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Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad has been released from a Des Moines hospital after receiving treatment for flu and dehydration.
Branstad spokesman Jimmy Centers said the governor was in good condition when he was released Tuesday morning and is resting at Terrace Hill, the governor's official residence. Branstad's public appearances for the week have been cancelled so that he can recuperate.
Branstad was taken by ambulance to Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines on Monday after he required assistance at a ribbon-cutting event.
Branstad's personal physician released a statement saying the governor had a mild case of flu and dehydration. The hospital conducted tests and ruled out other contributing factors, including cardiac issues for which he's been previously treated.
A man will plead guilty to second-degree murder in connection to a fatal stabbing on the Meskwaki Settlement in central Iowa.
21-year-old Jonathan Youngbear will enter his guilty plea Tuesday in federal court in Cedar Rapids to avoid trial and possible conviction for first-degree murder charges.
In the plea deal, Youngbear says he stabbed his 17-year-old cousin Severn Jefferson. Jefferson died Feb. 24 in Youngbear's home, which is within the boundaries of the Meskwaki Settlement in Tama County.
Second-degree murder is punishable by life in prison without parole and up to a $250,000 fine, but attorneys have proposed a prison sentence of 25 to 35 years.
The Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa own the Meskwaki Settlement land.
Classes were cancelled at an eastern Iowa high school after vandals broke into the building and turned on a water faucet, flooding part of the school.
The break-in at Western Dubuque High School in Epworth happened over the weekend but wasn't discovered until Monday morning.
There was 1 to 2 inches of water in about a dozen classrooms.
Crews worked to dry out the school and prepare the school for a return of students Tuesday.
Corkery says there was thousands of dollars in damage plus additional costs for the cleanup.
The vandals apparently entered the school by breaking out a window in a classroom. The Dubuque County Sheriff's Department is investigating the incident.
A 43-year-old Fort Madison man who made a plea deal has been given 10 years in prison for killing another man in Burlington.
Lenard "Ray" Polhans was sentenced on Monday. Prosecutors lowered the original charge of first-degree murder in exchange for Polhans' guilty pleas to charges of voluntary manslaughter and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was convicted in the June 1 shooting death of 35-year-old Marvin "Whitey" Sutton.
Polhans has said he acted in self-defense after Sutton used a hammer to strike him in the back during an argument. In court on Monday, Polhans apologized to Sutton's mother and said he wished he could go back in time to change everything that happened that day.
A 33-year-old man has been treated at a hospital after being rescued from a northeast Iowa grain bin where he'd been trapped for nearly 20 hours.
Rod Sylvester got buried up to his neck on Saturday, with only one arm free. Firefighters from the Littleport area responded to the farm and were able to free him on Sunday.
Clayton County authorities say Sylvester was treated at a hospital in Manchester and released.
Waterloo authorities say a woman was hospitalized after a fire broke out in her hotel room.
An employee at Quality Inn & Suites says he received a call for help from a woman, and when he reached her hotel floor, he found heavy smoke coming from her room.
Battalion Chief Mike Moore says the woman was taken to a local hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation, adding that her injuries were not life-threatening.
Investigators are working to determine what caused the Monday night fire.
The hotel worker says guests were briefly evacuated from the building.
A north central Iowa police officer is being hailed as a hero after saving an 18-month-old boy from choking to death last month.
Patrol officer Cody Harris became the first recipient of the Fort Dodge Police Department Lifesaving Medal on Monday night. Mayor Matt Bemrich also proclaimed Monday to be Cody Harris Recognition Day.
Authorities say Harris responded to a report of a boy choking at restaurant at a shopping center on Dec. 8. They say Harris arrived before emergency medical responders and was able to clear the boy's airway so he could breathe again.
A south-central Iowa woman has been accused of stealing more than $500,000 from a local car dealership.
Authorities say 44-year-old Lyndsay Jo Huntsman, of Creston, was arrested Monday on charges of ongoing criminal conduct and five counts of first-degree theft.
According to a news release, police began investigating a report of missing money from a local Ford dealership, Creston Automotive, in October. The investigation determined that more than $500,000 was missing from the dealership's accounts.
No further information has been released. An attorney for Huntsman could not be located.
A 4-month-old girl has died one week after authorities found her severely injured in her southeastern Iowa home.
Officials say Marleen Jimenez of Columbus Junction died Saturday morning at the University ofIowa Hospital. An autopsy was performed Monday at the hospital. Results have not been released.
The Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation says local police responded last week to information that a baby had been seriously injured. They later arrested 21-year-old Oscar Jimenez on a charge of multiple acts of child endangerment.
If convicted, Oscar Jimenez could face up to 50 years in prison. A message left for his attorney was not immediately returned.
Officials say the investigation is ongoing.
Two state agencies say a process has been established to approve, administer and generate registration cards allowing the use of cannabis oil.
Following months of deliberation between Iowa's Department of Public Health and its Department of Transportation, the departments announced Monday an application form to obtain the card is now available online.
The Legislature last year approved a law permitting the possession and use of a certain form of cannabis oil for patients with intractable epilepsy. Only patients and their primary caregivers can apply for the registration cards.
According to a news release, the application requires a written recommendation from a neurologist. Upon approval, the patient or caregiver will receive an official approval notification and information on how to get the card through the Transportation Department's driver's license issuance sites.
A high-ranking Iowa State Patrol officer has paid a $208 ticket for an off-duty speeding incident, two months after he was initially pulled over and let go by a subordinate.
Jasper County court officials said Monday that Capt. Ken Clary pleaded guilty last week to driving 92 in a 70-mph zone.
Video released this month shows trooper Bryan Guill speeding past cars on Interstate 80 near Newton to catch up with a van driven by Clary. Guill let Clary go without a ticket after a brief, friendly exchange. Clary was wearing his uniform but off-duty, driving a vehicle owned by a nonprofit for which he volunteers.
Patrol officials have repeatedly refused to say how fast Clary was clocked on radar and whether they reduced the speed listed on the ticket.
A Des Moines business college will become the University of Iowa's Des Moines campus under an arrangement announced by the two schools.
AIB College of Business President Nancy A Williams said at a news conference Monday the transition will take at least a year but that ultimately the 20-acre campus southwest of downtown would become part of the University of Iowa. All AIB students will then become University of Iowa students.
AIB had a fall 2014 enrollment of more than 1,000 students.
Iowa President Sally Mason says the move enables the UI to achieve a goal of broadening services in the Des Moines area.
Iowa Board of Regents President Bruce Rastetter says he strongly supports the plan.
AIB began in 1941 and moved to its Fleur Drive campus in 1972.
Branstad spokesman Jimmy Centers didn't provide a condition update Tuesday morning, but said more information about the governor's status will be released when it becomes available. Branstad's public appearances for the day have been canceled.
Branstad was taken by ambulance to Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines on Monday after he required assistance at a ribbon-cutting event.
Doctors said they believed the governor has a viral illness. The hospital conducted tests and ruled out other contributing factors, including cardiac issues for which he's been previously treated.
Osceola police say they have arrested four people in connection with the killings of two people whose bodies were found Sunday.
Police announced Monday the bodies were found in a vehicle in the south-central Iowa city. They appeared to have died from gunshot wounds.
Autopsies are planned for Tuesday.
Police didn't release the names of those killed until relatives could be notified.
Investigators charged 38-year-old Richard Ryan Lamb Carson with two counts of first-degree murder.
They also charged 47-year-old Lynn Ranean Sutton, 43-year-old Tracy Kay Johnson and 42-year-old Christopher Martin Elben with one count of accessory after the fact.
All those arrested are from Osceola.
Online court records don't indicate whether those arrested have attorneys.
Police say authorities have arrested a man near St. Louis who was sought in connection with the shooting death of a man in Ottumwa, Iowa.
Police announced Monday that Ottumwa officers arrested 24-year-old Dustin William McDanel on Friday in the St. Louis suburb of Richmond Heights, Missouri. Officers searched a home and found McDanel under a bed.
An arrest warrant at earlier been issued for McDanel, charging him with first-degree murder and escape from custody.
McDanel is accused of shooting 25-year-old Roger Wiseman Jr. on Jan. 4. Wiseman was found in an Ottumwa street and died later at a hospital.
Court records don't indicate if McDanel has an attorney.
An 18-year-old Newton woman who was accused of attacking her grandmother has been given a deferred judgment and two years of probation.
Rachel Scott was sentenced last week after pleading guilty to a felony charge of forgery. Charges of domestic assault and unauthorized use of a credit card were dropped in exchange for her plea. Under a deferred sentence, Scott's conviction will be expunged from her record if she successfully completes probation.
Court records say that Scott was living with her 69-year-old grandmother last July when she stole her debit card and forged a check in her grandmother's name. The records say that Scott was confronted, she punched her grandmother in the face and knocked her down.
A trial is scheduled to begin Tuesday for a 24-year-old woman accused of stabbing to death her brother in Fort Dodge.
Vanita Daniels has pleaded not guilty to a charge of voluntary manslaughter. She's accused of stabbing 19-year-old Marcquis Collier on May 9.
Officers who were sent the scene that morning say they found Collier in a front yard, suffering from a chest wound. He was taken to Trinity Regional Medical Center, where was pronounced dead later.
A 43-year-old Fort Madison man is scheduled to be sentenced Monday after pleading guilty last month to voluntary manslaughter.
Lenard "Ray" Polhans had made a deal with prosecutors who lowered the original charge of first-degree murder in exchange for Polhans' pleas to the manslaughter charge and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was convicted in the June 1 shooting death of 35-year-old Marvin "Whitey" Sutton in Burlington.
Polhans has maintained his innocence since his arrest, saying he acted in self-defense after Sutton used a hammer to strike him in the back during an argument.
The Waterloo department wants to seek a federal grant to restore three firefighters jobs cut from this year's budget.
The City Council will be asked at Monday's meeting to approve the grant submission.
The grant would cover the full cost of three firefighters for two years, including wages, benefits and incidentals. The city would not be required to keep the positions when the grant expires.
The council voted in March to cut three firefighter jobs through attrition. That resulted in the city periodically closing Station No. 6.
A Johnston couple have claimed a $1 million Powerball prize they won in the New Year's Eve drawing.
Friedel and Michele Djordjevic went to Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive on Friday to turn in the ticket that Friedel Djordjevic bought at a Johnston convenience store.
Once he and his wife were certain that five of the six numbers on the ticket matched the numbers pulled Dec. 31, they put the ticket in a fireproof box and began planning what to do with their winnings. They told lottery officials that they intend to put away some money for retirement, buy a new home, pay bills and share with their adult children.
Friedel, who is originally from Germany, says they also plan to take trips there to visit friends.
The four finalists to be Des Moines next police chief will be interviewed this week as officials prepare to make their choice.
The final four candidates will go through a series of public events and interviews this week.
The finalists are Northwestern University police chief Michael Davis; Des Moines police Capt. Allan Tunks; Des Moines police Maj. Stephen Waymire; and Des Moines police Maj. Dana Wingert.
A public reception will be held for the candidates on Wednesday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the World Food Prize building. They will meet privately with top city officials on Friday.
Former Des Moines Police Chief Judy Bradshaw retired in October and is now assistant director of the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy.
The death of a handcuffed Iowa suspect who went overboard as a Missouri State Highway Patrol boat was transporting him is getting a fresh look from a special prosecutor.
Amanda Grellner acknowledged she is reviewing the case after receiving new information. Four months ago, she declined to press charges against Missouri Highway Patrol trooper Anthony Piercy. Her decision came after a coroner's inquest found 20-year-old Brandon Ellingson's May 31 death in the Lake of the Ozarks to be an accident.
