DES MOINES (IRN) – The body found in the Des Moines river near Yellow Banks Park on Friday has been identified. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office reports that the victim has been identified as 32-year-old Bobby Lee Long of Des Moines.  Polk County detectives are investigating the case to determine if Mr. Long was the individual observed yelling for help in the Des Moines River on Monday of last week.

LUCAS, IA (IRN) – A woman from Sumner was taken to the hospital for injuries after a motorcycle crash on Saturday in St. Lucas in Fayette County. KWWL-TV reports 37-year-old Teresa Boyle was a passenger on the bike and was ejected when the crash happened. Authorities say the motorcycle’s driver, 39-year-old Robert Boyle from Sumner, was coming into a corner and laid down the bike when he hit loose gravel.

WEST UNION, IA (IRN) -The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office is looking for a convicted sex offender who cut off his GPS bracelet just hours before he was expected to show up to jail. KWWL-TV reports that Thomas Cannon, who was recently sentenced for third degree sexual abuse was expected to show up at the Fayette County Jail at 10 a.m. today. Authorities say Cannon may be armed.

DAVENPORT, IA (IRN) – A new Miss Iowa has been crowned. KCRG-TV reports that Taylor Wiebers of Clinton was crowned Saturday night in Davenport. Wiebers, 21, is the reigning Miss Clinton County. She is a student at the University of Iowa, majoring in communications. She will represent Iowa in the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City, N.J., in September.

DES MOINES (IRN) – At least two funnel clouds were spotted late afternoon Sunday in Iowa. KCCI-TV reports that funnel clouds were reported northwest of Oskaloosa in Mahaska County, and near Ferguson in Marshall County. With Sunday’s heavy rains over much of the state, the National Weather Service has issued flood warnings for the Raccoon and Des Moines Rivers in Polk County, the Mississippi River at Burlington, the Iowa River at Wapello and Oakville in Louisa County, and at Marengo in Iowa County.

DES MOINES (IRN) – A man was rushed to Mercy Hospital after he was shot on a porch Saturday afternoon in Des Moines. KCCI-TV reports that authorities are unsure if it was a drive-by shooting or if the suspect was on the property. A witness says the victim was shot in the mouth. Neither the victim’s name nor his condition have been released. The incident prompted a lockdown at Mercy.

DES MOINES (IRN) – Des Moines has made another top ten list for American cities. WalletHub.com, a financial advice website, analyzed 150 of the most populated U.S. cities to determine which were 2015’s best and worst cities to find a job. Des Moines came in second. The best city to find a job in 2015? Seattle.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – Cedar Rapids hopes to launch its new app for tracking city buses in late summer or early fall, and Wi-Fi access on all city buses before the end of the year. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports that city buses having Wi-Fi is part of a national trend, and the smartphone app will allow riders to track buses in real time and obtain more accurate estimates of when buses will arrive.

 

MOUNT PLEASANT, IA (IRN) – Authorities in Henry County are searching for an abducted teen. KGAN-TV reports that Karyn R. Mehaffy, 16, was abducted from an address in Winfield in Henry County on Friday.  According to the Henry County Sheriff, Mehaffy was abducted by three subjects in a dark blue SUV, make and model unknown.

CORALVILLE, IA (IRN) The name of the victim shot and killed at the Coralville Mall on Friday has been released.  KCRG-TV reports that Andrea Farrington, 20, was shot three times in the back near the food court by mall security guard Alexander M. Kozak, 22. Farrington worked near the food court at the Iowa Children’s Museum. Authorities said Farrington and Kozak knew each other from their work at the mall, but did not offer any explanation for what led to the fatal shooting. Farrington’s family said Kozak had been harassing the victim.

IOWA CITY, IA (IRN) – A homeless man faces a robbery charge after stealing a bank bag in Iowa City on Friday. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports that Friday morning a woman was leaving the downtown branch of MidWestOne bank in Iowa City carrying a bank bag when she was attacked by two men. Police said one of the men, 24-year-old Darryl M. Henry, grabbed the bag and pushed the woman, before fleeing with his accomplice. Henry was later caught and arrested and faces one count of second-degree robbery. His unknown accomplice fled with the money.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Dozens protested a recent officer involved shooting at the Des Moines Police Station Saturday. WHO-TV reports the protests were sparked by an officer involved shooting of an unarmed man this past week. Ryan Bolinger, 28, was fatally shot in the torso by Officer Vanessa Miller. Protesters demanded the department be held accountable.

 

DES MOINES (IRN) – A former clerk in the Iowa Legislature has been indicted for a white powder hoax in the Southern District of Iowa. In April of 2012 Michael Dekota McRae reported opening an envelope containing a written death threat and a quantity of white powder during a public legislative session. McRae’s report resulted in a temporary shutdown. The indictment charges him with the formal charge of providing false information and hoaxes. If convicted, McRae faces up to 5 years imprisonment, and up to a $250,000 fine.

