chase overnight. KCCI-TV reports Des Moines Police spotted a stolen Ford F-150 that was connected to the 15-year-old runaway. The driver took off at speeds up to 100 mph. The pickup ran over stop sticks but kept going to I-80, where it went through cable barriers onto the median, and rolled several times. The girl is OK, but faces charges. DES MOINES (IRN) – A possible child enticement case occurred in Des Moines. A 16-year-old girl reported that while she was waiting for her school bus Thursday morning she noticed a dark colored SUV drive past and the driver asked her if she needed a ride. After the girl yelled “NO”, the vehicle began to turn around and drive back toward her. The girl then ran next door to her aunt’s house and called police. RHODES, IA (IRN) – The Marshall County Sheriff’s Office says two people in Rhodes suffered gunshot wounds while cleaning a handgun Thursday night. 74-year-old Richard Jones and 69-year-old Ilene Jones both suffered injuries when the firearm accidentally discharged. MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – A happy Mason City boy has become a viral sensation on Facebook, according to KIMT-TV. Eight-year-old Joseph Donachricha wants to meet country singer Luke Bryan when he’s performing in Iowa next month. An online video shows Joseph holding pieces of paper about his life and his struggle with Cerebral Palsy, and how he’d really like Luke Bryan to visit his school. While the singer has yet to respond, Joseph is hopeful.

KEOKUK, IA (IRN) – An Iowa man was found shot in the chest three times early Thursday. The Iowa DCI reports Keokuk police were called to a residence on a report of gunshots fired. Officers found 32-year-old Ian Keefe suffering from gunshot wounds to the chest. His current condition is not available. His two dogs in his home were also shot. Two people wearing masks were seen fleeing the scene in a car. DANVILLE, IA (IRN) – An Illinois woman has been charged with taking pain medication meant for patients at Danville Care Center in Danville, Iowa. WQAD-TV reports forty-three-year-old Sonja Hanks, of Biggsville, Illinois, was arrested Monday afternoon. Court records say the medication, which Hanks obtained while working as a nurse at the center, was meant to be given to three patients. VICTOR, IA (IRN) – A missing 12-year-old Newton girl has been found safe and her mother and her mother’s boyfriend have been arrested. KCCI-TV reports 35-year-old Kevin Carlton and 37-year-old Misty Shaver were located by law enforcement at a rest area near Victor Wednesday night. Shaver and Carlton were charged on warrants in the disappearance of 12-year-old Charlene Brown. The girl was with Shaver and Carlton at the time of the arrest, and she is safe. FORT DODGE, IA (IRN) – Webster County supervisors are saying the county assessor went to her office and had files deleted off the county computer after she was fired by the county Conference Board. KWWL-TV reports the supervisors also say Jeanette Thanupakorn (THAN-u-puh-kern) also hasn’t turned over to the county a recording of the Oct. 27 meeting at which she was terminated. She was later reinstated and placed on paid administrative leave, pending a hearing. ALTOONA, IA (IRN) – A Colfax man died after a trench collapsed on him at an Altoona construction site Wednesday morning. The Des Moines Register reports 30-year-old Justin Jorgensen died in the accident despite rescue attempts. Jorgensen and other workers had dug a trench for a sewer pipe when walls of a trench collapsed. The hole was more than 12 feet deep, and an initial investigation suggests required safety procedures were not being followed. BOONE, IA (IRN) – A Boone man has been charged with his third OWI after a Story County crash with his daughter, according to KCCI-TV. 28-year-old Stuart Corson had his 7-year-old daughter in his car while driving under the influence. Deputies found Corson and his daughter in the rolled-over car, trying to stay warm on the cold night. Corson is in jail. DES MOINES (IRN) – Tom Latham, an Iowa Republican who served in Congress for 20 years, announced Wednesday that he has cancer. WHO-TV reports he has Lymphoma. Latham represented Iowa in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 until he retired in 2015. Latham says he never lost an election, and that he isn’t going to lose this battle either. GARRISON, IA (IRN) – Volunteers have finished adding the final touches to the new Garrison Public Library. KCRG-TV reports the community has been working on the project since July of 2011, when a strong windstorm tore the roof off the old library. The new library is small, and total costs will be approximately $450,000. Library board member Christy Leckband says after the storm the citizens of the small rural community had to decide if the town was going to die or grow, and they chose to grow.