The patrol has re-interviewed witnesses in recent weeks for the review. Grellner would not elaborate on what aspects she is reviewing and said she couldn't comment publicly about specifics of the investigation.
Authorities say two family dogs that fatally mauled a 7-year-old College Springs boy have been euthanized.
Malaki Mildward, a first-grader, died shortly after the attack Thursday afternoon. Page County Sheriff Lyle Palmer says that the dogs were 6-month-old puppies — a 25-pound female and a 35-pound male. Palmer says the dogs were mixed-breeds with some bulldog heritage and had shown no signs of aggression.
Palmer said the boy's family also euthanized another family dog — a bulldog mix who was not involved in the attack on the boy.
Authorities believe Malaki went outside to play with the puppies, as he often did, when he was mauled. No one witnessed the attack.
Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst has followed up a national turn in the spotlight with a speech to home-state conservatives that stressed a need to rein in "executive overreach."
The freshman Republican appeared Saturday at a daylong forum attended by several potential 2016 White House contenders. The Freedom Summit was billed at the start of the Iowa presidential caucus chase.
Ernst has enjoyed celebrity status within GOP circles since winning a long-held Democratic seat in November. Just this week, she delivered the party's televised response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address.
Ernst revisited themes from that speech, including calls to fight Obama's executive orders on issues like immigration and pass Keystone XL oil pipeline legislation that the president has vowed to veto.
Iowa's top insurance official has asked a court to end a consumer-owned cooperative that was selling health insurance to residents in Iowa and Nebraska.
Iowa Insurance Commissioner Nick Gerhart said Friday he would seek liquidation of CoOportunity Health. He expects the process to be complete by late February.
CoOportunity is a federally funded nonprofit aimed at providing more health care options in Iowa and Nebraska. State regulators took over CoOportunity late last year after the organization's available funds were depleted.
Gerhart says he chose liquidation after determining that the cooperative's medical claims would exceed its cash on hand. He recommends people find other health insurance coverage by March 1.
CoOportunity insures about 120,000 people in Iowa and Nebraska.
State auditors say an Ankeny community college cafeteria cashier improperly voided nearly $26,000 in transactions over a period of 16 months and much of the money was deposited into her bank account.
State Auditor Mary Mosiman says in a report released Friday auditors found more than 600 improperly voided transactions by Dawn VanFleet, a former cashier at the Des Moines Area Community College.
The auditors say transactions occurred from January 2013 and May 2014 and found numerous corresponding cash deposits into VanFleet's bank account.
VanFleet, who is 45, pleaded guilty to second-degree theft in December and is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 4.
The college has since changed its cash register procedures as recommended by the auditors that prohibit voided transactions and require refunds to be approved by a supervisor.
Authorities say a 7-year-old boy has died after being attacked by the family dog in southwest Iowa.
Page County Sheriff Lyle Palmer says deputies were sent to a home in College Springs a little before 5 p.m. Thursday. They found medics were already on the scene. Palmer says the boy was taken to Clarinda Regional Health Center, where he was pronounced dead at 5:50 p.m.
The boy's name and other information about the attack have not been released. The sheriff says the attack is being investigated.
Deere is laying off about 910 workers indefinitely from factories mostly in Iowa and will sideline another 500 employees in Illinois until late summer, as the agricultural equipment maker adjusts to demand for its products.
The Moline, Illinois, company also says it is adding 220 jobs at construction and forestry factories in Iowa. It plans to fill nearly all those positions with workers were laid off at agricultural equipment factories last year.
The latest indefinite layoffs will be at sites that build agricultural equipment.
Employees laid off until summer work at the company's seeding and cylinder factory in Moline. That location is going on an extended inventory adjustment shutdown.
Deere & Co. is the world's biggest farm equipment supplier. It employs about 29,000 in the United States and Canada.
A mannequin that had been placed atop a billboard in Des Moines County prompted several calls to 911 from people who thought someone was going to take a leap.
Sheriff's deputies were first dispatched early Monday to check for a possible jumper along U.S. Highway 61 near Sperry. Sheriff Mike Johnstone says his deputies soon realized it was a mannequin sitting on the billboard, which says, "I can see Deery Brothers in West Burlington from here."
Johnstone eventually talked to the advertiser, Brad Deery, who owns Deery Brothers car dealership in West Burlington. Deery says he arranged to have the mannequin taken down after he talked to the sheriff on Thursday. Deery says he didn't want calls about the mannequin tying up 911 dispatchers.
Drug intoxication has been blamed for the deaths of two Florida residents whose bodies were found in an eastern Iowa hotel room.
The bodies were found Dec. 9 in a room at the Suburban Extended Stay Hotel in Coralville. They were identified as that of 41-year-old John Tromba and 44-year-old Penny Herman. Both were from Port St. Lucie, Florida.
Coralville Police Chief Barry Bedford and Johnson County Attorney Janet Lyness said Thursday the medical examiner has ruled that the two died of accidental "mixed drug intoxication" involving heroin and an anti-anxiety drug.
Authorities say they're investigating a man's death whose skeletal remains were found in a Burlington creek bed.
City crews checking sanitary sewer lines found the body on Thursday morning and contacted police. The Burlington Police Department says the man's skeletal remains indicate his body had been in the area for some time.
Police officers will wait for an autopsy to release the cause of death. Investigators say they were able to remove the body but could not yet determine his identity.
An investigation is ongoing.
Des Moines police officials say an officer has resigned following accusations he was peeping into a women's locker room at the department's gym.
A police spokesman said Tarry Pote resigned Thursday afternoon. Pote has been an officer with the department since 2002. He declined to comment to The Des Moines Register.
Interim Police chief Doug Harvey tells newspaper that department officials are disappointed, upset and disturbed by Pote's alleged actions.
Detectives started an investigation after a dispatcher said last week she saw someone looking through a locker-room window while a female officer was changing inside.
Officials say the gym windows have since been altered so no one can see through them anymore.
A national advocacy group has ranked Nebraska and Iowa among the nation's worst in enacting safer driving laws.
The Washington, D.C.-based Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety group released its annual report Thursday rating each state based on their laws meant to increase safety. Nebraska and Iowa are among nine states to receive the lowest rating.
The group has identified 15 laws it believes ensure safe driving. Both states have just five of the laws on the list.
Jacqueline Gillan, the group's president, says these states' secondary offense laws, such as texting while driving and not wearing a seatbelt, allow unsafe behavior.
Fred Zwonechek, Nebraska Office of Highway Safety administrator, says that the low rating doesn't mean the state isn't a safe place for drivers.
Following the arrest of Jose Morales, 19, on Wednesday, the Marshalltown Police Department has made two other arrests in connection to the shooting death of Dedrikk Fisher, 20, on Saturday night.
According to a Marshalltown Police Department press release, authorities have arrested 26 year-old Bethany Leigh Brant at 402 Plaza Heights Road in Marshalltown. Brant is being charged with Neglect of a Dependent Person, which is a Class C felony. She is also charged with Accessory After the Fact, which is an Aggravated Misdemeanor. The report indicates that Brant not only allowed Morales to stay at her residence, but that she was also aware of the Police Department's continued search. Furthermore, it is claimed that Brant's actions endangered a minor child.
Also arrested in connection with this case is 19 year-old Francisco "Frankie" Padilla-Galvez. Padilla-Galvez is accused of hiding evidence in connection with the murder incident. He has been charged with Accessory After the Fact, an Aggravated Misdemeanor.
The parents of a 13-month-old girl who died from methadone exposure last year have been sentenced to 10 years in prison.
26-year-old Precious L. Bailey, formerly of Bettendorf, and 25-year-old Spencer J. Smith, of Clinton, pleaded guilty to one count of child endangerment resulting in serious injury.
Following the guilty plea, prosecutors on Tuesday reduced the previous charge of child endangerment resulting in a death, punishable by up to 25 years in prison.
Medical records say the couple's daughter died Sept. 24, 2013 after consuming a small amount of methadone. Tests show the girl had also been exposed to methamphetamine.
John Steckel, Bailey's attorney, says his client is happy the plea was negotiated, but that the "tragedy" of the incident will stay with her forever.
Lawmakers have introduced several bills in the Iowa Legislature that would restore the power of school districts to start the school year early.
Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate have proposed measures that would eliminate the state Department of Education's authority to approve waivers for school districts seeking to start classes early.
A House education subcommittee advanced one of the bills Thursday. The full education committee will now review it.
State law requires districts to start school no earlier than the calendar week that includes Sept. 1, but in the past the state has granted waivers allowing them to begin classes earlier. Gov. Terry Branstad has complained the practice ignores state law and affects tourism. He directed the Education Department to stop granting the waivers.
Security experts say ATM thefts are becoming more common in Iowa because weapons and interaction with others aren't necessary during the crime.
Officials say that people see ATMs as attractive targets because stealing one is like robbing a bank without having to point a gun at anyone.
In an ATM theft attempt Tuesday in Clive, a man used a stolen truck to ram two ATMs. In a robbery in Des Moines, a man dragged the machine out of the lobby of the Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center.
Conley Security Group owner Tom Conley says surveillance cameras must be monitored to prevent further ATM theft. He also said the machines should be remodeled so that the interior is anchored to the floor.
Several firefighters have been treated for smoke inhalation injuries following a fire at a plant in Iowa Falls.
The Cargill Plant caught fire Wednesday night, causing thick smoke to surround the facility and slow rescue efforts. Several fire and safety crews from area departments responded to put out the fire at the grain processing plant.
Officials say they believe the fire started in a bean dryer. No one was seriously injured, but several firefighters were treated for smoke-related injuries.
Bob Hildreth, a member with the North Hardin County Rescue squad, was tasked with monitoring traffic on the highway. He says the smoke made it difficult to see just 4 feet ahead.
Nik Stephens, an employee at a neighboring business, says the smoke impaired his breathing.
A former Des Moines police chief says he thinks the next person in the job should advocate for the use of body cameras and speak more with residents.
Bill Moulder was Des Moines' police chief between 1984 and 2003, and he now runs a police management consulting firm.
He says that in a post-Ferguson climate, the police chief should support the use of body cameras.
Police departments around the country have purchased the devices following the August fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown by a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer.
Judy Bradshaw retired in October after seven years as Des Moines' police chief. Four finalists for the job will be in the city next week to interview with city officials.
Police say two Dubuque women have been arrested on accusations they stole a baby Jesus figurine last month from a church's outdoor Nativity scene.
Thirty-five-year-old Sarah Maus and 19-year-old Taiana Butler are each charged with one count of fourth-degree theft for nabbing the figurine from the Church of the Resurrection.
Surveillance footage showed a person taking the figurine and getting into a car. Police say they used the footage to match the vehicle later found in Maus' driveway.
Authorities say Maus admitted to driving the vehicle during the theft and said Butler took the figurine. Police say Butler also confessed to being involved with investigators.
Online court records didn't list an attorney for either woman.
The figurine was found on a sidewalk a few days after it was stolen.
Authorities say a Mason City man has been sentenced to 21 years in federal prison without parole after trading his dog for a gun he intended to use to shoot his son.
58-year-old Bill Douglas Thorne was sentenced Wednesday for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.
Federal officials say Thorne traded the dog for a .22 caliber rifle on July 24, 2012. He then asked others to hide the gun in a Mason City park, but police located the gun when he was arrested on harassment charges.
Officials say Thorne was previously convicted in 1997 in Florida on five counts of burglary and one count of armed burglary.