CORALVILLE, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Department of Public Safety is investigating a fatal shooting at the Coral Ridge Mall in Coralville Friday. The victim is a 20-year-old female. Her name is being withheld pending notification of family. A suspect in the shooting was stopped and arrested on Interstate 80 by the Iowa State Patrol and Scott County deputies. He has been identified as Alexander Matthew Kozak, 22, of North Liberty. The shooting happened in the food court.

RUNNELLS, IA (IRN) – A body was found in the Des Moines River Friday evening near Runnells. WHO-TV reports the discovery may be connected to the report of a man who fell into the water earlier this week north of Des Moines.  Authorities are working to identify the victim.

OSKALOOSA, IA (IRN) – The suspect in an Oskaloosa arson case may not be competent to stand trial. KTVO-TV reports that 23-year old Danny Logan is accused of setting a fire in downtown Oskaloosa last month that destroyed two businesses. Logan’s public defender asked for a mental evaluation for his client claiming he showed clear signs of mental illness, including  hearing voices. The court agreed and ordered that Logan be evaluated at the Iowa Medical Classification Center in Oakdale.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – The Iowa Supreme Court has affirmed the right to be drunk on your front porch. KCCI-TV reports that the court ruled in favor of Patience Paye, who appealed her 2013 conviction for public intoxication. Paye called police after fighting with her boyfriend and met officers on her front porch. While investigating the assault complaint an officer questioned Paye if she’d been drinking, and a test revealed her blood alcohol concentration more than three times the amount allowable when driving. She was charged, convicted but appealed, saying her front porch isn’t a public place. The Supreme Court agreed.

VINTON, IA (IRN) – A toddler was hit with a taser during a police struggle with a suspect in Benton County. KWWL-TV reports that a 20-month-old child was taken to two different hospitals Wednesday after police deployed a taser against the child’s father, Joshua Carl Hendryx, 34, of Vinton. Hendryx was holding the child when he attacked the officers and the Vinton Police deployed the taser. Hendryx was arrested and charged with domestic abuse assault, child endangerment causing injury and interference with official acts.

MASON CITY, IA (IRN) – A Mason City man has been sentenced to 40 years for child sexual exploitation offenses. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa reports that Micheal Jones, age 41, received the sentence after a guilty plea to one count of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of possession of child pornography.

DES MOINES (IRN) – The Iowa Republican Party unanimously voted today to end the Iowa Straw Poll, which had been scheduled for Aug. 8. The event has fallen out of favor for failing to accurately predict who would go on to win the Iowa caucuses. The last poll winner, former Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, placed sixth in the 2012 caucuses.

OTTUMWA, IA (IRN) – Biting a police officer has landed an Ottumwa woman in jail. KTVO-TV reports that Ashley A. Reynolds, 28, has been charged with Assault on a Police Officer and numerous misdemeanors. Spencer C. Stuart, 33, of Fremont, was also charged with multiple misdemeanors. The arrests stemmed from a fight at an Ottumwa bar. As an officer attempted to place Reynolds in the squad car in the early morning hours Thursday, she bit him on the wrist.

JOHNSTON, IA (IRN) – Heavy thunderstorms through much of the state brought record rains to many communities. The National Weather Service reports that Dubuque had over 2.5 inches of rain, breaking a record set in 1876. Totals of 3 to 5 inches were reported in southwest Iowa. Flood warnings have been issued for the Nishnabotna River in southwest Iowa, the North Raccoon, Raccoon, and Des Moines River in Dallas, Greene, and Polk counties, and the Iowa River at Marengo.

WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A West Des Moines woman was one of five passengers hurt when her flight into Des Moines was hit by turbulence during Thursday’s thunderstorms. KCCI-TV reports that Cris Krull was flying from Phoenix to Des Moines with her son on a U.S. Airways flight. Krull and four others suffered apparent non-life threatening injuries. Three people, including Krull, were taken to area hospitals after landing.

KANSAS CITY, MO (IRN) – A Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper who was critical of the agency after an Iowa man drowned at the Lake of the Ozarks last year has been demoted for speaking out.  Various news services report that the trooper was moved from the Lake of the Ozarks, where he had patrolled for nearly three decades, and demoted from sergeant to corporal. The trooper told Missouri lawmakers road troopers who occasionally helped the Water Patrol didn’t receive enough training.

DYERSVILLE, IA (IRN) – Four Guttenberg men were arrested and a portion of Highway 136 was shut down as a precaution Wednesday night after a mobile meth lab was found in a vehicle. KWWL-TV reports a Dyersville Police officer spotted a vehicle being driven by 40-year-old Jason Schroeder who was wanted on a warrant. After stopping the car, a K-9 unit found the drugs. Three other men were also charged.