DES MOINES – A Des Moines man is accused of deliberately set a fire during an argument with his girlfriend over the weekend. WHO-13 reports 36-year-old Pah Lo Baw faces charges of attempted murder and arson following the incident Sunday. Emergency responders rushed to a call of a fire they were told was started intentionally, and arrived to it extinguished. Baw is accused of pouring gas throughout the home and on his girlfriend with the intent of setting both adults on fire.

DES MOINES – Senate Republicans sent a bill to Governor Kim Reynolds that would restrict local entities from regulating stormwater and soil. The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports Senate File 455 passed on partisan lines and bans cities and counties from having regulations that are more restrictive than state or federal guidelines.

IOWA CITY – Top-seeded Iowa women’s basketball defeated eighth-seed West Virginia, 64-54, on Monday night inside a sold-out Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes advance to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the fourth time since 2019. All-American Caitlin Clark led Iowa with 32 points and eight rebounds in her final ever game in her home gym. Clark broke the NCAA’s single season scoring record surpassing Washington’s, Kelsey Plum.

FONDA – A nurse has been charged in the death of a U.S. Army veteran in an Iowa nursing home. The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports 69-year-old Becky Sue Manning faces a count of neglect of a health care facility resident. The licensed practical nurse is accused of refusing to provide physician ordered care to 89-year-old Marvin Jacobs. The veteran died in February of 2023 after having undergone a tracheostomy, which meant he had a suctioning machine by his bedside. Another staff member had noticed Jacobs struggling to breathe, and that individual went to Manning for help. Prosecutors claim Manning ignored four staff members’ request to suction the man for air and their pleas to call 911, and instead was slow in her own assessment and attempted treatment before his death.

WEST DES MOINES – Officials say a bystander was critical in saving two people trapped in a West Des Moines home during a fire Sunday morning. WHO-13 reports the West Des Moines Fire Department responded to a fully engulfed house in the history Valley Junction district after someone inside the structure called 911. Firefighters were able to rescue a wheelchair-confined man and a woman with the help of an unidentified individual, who helped fight flames until firefighters arrived. Several pets were also rescued. The West Des Moines Fire Department is seeking to find that bystander to thank him for his efforts and for more details about what he witnessed.

IOWA – March Madness fit the bill for Iowa’s Division I universities in the world of sports over the weekend. Iowa State’s David Carr won his second wrestling national championship Saturday evening, not too long after the Cyclones Men’s Basketball team claimed a spot in the NCAA Sweet 16 with a win over Washington State. The women’s team, led by 40 points from Audi Crooks in Friday’s opener, advanced to a game against Stanford late Sunday evening that went to overtime, in which they fell 87-81 after keep the game within a four-point margin for the duration. That game followed news that longtime Drake Men’s basketball coach Darian DeVries took a new job at West Virginia after leading the Bulldogs to the NCAA tournament and a Missouri Valley Conference title. Reigning National Player of the Year Caitlin Clark is slated to compete in her final game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in the NCAA Women’s Tournament win or lose, as the Hawkeyes host the Mountaineers at 7:00 this evening. If No. 1 Iowa advances, they would play at neutral sites moving forward as they push for a second consecutive Final Four appearance.

PERRY – Governor Kim Reynolds is meeting with leaders at both Tyson Foods and in the City of Perry next week. The Des Moines Register reports it comes after the company announced a plant closure that will terminate close to 1,200 jobs in the central Iowa community. Iowa Workforce Development’s new mobile workforce truck will be on hand soon as well.

ALBURNETT – One day removed from a system that brought close to eight inches of snow in some communities and sleet in many others across the state, another strong winter storm is set to impact the Midwest. The National Weather Service says it’s less likely now that heavy snow could be a problem, but freezing rain and thunderstorms could impact many throughout Iowa starting late tonight and continuing through Monday afternoon. Travel will be particularly hazardous near the Iowa-Minnesota border and further north.

WINDSOR HEIGHTS – The owner of a video production company in the Des Moines metro was charged with several child pornography related offenses. WHO-13 reports Frederick Amundson faces 22 counts of purchasing and possessing a depiction of a minor in a sex act. An employee at Gate House Pictures contacted Windsor Heights police after finding the offending files in the trash can of a shared office computer. Investigators believe the children in the photos found were under the age of 12.

STANFORD, CALIFORNIA – March Madness continued to showcase its wild ups and downs as the Iowa State women’s basketball team opened their journey Friday. The Cyclones completed the 2nd-biggest comeback in NCAA women’s tournament history in a 93-86 win over Maryland. It was led by Iowa-native Audi Crooks, who broke five school records in her 40-point performance.

DES MOINES – Iowa House Republicans passed their version of a compromise as it related to overhauling Area Education Agencies, funding public education, and increasing minimum teacher salaries in the state. Leadership proposed an amendment late Thursday and limited the time on debate as it contained some compromise with the Iowa Senate as it related to several controversial provisions that have drawn widespread opposition across the state. The version the house passed still required schools to spend the majority of their special education funds with AEAs, but allows pass through dollars for media and educational service to stay with schools, who can choose private vendors for those options instead. The measure, which passed only with Republican support, also moves oversight for the organizations to the state department of education, raises minimum teacher salaries for new educators and 12-year veterans, and provided a 2.5% increase for state supplemental aid.

IOWA – Many across the state are gearing up more multiple forms of precipitation this weekend as a late-season winter storm impacts the Midwest, according to the National Weather Service. Multiple rounds of rain, snow, and thunderstorms are expected to begin Saturday night and continue through Monday. Most of the state north of Highway 20 could see four to eight inches of snow, and many across the central third of the state could see mixed precipitation as well and icy roads overnight. Much needed precipitation is expected, as most of the state could see at least an inch of water in whatever form by Tuesday morning, which could be a small dent in an ongoing severe drought.

OMAHA – One Iowa Division I men’s basketball team advanced and the other had their season end late Thursday. The No. 2 seed Iowa State Cyclones never trailed in their 82-65 win over South Dakota State in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. Drake came up just shy of an upset in the game that followed their in-state counterparts, falling to Washington State 66-61. Iowa Stat takes on Washington State Saturday at 5:10 p.m. in Omaha.