The Iowa Department of Education says school districts seeking permission to start classes earlier in the summer must prove that academic achievement is at risk.
The department sent the new guidelines to school districts. The guidelines say districts must show students would be affected in a "negative and significant manner" if classes start during the week of Sept. 1. Districts must provide research backing up the claim.
Last month, department Director Brad Buck told districts the state would stop granting automatic waivers to school districts seeking to start classes earlier in the summer.
State law requires districts to start school no earlier than the calendar week including Sept. 1 but in the past, most have obtained waivers allowing them to begin classes earlier.
Officials have arrested a man in connection to the discovery of a severely injured 4-month-old girl in southeastern Iowa.
The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation says 21-year-old Oscar Jimenez was arrested Tuesday in Columbus Junction on a charge of multiple acts of child endangerment.
Authorities say local police responded Monday to information that a baby had been injured. She was transported to the University of Iowa Hospital, where she is being treated for severe head trauma and remains in critical condition.
If convicted, Jimenez could face up to 50 years in prison. Court records do not list an attorney.
No further information has been released.
Pope Francis has defrocked an Iowa priest who was accused of abusing a minor years ago.
Howard Fitzgerald, who worked at parishes in central and western Iowa over the last 35 years, received notice of the pope's decision Monday.
Fitzgerald had been placed on indefinite leave in June from his most recent position serving at two Indianola parishes and Simpson College.
A Des Moines Archdiocese review committee found credible evidence that Fitzgerald sexually abused a minor in a "decades-old incident."
At the victim's request, church officials have not released information about when and where the abuse occurred.
Bishop Richard Pates wrote in a memo to employees that he's informed Fitzgerald that the pope "had personally granted dispensations in his case from the obligations of the priesthood and sacred celibacy."
The acting commissioner of the Iowa Department of Public Safety is telling employees they must behave professionally while off-duty or face consequences.
Roxann Ryan told troopers and agents in an email Tuesday that missteps in their private lives can reflect poorly on their credibility and undermine the public's trust.
The note comes after two high-profile incidents involving supervisors who showed poor judgment while off-duty.
Capt. Ken Clary was caught speeding in November outside of Des Moines while driving a vehicle for a nonprofit. A trooper let him go, but he was ticketed this month for driving 92 in a 70-mph zone after the incident became public.
Lt. Kelly Hindman is facing a review after writing on Facebook that he wished a sniper would shoot an ESPN announcer in the head.
Trial has been delayed for a former Iowa lawmaker accused of sexually abusing his wife at a care center.
Court records show the jury trial of former state Rep. Henry Rayhons is set to start on April 8. A pre-trial conference is scheduled at the end of March.
Rayhons' trial on a third-degree sexual abuse charge was scheduled to start Jan. 28. He has pleaded not guilty.
Rayhons, of Garner, is accused of having sexual contact with his wife, Donna Rayhons, while she was living at a care center and not able to give consent. Donna Rayhons died in August.
Messages left for Rayhons' attorney, Joel Yunek, were not immediately returned Wednesday.
Gov. Terry Branstad's administration says he wants to hire a privately managed care company or set of companies to help run Iowa's Medicaid program.
Branstad spokesman Jimmy Centers says more coordinated care would better serve patients and lower costs. The system could be implemented by the start of 2016.
Branstad's office projects the state would save more than $50 million in the first six months of the program. Additional information is not available about how those savings would be reached.
Rep. Dave Heaton, a Republican from Mount Pleasant, is co-chairman of the main legislative committee overseeing health care programs. He says Branstad has the authority to make the change without a vote in the Legislature.
More than 560,000 Iowans are covered under Medicaid.
A northern Iowa postal worker accused of stealing prescription pain medications from the mail is expected to change his plea to guilty.
Danny Miller is scheduled to have a plea hearing on Friday. His trial had been scheduled to begin Feb. 2
Miller was indicted by a federal grand jury in October on a charge of theft of mail by a postal service employee. He was appointed Forest City postmaster in 2012. He's also served as postmaster in Fertile.
It's unclear what charge he'll plead guilty to on Friday.
The Des Moines Civil Service Commission has overturned the firing of a police officer.
The panel voted Tuesday to reinstate 34-year-old Cody Grimes.
Police officials say Grimes had violated policies on conduct and obedience to laws. He'd pleaded guilty in May to criminal mischief after making a deal with prosecutors. He'd been charged with assaulting his former girlfriend on Dec. 27, 2013.
The commission acknowledged Grimes' misconduct but determined his termination was excessive. Grimes will return to work in the coming weeks, but won't receive back pay since his firing in June.
His attorney has declined to comment.
A police spokesman says Grimes will likely undergo some basic training before picking up patrol shifts.
Officials say a previously convicted child sex offender has been arrested for violating his sex offender registry regulations.
Police records say 45-year-old Kenneth F. Orr was arrested Monday at Coral Ridge Mall in Coralville for being within 300 feet of the mall's ice rink and the Iowa Children's Museum. Iowa law prohibits sex offenders from being within 300 feet of any place intended primarily for the use of minors.
Court documents say Orr was previously convicted in 2004 and placed on the sex offender registry list. Police say Orr has violated his his regulations in the past.
An attorney for Orr did not immediately respond to a message for comment.
Orr was being held at $10,000 bond as of Tuesday morning.
A bill has been introduced in the Iowa Legislature that would force casinos to comply with the state's smoking ban.
Casino floors in Iowa are now exempt from following a 2008 law that prohibits smoking in public places. A bill sponsored by Sen. Herman Quirmbach, of Ames, would eliminate that exemption.
Quirmbach said Tuesday there is broad public support for such a change. Democratic Rep. Lisa Heddens, of Ames, says she plans to introduce a similar bill with bipartisan support.
Rep. Guy Vander Linden, a Republican from Oskaloosa, says the bill may have some support, but it will face strong opposition from the casino industry.
A spokesman for Republican Gov. Terry Branstad says the governor favors such a measure and would sign it into law.
The Marshalltown Police Department Tuesday surrounded
a home at 514 North Center Street after receiving a tip
that 19 year old Jose Morales was hiding there.
It turned out that he was not at that location.
A SWAT team ended up using tear gas and entered
the home and did not find Morales.
Morales is charged with First Degree Murder in
connection with the shooting death of 20 year old
Dedrikk Fisher last Saturday night here in Marshalltown.
A search warrant was obtained for the residence.
An investigation continues.
A north-central Iowa man has been sentenced to nine years in federal prison after pleading guilty to drug use and illegal firearm possession charges.
Officials say 32-year-old Mark Harken, of Aplington, received the prison term Tuesday in Cedar Rapids. The sentence comes after his August 2014 guilty plea to one count of being a felon and illegally using methamphetamine while in possession of firearms and ammunition.
According to a press release, Harken said he had five firearms, including one semi-automatic rifle. The release says evidence at Harken's sentencing shows he had the firearms when police pulled him over in April, and that he assaulted the officer following the traffic stop. Harken was later arrested.
Harken remains in the U.S. Marshal's custody until transport to federal prison.
An Iowa commission has approved a rule that will allow people with a state driver's license or photo ID to register online to vote.
The Iowa Voter Registration Commission unanimously agreed Tuesday to allow a system that will let qualified voters register on a website. Information from the state Department of Transportation would be imported into voter registration forms that would automatically be forwarded to the state's voter database.
Voters currently fill out a paper application form to register. That system would remain available.
Voter rights groups have said the new system should provide equal access to people without a state driver's license or state-issued ID.
The committee's decision does not require legislative action. The Transportation Department is not expected to have the system ready until early 2016.
Officials say a correctional officer was assaulted by an inmate at the Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility in southeastern Iowa.
The Iowa Department of Corrections says 24-year-old Darrell Ballard assaulted the officer Monday morning. Ballard is serving time for a sex offense conviction.
According to a news release, officials accuse Ballard of punching the officer several times in the torso and face after the officer told Ballard to put down food he had inappropriately received. The officer's injuries were treated on site.
Authorities say the incident will be referred for prosecution following further investigation. The officer has not been identified.
A southwest Iowa woman has been sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to falsely claiming her 5-year-old daughter had cancer and raising money for her treatment.
District Court Judge Kathleen Kilnoski on Tuesday sentenced 30-year-old Leatha Slauson to 5 years probation. She also must continue mental health treatment and not contact her five children unless requested by her therapist.
In November, Slauson pleaded guilty to two counts of child endangerment, one of administering harmful substances, one of theft and one of unlawful possession of a prescription drug.
Prosecutors say Slauson said on a Facebook page her daughter had colon cancer. Donations soon began pouring in. An investigation later determined she wasn't sick.
Slauson had given the girl cannabis oil and a cancer drug that gave her cramps and joint pain.
Gov. Gina Raimondo plans to nominate a manager of Medicaid services in Iowa to lead the Rhode Island agency that oversees care for adults with mental health needs.
Raimondo announced Tuesday she'll ask the Senate to confirm Maria Montanaro as director of the Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals. Montanaro is the chief executive officer of Magellan Behavioral Care of Iowa.
Craig Stenning resigned as director after learning that Raimondo wouldn't appoint him.
A U.S. Department of Justice investigation found civil rights violations in the agency's day programs. Stenning had promised to close so-called sheltered workshops.
Raimondo says several challenges are holding the department back from providing safe, quality care.
Montanaro previously worked as a senior adviser at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island.
Presidential hopefuls are getting an invitation to a summit in Iowathat will focus on agricultural issues.
Bruce Rastetter, a Republican donor and agricultural business owner, announced Tuesday that he is sponsoring the event. It will be held March 7 at the state fairgrounds in Des Moines.
According to a news release, potential Republican and Democratic presidential candidates are invited.
Gov. Terry Branstad said Monday he had personally reached out to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry to urge them to come. He also spoke to an aide for Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal.
Attendees will appear individually with Rastetter on stage for 20 minutes to discuss a variety of topics, like renewable fuels and land conservation.
Authorities say a 35-year-old inmate has been listed as escaped from a work release facility in Waterloo.
The Iowa Corrections Department says Curtis Austin lll was placed on escaped status because he didn't return to the facility after a day of work.
His original, 25-year sentence began in December 2002. Austin was convicted of burglary in Black Hawk County.
Jury selection is scheduled to begin Tuesday for one of two men accused of killing two people and attempting to burn their bodies in western Iowa.
Twenty-six-year-old Michael Schenk is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of arson. Authorities say Schenk and 19-year-old Jayden Chapman, both of Denison, shot 80-year-old Marvin Huesling and 81-year-old Alice Huisenga at a trailer home in Deloit on March 10 and then set it on fire. Investigators say the two men likely were on the property to steal scrap metal.
Chapman's trial is scheduled to begin April 28 in another county. A judge has ruled that because of expected media coverage of Schenk's trial, it would be difficult to find an impartial jury for Chapman's trial in Crawford County.
Police say a man has been arrested after leading officers on a short chase that ended with him driving his car into a field where it caught fire.
Authorities say officers pulled the 36-year-old man over for a traffic violation on Monday night near Waterloo. They say the man attempted to flee officers by driving off, but that his vehicle went off the road and into a field.
Police say the man tried to evade officers again by running away. Officers caught up to the man, arrested him and took him to a local hospital for minor injuries.
Officials say the man was wanted on a probation violation in Black Hawk County. An investigation is ongoing.
A 45-year-old man suspected in the shooting of a woman in southernIowa has been arrested in Missouri.
The Iowa Public Safety Department says Robert Graham was taken into custody on Monday night at Poosey State Park in northern Missouri. A jailer said Graham remained at Livingston County Jail on Tuesday morning.
Authorities say 33-year-old Gayle Darrah was shot Friday outside her home in Chariton. She was taken to a local hospital and then to a Des Moines hospital, where she remains in critical condition.
Police say a Des Moines woman robbed two gas stations after threatening she had a gun, which caused two schools in the area to briefly lock down.
Jennifer Joan Parker is charged with first-degree and second-degree robbery. Police say she told store clerks she was carrying a gun, though she didn't display one. Authorities say she fled in a vehicle after stealing the money on Monday.
A Des Moines school district spokesman says a high school and an elementary school were locked down after initial reports indicated Parker was driving in a vehicle toward one of them.
He tells the Des Moines Register the lockdowns were lifted within minutes after school officials learned Parker was driving in the opposite direction of the schools.
Parker is being held at the Polk County Jail. Online jail records didn't list an attorney for her.
Police say a squabble between brothers led an Iowa City man to break into his ex-girlfriend's home and destroy some of her property, including a toilet seat.
A police report says 29-year-old David C. Parsons told investigators he kicked in the door of his ex-girlfriend's apartment after he heard that she and his brother are dating. He also said he broke a television, window and toilet seat before driving away from the area.
Police say Parsons was intoxicated while driving and was carrying an unsealed vodka bottle.
Parsons was arrested Thursday on charges of third-degree burglary, second-degree criminal mischief and public intoxication. Court records do not list an attorney.
The Marshalltown School Board on Monday night
agreed to purchase a new steam boiler for the high
school and also have an investigation into why
the existing boiler stopped working after only
7 years. The price tag is some 38-thousand dollars.
Meanwhile the Marshalltown Community School
District Foundation is seeking new participants
and administration for the 19 year old
foundation. Volunteers Jim Bowman and Larry
McKibben told school board the present set up
will be carried through the process of the
Roundhouse Refurbishment Project and then
seek a new allignment. This was an informational
item only and no action was taken.
School Board accepted a Boys Locker Room
remodeling project at Miller Middle School
and got to see before and after pictures of the
work. The project had a price tag of 101-thousand
An Iowa State Patrol supervisor is facing criticism for joking on Facebook that he wanted a sniper to shoot a prominent ESPN announcer in the head.
Lt. Kelly Hindman, district commander of Post 7 in Fort Dodge, wrote the post about Dan Dakich on Saturday during the Iowa-Ohio State men's basketball game.
Hindman and other Hawkeyes fans used social media to criticize Dakich's call of the game. Dakich called star player Aaron White "Andrew."
Hindman wrote that he wished "there was a sniper at Carver Hawkeye to shoot the color commentator in the head...cause he is driving me nuts. I'm about to watch the game Helen Keller style in a bit."
Former state Sen. Daryl Beall of Fort Dodge said he respects Hindman but the post was poor judgment.
Officials say one person has been injured after jumping from a moving party bus in eastern Iowa.
Johnson County Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek says the person was hospitalized after jumping from the vehicle early Sunday morning on Highway 218, south of Hills. The person hasn't been identified, and Pulkrabek says he's unsure of his or her condition.
Pulkrabek says that the person shoved an exit door open before jumping from the bus.
It is legal to drink on party buses in Iowa. They are commonly used to shuttle groups between bars and other drinking venues.
Authorities have released the name of a woman critically injured in a shooting in southern Iowa.
Police say 33-year-old Gayle Darrah was shot Friday outside of her Chariton home. She was taken to a local hospital and then transported to a Des Moines hospital, where she remains in critical condition.
Authorities have issued an arrest warrant for 45-year-old Robert Eugene Graham. He faces an attempted murder charge.
Police say the shooting appears to be an isolated incident, but Graham is still considered armed and dangerous. The case remains under investigation.
A trial is scheduled to begin March 31 for a northwest Iowa man accused of killing his 80-year-old mother this past summer.
Jonathan Neunaber has pleaded not guilty to a charge of first-degree murder. Authorities say in court documents that Neunaber acknowledged killing his mother on or about June 26. The bodies of Esther Neunaber and her 83-year-old husband, Donald Neunaber, were found July 9 in the Akron home they shared with their son.
Authorities say Donald Neunaber died of natural causes. An autopsy determined that his wife died of blunt force injuries.
Authorities say a Des Moines resident came home to find a burglar snoozing in his bed.
When the resident got home Saturday evening he noticed the front door to his apartment had been kicked in. He soon confronted a man he found asleep in his bedroom, but the man ran away.
The resident told police that several items of clothing were missing, but he also reported that a computer and several pictures that didn't belong to him had been left in his apartment.
The afterglow of Gov. Terry Branstad's sixth inauguration is still hanging in the air, but Iowa Republicans are already speculating about the political future for Branstad's faithful Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds.
Reynolds, serving her second term as Branstad's second-in-command, is widely viewed as a likely candidate for governor in 2018, if Branstad steps aside. She's keeping quiet about her ambitions, but her political mentor is showing no such reticence.
Branstad would not say if he would run again, but he said it is more likely he would support Reynolds. He says she's "better prepared to be governor than anyone has ever been."
The 55-year-old Reynolds is one of the most high-profile lieutenant governors since Branstad himself held the role from 1979 to 1983.
Locally, Reynolds will make an appearance at Marshalltown Community College for a special open house this coming Wednesday evening.
The Iowa Democratic Party has elected Andrea McGuire, of Des Moines, as the state party's new chairwoman.
The 58-year-old McGuire is president and CEO of a Des Moines health care company. She replaces outgoing state party chairman Scott Brennan, who did not seek re-election.
The state party's central committee also on Saturday elected Jim Mowrer as first vice chair, Jean Pardee as second vice chair, and Omar Padilla as third vice chair. Ken Sagar will continue to serve as state party treasurer, and Don Ruby as secretary.
McGuire, a married mother of seven, says she's looking forward to her new role and says "the next two years are going to be incredibly important for our party."
A child endangerment trial for a Rockford woman accused of injuring her 5-month-old son has been moved to early March.
The trial of 23-year-old Stephanie Fatland had been scheduled to begin Jan. 27 in Floyd County District Court in Charles City. It will now begin on March 10.
Fatland is charged with three counts of felony child endangerment resulting in serious injury. She's pleaded not guilty.
Authorities say Fatland took her son to a hospital on July 20. Doctors found several retinal hemorrhages and a bulging soft spot on his skull. Court records say Fatland acknowledged shaking the baby on three occasions.
A lawsuit filed by the mother of an injured Clear Lake football player against the Clear Lake Community School District won't go to trial until 2016.
A court scheduling order filed Thursday has the trial set for March 15, 2016. The trial is expected to last four to five days.
The lawsuit by Roxanne Hasfjord on behalf of her son, Austin, seeks unspecified damages for past and future medical expenses, pain, suffering and partial disability.
Court documents say the boy suffered a serious head injury on Sept. 18, 2012, while participating in a school-sponsored football game. The documents say his injury was worsened during subsequent practices and games during the rest of the 2012 season.
A former Iowa State University researcher charged with falsifying data to make a developmental AIDS vaccine appear promising has agreed to plead guilty in the case.
Dong-Pyou Han signed a plea agreement with prosecutors, according to a document his lawyer filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Des Moines. The document doesn't specify terms of the deal.
Han, who is free on bond, had pleaded not guilty in federal court last year to four counts of making false statements in research reports.
He was forced to resign from ISU in 2013, after admitting he'd faked results of experiments with an AIDS vaccine.
Pasta-maker Barilla Group has announced plans for a $26.5 million expansion at its Ames production plant to add two new production lines dedicated to making gluten-free pasta.
In a news release Friday, Barilla said construction is slated to begin in late March, and production is expected to start by October. The expansion will create 23 new jobs.
The company says its gluten-free pasta made in Ames will be shipped to Canada, Brazil, Mexico and Australia, as well as places across the U.S.
Barilla President Jean-Pierre Comte says the company is thrilled to be expanding its roots in Ames and "to work with a state that values and supports manufacturers."
Barilla received local and state grants and tax incentives for the project.
A long-time Carlisle Middle School teacher and high school coach has pleaded guilty to a state charge of crack cocaine possession
Jim Flaws pleaded guilty Thursday morning to possessing crack cocaine during a traffic stop on Oct. 16.
Flaws has been a social studies teacher and varsity girls' softball coach at the school for more than 30 years. The school has won four state softball titles during his tenure.
Flaws has taken a leave of absence from his teaching and coaching positions until the end of the year, and will retire from teaching at the end of this academic year. He is expected to return to his coaching job in the fall.
Democratic lawmakers say they're ready to introduce bills this session that would increase Iowa's minimum wage, but the effort faces hurdles because of a divided Legislature and Republican Gov. Terry Branstad's other priorities.
Democrats in the House and Senate want to raise the state's minimum wage from $7.25 an hour — the federal minimum — to $10.10 an hour. Some feel there's national momentum on their side this year.
Twenty-nine states plus the District of Columbia have a minimum wage higher than the federal standard. Several increases took effect on Jan. 1.
But Branstad has been vocal about other priorities, including anti-bully legislation and expanded broadband Internet in Iowa. Leadership in the Republican-controlled House has indicated more interest in funding job creation and worker training programs.
Authorities say a suspect in a southern Iowa shooting is still at large.
Police and other officials are searching for the person believed to have shot a woman Friday morning outside her home in Chariton, Iowa. The woman was taken to a local hospital and then transported to a Des Moines hospital. She remains in critical condition.
Authorities say the shooting appears to be an isolated incident, but the suspect should be considered armed and dangerous.
No further information is available at this time.
Officials say the Iowa State University student found dead in Iowa City last September may have been killed in a central Iowa hotel.
Information from a search warrant made public Thursday says 20-year-old Tong Shao had stayed in a Nevada, Iowahotel from Sept. 5 to Sept. 7 with her boyfriend, Xiandnan Li, the sole person of interest in the case.
Ames Police Officer Chad Lovig wrote in the report that he believes evidence of Shao's death might be found in the hotel room the couple last used and on hotel property.
Shao's body was found in the trunk of her car outside an Iowa City apartment building last year. On Jan. 8, the Johnson County medical examiner ruled her death a homicide.
The Iowa Economic Development Authority has awarded nearly $86 million to four companies to support job creation and expansion projects in the state.
The board announced the grants Friday, which will aid projects in Davenport, Ames, Charles City and Burlington. Innovation funding was also approved for three startups in Des Moines, Coralville and Clinton. The awards are meant to help create 96 jobs and spur statewide economic growth.
Such projects include the construction of a new facility at Davenport's Alter Trading Corporation and the addition of two production lines at the Italian-based company Barilla located in Ames.
Board director Debi Durham says providing both financial assistance and tax benefits to these companies aids the increase and improvement of opportunities for Iowans.
Polk County's medical examiner says he's seen four times more flu-related deaths so far this season than he saw last winter.
Dr. Gregory Schmunk said Friday he's received 12 death certificates since November citing flu as a main or contributing cause of death. Schmunk says he received just three such certificates last winter.
Three are death certificates of children, most others of the elderly, and one of a 47-year-old.
Schmunk says the spike in flu deaths shows the seriousness of this year's outbreak, when the height of flu season hasn't yet hit.
The county medical examiner's office doesn't receive all death certificates, but Schmunk says he estimates that he sees more than half of Polk County's death certificates, which is Iowa's most populous county.
An eastern Iowa nonprofit theater has been forced to close because of smoke damage from a fire in a neighboring building.
The Traer Theatre has shut its doors until further notice following a downtown fire Tuesday at a flower shop next door. Smoke from the fire seeped into the theater through a shared brick wall, leaving the air in the 144-seat facility heavy with smoke and surfaces and electronics tarnished by soot.
Traer Theatre board president Jon Panfil says the building's upper level, where the smoke was thickest, experienced the worst of the damage. He says he's unsure how long cleanup and repairs will take.
The Traer Theatre is a community-based movie theater remodeled and reopened in 2006 to bring movie-going back to the rural Iowa town.
Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad was sworn in for a sixth term in office this past Friday.
The 68-year-old Republican governor took the oath of office Friday morning at a convention center in downtown Des Moines. Inauguration festivities continued throughout the day, culminating with a formal ball in the evening.
Branstad was re-elected to a sixth non-consecutive term in November. He served four terms from 1983 through 1999 and then left public office. In 2009, he announced plans to seek the governor's office again and was elected to a comeback term the following year.
Branstad has already started his official duties for the year. He delivered his annual "Condition of the State" speech to the General Assembly on Tuesday and unveiled a $7.3 billion budget proposal.
A March trial has been scheduled for a man accused of making bomb threats to the Jasper County Courthouse.
39-year-old Martin Meloche pleaded not guilty to two counts of making a false report of the placement of an explosive or incendiary device and to one count of possessing contraband at the county jail. His trial is set to begin March 4.
Authorities say Meloche called in two threats on Dec. 29 about a bomb at the courthouse. The building was briefly evacuated. No bomb was found.
The burn victims in an attempted murder and arson
case in Marshalltown have been identified and
underwent treatment at the burn unit at University
Hospitals in Iowa City.
The mom is Betty Burch and the daughter and the
girlfriend is Keyslea Hearne.
A cigarette and gasoline was used in the incident,
Burch says she pulled her daughter into the shower
in an effort to put the fire out.
The suspect in the case is Espiridian "Eddy"
De Los Santos.
A candlelight vigil was held Sunday night for the victim
in a shooting that took place in Marshalltown Saturday
20 year old Dedrikk Fisher was shot and then later
died after being taken to Central Iowa Health Care.
Police seek 19 year old Jose Morales of Marshalltown
who is described as a white hispanic male, five foot
ten inches tall, 150 pounds, with brown eyes and
black hair, police say he is armed and dangerous.
The shooting took place at 1203 West Church
Street Saturday night around 11 p-m.
Sunday afternoon, police blocked off South 9th Street
between Boone and Nevada in an effort to apprehend
Morales but he was not at a residence they surrounded.
Anyone with information on Jose Morales is asked to
call the Law Enforcement Center at 641-754-5725.
An April trial has been scheduled for a 23-year-old Iowa City man accused of having sex with incapacitated women.
Nathan Schloss faces 18 counts of sexual abuse and 22 counts of invasion of privacy. He's pleaded not guilty. His trial is set to begin on April 7.
A criminal complaint says Schloss committed sexual abuse 18 times between May 2012 and September 2013. Schloss is accused of sexually abusing the women and recording the encounters.
Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad has proposed the closure of two of the state's four mental health institutions.
Amy Lorentzen McCoy, an Iowa Department of Human Services spokeswoman, said Wednesday that Branstad didn't include funding for the Clarinda and Mount Pleasant facilities in his budget proposal released this week. Money to the facilities will be cut off July 1.
The institutions have experienced a population decline for decades, with only 24 residents currently at Clarinda facility and 47 in Mount Pleasant.
McCoy says a 2009 taskforce previously recommended closure under Gov. Chet Culver, but the proposal was dropped. Branstad also discussed consolidating mental health services last month, but said there were no immediate plans to do so.
Facilities in Cherokee and Independence will remain open.
President Barack Obama says high-speed broadband is not a luxury but a necessity.
The president is promoting a plan to expand access to broadband communications services by increasing competition.
Obama says faster Internet service will create jobs and allow local businesses to grow. He was speaking Wednesday from Cedar Falls, Iowa, which provides high-speed Internet to residents.
Obama is criticizing laws in 19 states that he says stamp out competition. And he is encouraging the Federal Communications Commission to pre-empt state laws that stifle competition for high-speed Internet service.
His stance is at odds with major cable and telephone companies such as AT&T, Comcast and Time Warner Cable Inc. that currently provide Internet service, often with little or no competition.
Obama says big companies are trying to keep out competitors.
Iowa is slated to receive federal money to support conservation projects in the state.
The U.S. government announced Wednesday that Iowa will receive $3.5 million and Cedar Rapids will receive $2.1 million as part of $370 million in federal funding for a national conservation program. The 115 proposed projects across the country are expected to garner $400 million in partner contributions.
Money allocated to the state will go toward the reducing nitrogen contaminants in state rivers. The money granted directly to Cedar Rapids will fund an initiative among farmers and landowners to improve water and soil quality and aid with flood prevention.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the projects are meant to improve national water supplies and the environment.
Sen. Joni Ernst says she'll start her 2015 tour of all 99 Iowacounties this weekend.
During a call with news reporters Wednesday, Ernst said she'll be in her home town of Red Oak on Saturday. The appearance will mark the beginning of an annual effort to visit all the counties in Iowa every year.
Other Iowa politicians that make this effort each year include Sen. Chuck Grassley and Gov. Terry Branstad.
The Republican Ernst was recently sworn in for her first term in the Senate.
A trial has been delayed until April for a 19-year-old man accused of fatally beating to death a 97-year-old Des Moines resident.
The trial of Ngor Makuey is scheduled to begin April 13. It was scheduled to begin Jan. 26.
Makuey has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and several other charges. Makuey is accused of entering the home of Rupert and Harriet Anderson on July 2 and attacking the couple. Rupert Anderson died of his injuries. Ninety-four-year-old Harriet Anderson survived.
Police have said the attack on the Andersons was seemingly random.
Police say someone stole a woman's vehicle while she was warming it up and crashed it into a Des Moines flower shop.
No arrests have been made yet in the Tuesday night incident.
Authorities say the car belonged to an employee at an eye care center that's near Boesen Florist.
Police say the thief caused an estimated $7,500 in damage to the flower shop and $5,000 to the car. No injuries were reported.
The crash remains under investigation.
An eastern Iowa man has been arrested after allegedly bringing two teenage girls to Chicago from Iowa and forcing them into prostitution.
Prosecutors say 18-year-old Ferid Mahalbasic, of Waterloo, is charged with involuntary sexual servitude of a minor and involuntary servitude. Bail was set at $400,000 Tuesday.
Prosecutors say Mahalbasic convinced the girls, age 17 and 18, to post ads online promising sexual acts in exchange for money. They say he then allegedly forced the girls to perform sexual acts after setting up meetings with men, collecting money and threatening to publicize their behavior if they didn't meet his demands.
A lawyer for Mahalbasic could not be located. He is set to next appear in court Jan. 30.
Gov. Terry Branstad will not attend President Barack Obama's event in Cedar Falls Wednesday.
Branstad spokesman Jimmy Centers said the Republican governor has commitments that will keep him at the state Capitol. Centers said Branstad was pleased that Obama was coming to the state to talk about increasing access to affordable, high-speed broadband.
Branstad said Tuesday that he would seek to expand broadband access in rural Iowa this year. Previous efforts to encourage broadband expansion in the state have failed.
The Marshalltown Police Department is investigating a case of attempted murder and arson that occured overnight.
Lt. Ryan Jakey identifies the suspect as 24 year old Esperidion "Eddy" De Los Santos of Marshalltown.
It happened at 12:48 a-m today at an apartment building at 106 North Fourth Street.
A domestic incident was reported and De Los Santos allegedly set both his girlfriend and her mother on fire and subsequently the apartment on fire, then fled.
De Los Santos was arrested and faces multiple charges including 2 counts of attempted murder, 2 counts of willful injury, 1 count of Agravated Domestic Abuse and 1 count of arson.
Gov. Terry Branstad says he will work this year to improve Iowa'sroads and Internet infrastructure and to combat school bullying.
Branstad says in his prepared 2015 Condition of the State speech to the Iowa General Assembly on Tuesday that Iowa's roads and bridges face an uncertain future and the state needs to fix them.
He has proposed a slightly larger general fund budget for the next fiscal year of $7.3 billion. It includes additional funding for schools and to support a tuition freeze at state universities.
Branstad says the budget will be tight, but fair. He didn't detail a road-funding plan and he called on lawmakers to help him craft a bipartisan approach.
The Republican governor will be sworn in for his sixth term on Friday.
Police say a man pulled out his concealed weapon to calm down two people who were fighting over a toddler outside a fast-food restaurant in Des Moines.
The incident occurred around 1:20 p.m. Sunday. The child's mother and father had met at the restaurant but their dispute got physical when the mother left with her son in her arms. Police say the father ran up behind her outside and pinned her against some glass.
Police say a man walking into the restaurant pulled his pistol, pointed it at the ground and talked the couple down. The man described himself as a good Samaritan who was concerned that an assault was taking place. He has a permit for a concealed weapon.
MidAmerican Energy Company has completed work on three additional wind farms as part of an ongoing sustainable energy project.
The Iowa-based energy company announced Monday that the completion of these wind farms means four of the five farms that comprise the so-called Wind VIII project are now finished. The development project is the largest of its kind in Iowa history.
The new wind farms are located in Webster County, Madison County and Wellsburg County. They account for nearly half of the project's estimated 1,050 megawatts of wind generation capacity.
Adam Wright, MidAmerican's vice president of wind generation and development, says the turbines will help MidAmerican produce enough energy to meet the electricity needs of about half its customers.
The project is slated for completion by the end of this year.
A Waterloo teen has been arrested after allegedly stealing a rifle from a northeastern Iowa patrol car over the weekend.
Authorities say the 15-year-old boy is charged with smashing the window of a patrol car parked across the street from the Waterloo police station Saturday afternoon and taking an AR-15 rifle from the vehicle. Police tracked the teen down and recovered the rifle within hours of the robbery.
He has been charged with third-degree burglary, second-degree theft and trafficking in stolen weapons. All charges have been referred to juvenile court.
The Associated Press doesn't usually name juveniles charged with crimes.
The incident prompted the department to inspect its lock policies. Officials are also investigating whether the lock securing the rifle was faulty.
The embattled head of the Iowa agency that oversees benefits for unemployed workers has retired from her job.
Iowa Workforce Development Director Teresa Wahlert submitted a formal notice to Gov. Terry Branstad on Friday. Her retirement becomes effective Sunday.
Wahlert was named to the post by Branstad in 2010. Last year, she was accused of mismanaging the department and creating a hostile work environment. A former chief judge said he was fired because he stood up to Wahlert.
Wahlert later defended her work in front of lawmakers investigating the agency.
Beth Townsend, executive director of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, will be acting director of the agency. A press release from the governor's office says a timeline has not been set to name a permanent director.
The death of an Iowa State University student whose body was found in the trunk of a car outside an Iowa City apartment building has been ruled a homicide.
The Johnson County medical examiner issued a death certificate Thursday for 20-year-old Tong Shao, listing the immediate cause of death as asphyxia and the manner of death as homicide.
Shao's body was found on Sept. 26 in the trunk of her car. Authorities have said they're looking for 23-year-old Xiangnan Li (zi-ON'-nan Lee), a friend of Shao's who was a registered student at the University of Iowa around the time Shao went missing. Authorities say he may have information about the circumstance surrounding her death.
President Barack Obama will visit Iowa on Wednesday to talk about making high speed Internet access more available nationwide.
The White House said Saturday that Obama plans to talk about ways to make the Internet more accessible and affordable. The Iowa stop is part of a series of events Obama is doing to preview proposals in his State of the Union address.
Republican Gov. Terry Branstad said in a statement Saturday that Internet access is a shared priority.
Branstad plans to focus on legislation to improve rural broadband Internet access during the upcoming legislative session. A similar effort failed to win approval in the Legislature last year.
The White House has not said where in Iowa the event will take place.
A Waterloo man has been sentenced to two years in prison for beating an acquaintance's puppy in November.
32-year-old Nathan Jacob Sawvell was sentenced on Dec. 29 in Black Hawk County.
Witnesses told police they heard the assault take place in a basement of an area home and that the suspect was the only person in the room. Police say the 6-month-old terrier mix named Zeke suffered broken teeth, a bloody nose and an eye injury. They say blood was splattered on the floor, walls and a pipe.
Republicans in Iowa have decided to carry on with their presidential straw poll, a political tradition that detractors decry as a sideshow.
Despite criticism from some prominent Republicans, the Republican Party of Iowa's central committee unanimously voted Saturday to keep the event going.
Committee members said the poll energizes the party base and serves as an important early test of campaign strength. The event will be held in August.
First conducted in 1979, the Iowa straw poll has grown from a county GOP fundraiser stop to a large event on the Iowa State University campus, where candidates spend heavily to entertain supporters.
An Iowa county attorney says no criminal charges will be filed against two Marshalltown police officers involved in a fatal shooting.
Marshall County Attorney Jennifer Miller said a legal opinion released Thursday that the use of deadly force by Officers Ramon Maxey and Benjamin Scheevel against Andrew Jay Worsfold on Dec. 17 was justified.
Maxey and Scheevel were patrolling during early morning hours when they encountered Worsfold. The officers said Worsfold acted suspicious before he pointed a handgun at Maxey and fired one round.
Both officers said they ordered Worsfold to drop his weapon before they shot at him. Worsfold was hit two times and later died from his injuries.
Miller says the officers were legally justified to use deadly force to protect themselves and the public.
About 40 sheep died when a barn at a farm in Waterloo caught fire.
The fire was reported about 2 a.m. Thursday, and when firefighters arrived the structure was engulfed in flames.
Waterloo Battalion Chief Marty Freshwater says fighting the fire was complicated by high winds. The temperature was about 10 degrees below zero.
It took an hour to extinguish the fire, and crews then had to douse flare-ups.
Farm owner Ron Pullin says he was especially saddened by the death of a prized ewe.
The cause of the fire appeared to be electric heaters that were being used to warm water for the animals.
Two Iowa residents are charged with abduction with intent to defile in New Kent County.
Aldair Hodza and Laura Sorensen of Clive,Iowa, were arrested Tuesday after a truck driver called the New Kent Sheriff's Office reporting suspicious activity around an RV at a gas station. Police found a man and two females inside the RV.
According to court records, one of the females seemed afraid and malnourished. She was taken outside and questioned. She said she was being abused and held against her will, and she begged police not to let her go back in the RV.
Hodza and Sorensen are scheduled to appear in New Kent County General District Court on Feb. 11. Their attorneys did not immediately return telephone messages.
The second trial of a man accused of killing his former roommate in 2009 also will be held in a different Iowa county.
On Thursday a judge ordered that John Green's next trial begin March 30 in Boone County. The 55-year-old Green is charged with first-degree murder of 58-year-old Mark Koster in Sac City.
Green's first trial was held in Webster County because his attorney had argued that pretrial publicity would make it impossible for Green to receive a fair trial in Sac City. The same argument was used against holding the second trial in Fort Dodge. The first trial ended in a mistrial.
Koster was reported missing in 2010 and declared dead in 2011. His remains were found buried in the basement of his Sac City home in 2012.
Two lieutenants have been leading the Clear Lake Police Department following the death of their chief.
Paul Chizek (CHEE'-zehk) and Debra Ryg (rihg) have been sharing the departmental management duties.
Chief Rex McChesney died Dec. 26 of pancreatic cancer. He had been sworn in as interim chief in March following the retirement of Chief Greg Peterson.
A six-member committee has been appointed to aid the search for a new chief.
A 40-year-old man from Mason City has pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of sexually exploiting a child and possessing child pornography.
Michael Jones admitted on Thursday in the Cedar Rapids court that he exploited a child in April 2013 by creating sexual depictions of that child.
He also admitted that between April 2013 and September 2014 that he possessed child porn.
Sentencing will be sent after a pre-sentence report is prepared.
Jones will remain in custody of the U.S. Marshal Service until his sentence hearing.
He faces a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and maximum possible sentence of 40 years in prison, a $500,000 fine and a supervised released for five years to life following his release.
An eastern Iowa woman who owns a Bellevue bar has pleaded guilty to conspiring to sell drugs.
Thirty-eight-year-old Kaybe L. Bullock of Bellevue has pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance as part of a deal with prosecutors to drop two charges against her. According to court documents, Bullock planned to distribute a substance that contained methamphetamine.
The two other charges Bullock had faced were possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and felon in possession of a fire arm.
Bullock is the owner of the Frontier Bar and was arrested in September after investigators executed search warrants at her home and business.
The manager of a fertilizer plant in southern Iowa says an employee has died following an explosion at the facility.
Bill Clem, plant manager of Green Valley Chemical in Creston, says the explosion Thursday morning killed an employee and injured at least two people. He called those injuries non-life-threatening, but he did not elaborate. He also would not say if the injured are employees.
Clem said he could not immediately provide any further details about the circumstances of the explosion.
Lee Freeman with the Creston Fire Department says officials responded to a medical call from the plant around 11 a.m. He says there was a report of an explosion, but he did not have additional information.
A website for the plant says it produces agricultural fertilizer and anhydrous ammonia.
The Des Moines Water Works board has voted unanimously to sue three northern Iowa counties, holding them responsible for the high nitrate levels the in rivers the utility uses for source water.
The five-member board says it will file a notice of intent to sue Calhoun, Buena Vista and Sac counties because they oversee 10 drainage districts that were designed to move water out of farm fields downstream. The suit will allege with water the drainage districts move contaminants like nitrate that Water Works must remove when the levels exceed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency limits.
A notice of intent will be Friday which informs the county supervisors and state officials that a lawsuit will be filed in 60 days.
The process is laid out in the federal Clean Water Act.
Authorities have reopened Interstate 80 in eastern Iowa after a multi-vehicle crash closed the eastbound lanes.
Maj. Thomas Gibbs with the Scott County Sheriff's Office says the Thursday afternoon crash was reported near Stockton, and lanes were reopened around 5 p.m. There are no reports of injuries.
There is traffic congestion between Walcott and Davenport. Gibbs says the crash involved some semitrailers and caused a fuel leak, but additional information is unavailable. The Iowa State Patrol is investigating the crash.
A tentative settlement has been reached in the lawsuit of a former jail inmate in Washington County who claims he was sexually assaulted by another inmate.
Brandon Brown, an attorney for the former jail inmate, says a notice of settlement was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Des Moines. Brown says the terms of the agreement are not available because they need to be finalized.
The lawsuit names Washington County and its sheriff, Jerry Dunbar. A pretrial conference was scheduled for February.
The former jail inmate says the defendants violated his constitutional rights by failing to protect him from sexual assaults in his jail cell in 2011.
A message for David Schrock, the county's attorney in the case, was not immediately returned Thursday.
The head of the Iowa Republican Party says holding a straw poll is permissible under new Republican National Committee rules.
Jeff Kaufmann released a statement Thursday saying he has met with top party officials in Washington. He said those discussions made it "crystal clear" that a straw poll does not violate any RNC rules.
Critics of the poll, traditionally held in Ames the summer before a contested caucus, had questioned if the event could jeopardize Iowa's early voting status.
The committee that governs the state party will meet Saturday to vote on holding a straw poll this year.
The RNC provided an advisory opinion to Kaufmann saying the poll does not appear to violate any rules, but that the party should make clear that the event is "unofficial and unscientific."
The top Iowa counties for per-person liquor sales are vacation or population centers, but there are exceptions, such as Kossuth County in northern Iowa.
The latest report from the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division shows that in the fiscal year that ended in 2014, there were 3.12 gallons of liquor sold in Kossuth County for every person age 21 and older.
Kossuth County is behind only Cerro Gordo, Dickinson and Polk counties. Those counties are considered vacation or population centers.
Robert Bailey, public information officer for the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division, says the department doesn't formally research why one county sells more liquor per capita than others.
State authorities are trying to force a former Waterloo man into treatment under the state's sexually violent predator statutes.
Bruce Baker has finished his prison time for kidnapping a woman in 1991. The Iowa attorney's general office is attempting to commit Baker to treatment, and a civil trial is underway in Black Hawk County District Court.
Amy Phenix is a forensic psychologist who reviewed Baker's case, and she says she diagnosed him with sexual sadism as well as a personality disorder with anti-social traits. Phenix says Baker's mental disorder predisposes him to commit more sex crimes.
The 53-year-old Baker remains in custody pending the outcome of his commitment trial.
A city worker has helped a woman and her infant daughter escape a fire that damaged their home in Carter Lake.
Authorities say Ronnie Fisher and Mark Murray were driving by the home a little before 1 p.m. on Tuesday when they saw smoke billowing from the back of the residence. Murray called 911 while Fisher went to the front door and pounded on it. He told Tiffany Peck her house was on fire when she answered the door.
Peck grabbed her daughter, Fisher helped corral Peck's dog and they all fled the house. No injuries have been reported.
An electrical problem is suspected as the fire cause.
A Des Moines police officer fired in June likely will get his job back.
The city's Civil Service Commission on Tuesday voiced support for overturning the firing of Cody Grimes.
Police officials say Grimes had violated policies on conduct and obedience to laws. He'd pleaded guilty in May to criminal mischief after making a deal with prosecutors. He'd been charged with assaulting his former girlfriend on Dec. 27, 2013.
Commission members have determined that firing Grimes was excessive and support the idea of Grimes returning to work but without back pay since his firing. City personnel director James Wells says Grimes likely will return to work later this month, pending a formal vote by the commission.
Des Moines police have identified a robbery suspect who was fatally shot by an officer after he pointed a gun at another officer.
A police spokesman says 30-year-old Nicholas Ryan Brickman was shot in the torso by officer Scott Newman.
Newman is on leave pending an investigation of the shooting, which the spokesman says is standard procedure for the department.
The Polk County attorney says a grand jury will review the shooting. He says he regularly requests them to review police shootings that end in death.
Authorities said Brickman was involved in a robbery at Tradesmen Community Credit Union prior to the fatal Wednesday shooting.
Police say Brickman fled in a stolen vehicle that police tried to stop and then eventually fled on foot.
Des Moines police say an officer fatally shot a robbery suspect after the man pointed a gun at another officer.
Sgt. Jason Halifax says the 30-year-old suspect was involved in a robbery at Tradesmen Community Credit Union on the city's south side prior to the fatal Wednesday shooting.
Authorities say the suspect fled from the credit union in a stolen vehicle that police later tried to stop. That led to another car chase involving a second stolen vehicle. The suspect eventually fled on foot.
Halifax says multiple officers were involved. Officer Scott Newman told authorities he shot at the suspect after the suspect pointed a gun at a female officer. The suspect was later pronounced dead.
The name of the suspect has not been released.
A dog may have led a Burlington police officer to fire shots that left a woman dead during a dispute at her home.
The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation says 34-year-old Autumn Mae Steele died Tuesday after being shot by Officer Jesse Hill. He fired his weapon twice, with one round striking Steele in the mid torso. An autopsy is scheduled Thursday.
The officer was trying to quell a disturbance between Steele and her husband, Gabriel Steele. A neighbor, Ed Ranck, says he watched as the officer tried to break up the argument. He says the officer was startled by the couple's German shepherd dog, fired shots and fell to the ground.
Officials say Hill received treatment for at least one dog bite.
Authorities say a man had a gun and was speeding prior to his arrest in Waterloo.
Waterloo police say 27-year-old Romeo Martez Mabry was arrested Wednesday morning on suspicion of carrying weapons. Records show he has been released from the Black Hawk County Jail. Court records do not list an attorney.
Mabry is accused of speeding before a police officer stopped his vehicle. Authorities say Mabry then sped away from the officer and led a chase before losing control of his vehicle. Police arrested Mabry. Court records show a handgun was found under the driver's seat of Mabry's car.
Capt. David Mohlis says that a squad car was damaged during the chase. The officer of that vehicle was not injured.
A trial has been scheduled later this month for a Mason City man accused of vehicular homicide and other crimes.
47-year-old Victor Rivera pleaded not guilty on Monday. His trial is set to begin on Jan. 27.
Authorities say Rivera was driving a pickup on Nov. 22 that struck a motorcycle carrying two people, fatally injuring one. Authorities say Rivera fled the scene but was pulled over a short time later by a Cerro Gordo County sheriff's deputy.
Court records say Rivera was intoxicated at the time.
A judge has sentenced an Oskaloosa woman to life in prison without parole for the death of her young daughter.
Judge Myron Gookin sentenced Alicia Ritenour on Tuesday in Mahaska County District Court.
Jurors convicted Ritenour in November of first-degree murder and child endangerment resulting in death following the January 2014 death of 18-month-old Ava Ritenour. An autopsy showed she died of head trauma.
The convictions were merged, as first-degree murder has a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.
Gookin says Ritenour will be sent to a state prison for women in Mitchellville.
An official says Des Moines Water Works likely will sue three counties that manage drainage districts with high concentrations of nitrates.
Water Works officials say the nitrates flow into the Raccoon River and threaten the city's water quality. Water with concentrations above a certain threshold can be deadly to children younger than 6 months because nitrates can reduce the amount of oxygen carried in their blood.
Water Works board chairman Graham Gillette said that the board will vote Thursday to move forward with the lawsuit.
The trustees' vote would trigger a notice to the boards of supervisors in Buena Vista, Calhoun and Sac counties, notifying them of Water Works' intention to sue.
Experts say most of the nitrates come from fertilizer applied to farm fields.
A former Iowa attorney has been sentenced to more than four years in federal prison for defrauding her clients of more than $830,000.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Iowa said Tuesday that 54-year-old Susan Hense, of Cedar Rapids, has been ordered to pay restitution and serve a three-year term of supervised release after her prison term.
Hense pleaded guilty in October to one count of wire fraud as part of a plea deal. She admitted that she falsely represented to her firm's clients that money belonging to them would be held in trust on their behalf in a bank account.
Hense was later disbarred.
Public health officials are investigating the death of a 7-year-oldIowa boy who was diagnosed with influenza.
The Iowa Department of Public Health says it's investigating three pediatric deaths that they believe resulted from flu-related complications.
The family of 7-year-old Travon Epps says that the boy was taken to Blank Children's Hospital on New Year's Day. He was diagnosed with the flu and later died.
Officials say cases of the flu are spreading across Iowa. There have been confirmed cases in every region of the state.
Authorities say they're investigating a shooting in southeast Iowa that left one person dead and an officer injured.
The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation says the Burlington Police Department responded to a domestic dispute Tuesday morning. Authorities say the response resulted in a shooting that left one person dead and an officer receiving treatment for non-life-threatening injuries.
Additional information about the circumstances surrounding the shooting is not available. The names of the person and the officer have not been released.
Iowa's newly sworn-in Sen. Joni Ernst says she is thrilled to be getting down to business.
Ernst was officially sworn in Tuesday morning in Washington. The Republican from Red Oak was joined for the ceremony by Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley and former Sen. Tom Harkin, the Democrat whose retirement created an opening for Ernst.
Ernst says she is excited to be working for Iowans and pledged to protect the state's farmers and push for government efficiency.
Ernst scored a decisive victory in November, helping the GOP take control of the Senate. She started the race as a relatively unknown state senator but soared to national stardom, promoting her farm upbringing and role as a lieutenant colonel in the Iowa Army National Guard.
Authorities say a truck with a snow plow lost control before it slammed into a Waterloo house and caught fire.
Battalion Chief Michael Moore with Waterloo Fire Rescue says 54-year-old Russell Heiple was driving Tuesday morning when he lost control of his truck. The vehicle struck a parked car, took out a street sign and slammed into the porch of a house. The truck soon caught fire.
Authorities helped extinguish the flames before it spread to the house. Heiple didn't suffer any serious injuries. No one inside the house was hurt.
There was snow on the roadways prior to the crash.
Officials say an Iowa inmate has died of natural causes from lung cancer.
The state Department of Corrections says 65-year-old Leroy William Basham died Saturday. He was at the hospice unit of the Iowa Medical and Classification Center in Coralville.
Basham was serving a life sentence for first-degree murder. He began his sentence in December 1987.
An Iowa man who fled authorities in 1994 while facing LSD charges is back in custody more than 20 years later.
Court records show the U.S. Marshals Service took 49-year-old Matthew Samuel West into custody Dec. 27. The former fugitive wanted by the FBI is being held at the Linn County Jail.
West once owned a Cedar Rapids tie-dye shop, played in a band and sold shirts at Grateful Dead concerts. He had faced an arrest warrant since April 1994 after skipping a court hearing.
A jury convicted West in 1992 of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute LSD. Additional drug and money laundering charges were pending against him.
West fled while free during his appeal, before a hearing on whether his pretrial release should be revoked.
Three men face a total of more than 150 charges in connection with fish and game violations in Greene County.
The state Department of Natural Resources says 20-year-old Hossein Kolbehrdari, of Ankeny, 21-year-old Maxwell McGlothlen, of Ankeny, and 22-year-old Rheise Presnall, of Polk City, face a variety of charges.
Kolbehrdari's charges include unlawful possession of game birds or animals. McGlothlen's charges include not having a hunting license and possessing a rifle while deer hunting. Presnall is accused of illegal possession of a whitetail deer, among other charges.
Officials in November conducted a search of a rental home where the men were staying. Each faces different fines. Court records do not list attorneys.
The Iowa Pharmacy Board says it supports reclassifying a marijuana extract for the treatment of epilepsy, but the group has declined to make any broader changes supported by medical marijuana advocates.
The board approved a recommendation Monday that state lawmakers reclassify the extract, which has little of the chemical THC used to make recreational marijuana users high.
Board member James Miller says the extract's reclassification would help Iowa code conform to a state law passed last spring. But he noted that Iowa pharmacies would be unlikely to carry the extract unless federal law was clear that it is legal.
Board Chairman Edward Maier says state lawmakers should tackle the legal implications of the reclassification.
Dubuque sledders will have fewer slopes to choose from under an ordinance approved by the City Council that bans the activity in all but two of the city's 50 parks.
Council voted 6 to 1 Monday night to allow sledding only in Bunker Hill and Allison Henderson parks. Those who violate the ordinance will be asked to stop. Repeat offenders could be fined $750.
Council members expressed frustration at the ban but say they have little choice because of liability concerns if someone was hurt sledding and sued the city. Other Iowa cities have made big payments in such cases.
They called on legislators to change state law, which protects cities when people are injured skateboarding or biking but doesn't include a sledding protection.
The City Council in Cedar Falls has rejected a proposal to ask city police to ease up on pot possession arrests.
The council voted 4-3 against asking police to look the other way in limited cases in which someone possesses only enough for personal use.
Councilman Nick Taiber made the motion, saying that when he analyzes the effects of strict enforcement "and how it actually destroys lives and puts people in prison, I feel compelled to act."
But Councilman John Runchey was against the idea, and he told the other council members that, "I think this is the stupidest thing we have spent time on in a long time."
The City Council has voted against disbanding the government of Center Junction.
The mayor of the eastern Iowa community of about 110 residents quit after Monday night's vote. Mayor Sandy Ricklefs has said the town didn't have enough income to cover its expenses. Ricklefs and others had pushed for dissolving the city government and letting Jones County provide services. The town sits about 50 miles northeast of Cedar Rapids.
Ricklefs says some residents soon might begin pushing for the issue to be put on a ballot for the town's voters, giving them a chance to decide whether to maintain the local government.
The Iowa State Patrol is investigating an allegation that a state trooper didn't ticket an off-duty captain pulled over for speeding or file a report about the traffic stop.
A patrol spokesman, Sgt. Scott Bright, said on Monday that Capt. Ken Clary was pulled over on Nov. 24 while driving a van belonging to Special Olympics Iowa. The stop occurred on Interstate 80 between Altoona and Mitchellville. But Bright would not say how fast Clary was going nor confirm a report from a Special Olympics official that no children were in the van.
Neither Clary nor the trooper who pulled him over, Bryan Guill, returned calls from the newspaper.
Bright says the investigation likely will end this week.
An inmate at the Iowa State Penitentiary has died of natural causes.
The state Department of Corrections says 76-year-old Leonard Eugene Berg was found unresponsive Sunday during a routine check of his living unit. Medical staff pronounced him dead a short time later.
Officials say Berg died of natural causes from coronary artery disease.
Berg was serving a life sentence for first-degree murder and assault with intent of injury. He began his sentence in 1985.
Officials say a man has escaped from a work release facility in eastern Iowa.
The state Department of Corrections says 28-year-old Dylan Scott Frink was placed on escape status Sunday after failing to return to a work release facility in Cedar Rapids. He had been on an authorized temporary furlough.
Frink is serving a lifetime supervision sentence following a discharged sex abuse conviction in Linn County. He was placed on work release in September.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will be in Iowa next week to attend Gov. Terry Branstad's inauguration.
Branstad will be sworn in for a sixth non-consecutive term on Jan. 16. Branstad spokesman Tommy Schultz said Monday that Christie would be in attendance at the event, held at a convention center in downtown Des Moines.
Christie is also attending inauguration events in Florida, Massachusetts, Ohio, Illinois, South Carolina and Maryland.
Christie is weighing a bid for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. He made several visits to the early voting state of Iowa during the midterm election cycle. He attended Branstad's birthday fundraiser in October.
Iowa's top Democratic lawmaker says he'll focus on ways to help Iowa businesses and workers in 2015, though he said increasing the state's minimum wage will be a challenge in the divided Legislature.
Democratic Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, of Council Bluffs, said Monday that two priorities for Democrats will be strengthening the preference for Iowa companies seeking state contracts and ensuring that employers are not stealing wages from Iowa workers.
Republican House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, of Hiawatha, said Republicans are open to proposals on these topics. He said the GOP wants to look at cutting income taxes.
Gronstal said Democrats support raising the state minimum wage, currently $7.25 an hour. But he said they may not succeed in the Legislature, where Democrats control the Senate and Republicans the House.
Police have arrested and charged a 31-year-old Marshalltown man with attempted murder after finding a woman suffering a gunshot wound to the chest in a motel.
The Marshalltown Police Department said in a statement that officers responded to a shooting early Sunday and found the woman. She was taken to a Marshalltown hospital and then later to a Des Moines hospital.
Her name and condition aren't being released at this time.
Authorities say Jean Martinez-Velazquez was also inside the room the woman was found in and taken into custody for questioning. He was later arrested and charged with attempted murder, possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver and aggravated domestic assault.
It wasn't immediately clear if Martinez-Velazquez had an attorney.
Some Iowa hospitals have tightened visitation rules in the wake of a widespread flu outbreak that has claimed the lives of three children in recent months, including that of a 3-year-old Elk Horn girl.
3-year-old Ayzlee McCarthy died on Monday from complications from the flu. Her mother says that only three days earlier, Ayzlee appeared healthy and active.
Iowa Department of Public Health reports show that for the week ending Dec. 27, 161 Iowans were hospitalized with the flu at a set of hospitals the department monitors.
That has prompted Des Moines medical centers to ban any would-be visitors who show any flu symptoms, and anyone visiting flu-infected patients must wear a surgical mask over his or her nose and mouth.
Animal shelters in northern Iowa are seeking foster families to temporarily house dogs and cats.
Local animal rescue organizations say that they need more people to take in animals that are old, very young, pregnant or emotionally unsuited for shelter life.
Linda Barnish, of Mason City, has fostered 75 cats, kittens and puppies in her home in recent years.
She and her husband, Chuck, foster animals from the Humane Society of North Iowa. Their current foster animal is a pregnant cat named Violet.
Approved foster families are placed on lists at local shelters and called if an appropriate animal is in need of a home. In most situations, rescue groups pay for foster animals' food and veterinary care.
Part of the fun of sledding is the risk that comes with flying down a steep hill.
But that risk leaves cities open to potential bills from sledding injuries, and some have opted to close hills rather than risk large liability claims.
No one tracks how many cities have banned or limited sledding, but the list grows every year. One of the latest is in Dubuque, Iowa, where officials are moving ahead with a plan to ban sledding in all but two of its 50 parks.
Parks manager Marie Ware says Dubuque is hilly and the risk is too prevalent.
In meetings leading up to the ban, City Council members lamented the move but say it's the only responsible choice given liability concerns and demands from Dubuque's insurance carrier.
People who want to become experts in managing and training horses can now take an online course from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Iowa State University.
The master equine manager program offers comprehensive training for people involved in the horse industry.
UNL Extension specialist Kathy Anderson says the program focuses on quality horse care and responsible horse ownership.
The course costs $325 for adults or $250 for youths. More details are available online atwww.extension.iastate.edu/masterequine .
An Illinois man faces jail time later this month when he's sentenced on misdemeanor convictions for causing a 2013 Iowa crash that killed a teenage girl.
28-year-old Daniel Wayne Burnett Jr., of Quincy, Illinois, was found guilty Friday of failure to display a slowmoving triangle and movement of an improperly equipped vehicle.
Investigators say Burnett was driving a tractor that was pulling a 30-foot-long manure auger on U.S. Highway 34 after dark on Oct. 12, 2013. The auger was rear-ended by a sport utility vehicle carrying 16-year-old Emma Ritchey of New London. A section of the auger pierced the SUV's windshield, killing Ritchey.
Burnett faces up to 60 days in jail when he's sentenced on Jan. 23.
At least one Iowa state lawmaker plans to push legislation this session that would provide direct funding for food banks in Iowa.
Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Waterloo, is drafting such a bill for the 2015 session.
Others, including Republican Gov. Terry Branstad, support a state plan already in place that allows for up to $1 million in state money as matching funds for private donations to food banks.
Branstad has pointed to the $150,000 in state funding last year that matched the $150,000 donated by CN Railroad to the Northeast Iowa Food Bank in Waterloo.
The food bank's director, Barb Prather, says the $300,000 was used to buy better quality food for the charitable food bank, like canned chicken, tuna and fruit.
The federal trial of Forest City Postmaster Danny Miller, accused of stealing prescription pain medications from the mail, has been postponed.
Miller's trial has been continued to Feb. 2. His trial had been set to begin on Monday.
Miller was indicted by a federal grand jury in October on a charge of theft of mail by a postal service employee.
He was appointed Forest City postmaster in 2012. He also served as postmaster in Fertile.
Eastern Iowa police say a suspect who had been sought in a fatal shooting last month is now in jail.
25-year-old James Robert Ernst II was arrested Thursday in Cedar Rapids on a warrant charging him with first-degree murder in the Dec. 6 shooting death of 23-year-old Orintheo Campbell Jr.
Police said a citizen's tip led them to Ernst. He's being held in the Black Hawk County Jail and could not be reached Saturday for comment.
Ernst made his initial appearance Friday morning in Black Hawk County Magistrate Court and was ordered held on $1 million bond.
Authorities say Ernst shot Campbell after a fight near a convenience store escalated.
The Iowa Supreme Court is overturning the conviction of an inmate caught with marijuana while living at a halfway house.
The court ruled Friday that 49-year-old Curtis V. Halvorson will be acquitted of a charge of possession of contraband at a correctional facility.
Halvorson was convicted of the felony and sentenced to prison after officers found a partially smoked joint in his room at the Burlington Residential Correctional Facility.
Justice David Wiggins says the contraband law applies only to institutions controlled by the Department of Corrections and not halfway houses managed by local judicial districts. He says Halvorson's attorney should have argued that point at trial.
The Iowa Department of Corrections says Halvorson is currently serving time at the Iowa State Penitentiary and is due out in July.
Groups representing rape victims and college administrators are asking a court to uphold Iowa State's decision to kick a basketball player off the team for alleged sexual misconduct.
The Victim Rights Law Center and Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education say the case of former Cyclone guard Bubu Palo has national significance.
Iowa State is asking the Iowa Supreme Court to reverse an August ruling that found there wasn't evidence that Palo violated its sexual misconduct policy.
In a friend-of-the-court brief filed Monday, the national groups say the case could impact students and colleges in Iowa and across the country.
They say universities must be able to use internal disciplinary hearings to enforce stricter standards of sexual misconduct than criminal law allows.
The smell of natural gas forced the evacuation of a motel and restaurant in the northern Iowa city of Clear Lake.
Firefighters were sent to the Best Western motel and nearby Bennigan's restaurant around 5:30 p.m. Thursday.
Fire personnel and Alliant Energy officials say a bad pilot light on a grill caused the gas release.
A monthly report shows an improved economic outlook over the next three to six months for nine Midwestern and Plains states.
A survey report issued Friday says the overall Mid-America Business Conditions Index jumped to 54.4 in December from 51.3 in November.
The survey results from supply managers are compiled into a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests economic growth, while a score below that suggests decline. The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.
Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says drops in grain and fuel prices have helped companies with close ties to consumers.
Thieves have emptied an ATM they yanked out of a bar in Van Meter.
The owner of Legends Field House discovered the crime on Wednesday morning when he found a broken window, glass on the floor and an empty space where the ATM had stood.
Police say an item had been thrown through the window so two men could get inside. A security recording showed them hooking a tow strap to the ATM before it was pulled off its mounts and out a door.
The empty ATM was found Wednesday afternoon near the spillway at Saylorville Lake.
An Iowa couple has been credited with helping a man get out of his wrecked vehicle before it caught fire.
Peosta Police Department Sgt. Nicole Minnihan says the couple was traveling westbound Tuesday on U.S. 20 in northeast Iowa when another vehicle driven by 65-year-old Mark Schuster went off the roadway.
Sandy Gassman, along with her husband, Tom, pulled over to help. Sandy Gassman put Schuster's arm over her shoulder and they walked away from the wreck. Tom Gassman called 911.
The couple helped Schuster get a safe distance away before the vehicle caught fire. Schuster was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
It took about 20 minutes to contain the fire, which remains under investigation.
Authorities say a car has collided with a horse-drawn buggy in northeast Iowa.
The Buchanan County Sheriff's Office says a 17-year-old driver was traveling near Fairbank on Wednesday when she struck the rear of the buggy. Both the car and the buggy went into a ditch.
An adult and two children in the buggy were not hurt. The teen driver was also not hurt. The horse suffered injuries, but additional information was not available.
The driver of the car was cited in connection to the crash.
Authorities say a 25-year-old Cedar Rapids man has been arrested to face a homicide charge in Waterloo.
James Ernst II was being sought on an arrest warrant that lists a charge of first-degree murder. Waterloo police say Ernst was arrested without incident Thursday morning in Cedar Rapids.
Authorities say he shot 23-year-old Orintheo Campbell Jr. after a fight near a convenience store escalated on Dec. 6. Campbell died later at Allen Hospital.
It's unclear whether Ernst has an attorney.
A February trial has been scheduled for a Sergeant Bluff man accused of head-butting his teenage son.
47-year-old Bradley Graff entered a written plea of not guilty on Monday in Woodbury County District Court. The charge is child endangerment causing injury. His trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 3.
Court documents say the incident occurred while Graff was practicing wrestling with his 11- and 13-year-old sons at his business, Wall of Fame. The documents say the older boy asked to stop practicing, but Graff threw him onto a mat several times and head-butted him. The documents also say Graff later stomped his son's head onto the mat, giving the boy a bloody nose.
Authorities say a Des Moines man who fatally stabbed an intruder likely won't be prosecuted.
Police Sgt. Jason Halifax says 35-year-old Christopher Bear killed 34-year-old Jahron Parker after Parker attacked Bear at a house on Amos Avenue early Wednesday morning. Halifax says Parker was stabbed by Bear after Parker pulled a knife.
Polk County Attorney John Sarcone says Bear's self-defense actions were legal and that "there's no basis to bring any charge at this time."
Parker had been visiting a resident in the basement of the house when he went upstairs and pounded on the door of the enclosed porch. Police say Bear, who was a guest of the upstairs resident, answered the door and soon was attacked by Parker.
A southeast Iowa woman has been cited on third-degree harassment after authorities say she mailed cow poop to her neighbors over a dispute about her barking dog.
Burlington police say 51-year-old Kimberly Capdevila sent the smelly package to her neighbors, Steve Rowland and Mary Eipert, on Dec. 13.
Rowland says he immediately suspected his neighbor because of ongoing problems over Capdevila's barking dog, a Great Pyrenees. The couple contacted police.
Capdevila says she sent the package through a joke website that guaranteed anonymity. She says it was a "practical joke" and she never intended to harass the couple.
Capdevila was given a misdemeanor ticket Monday. She is scheduled to appear in associate district court on Jan. 6.
Authorities say two people found dead after a mobile home fire in eastern Iowa died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
The Clinton County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday that 67-year-old Lauren Lee McFarland and 69-year-old Donald Everett Miller died of carbon monoxide poisoning due to smoke and soot inhalation. Their deaths have been ruled accidental.
The fire was reported Tuesday morning at a mobile home in DeWitt. Responders found heavy smoke coming from the property.
Firefighters later discovered the bodies of McFarland and Miller. Authorities say the cause and origin of the fire is inconclusive.
The Iowa State Patrol says a man has died in a rollover crash near Stuart.
A report says 64-year-old Andrew Gail Soroka, of Dexter, was traveling at a high speed Tuesday night when his vehicle drove straight off a curve. The car went into a ditch and eventually rolled down a hill.
Soroka was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash.
The crash remains under investigation.
Authorities say they followed a trail of blood to arrest a Dubuque man accused of drunken driving and hitting a utility pole.
The Dubuque County Sheriff's Office says 24-year-old Logan J. Siegert faces charges of operating while intoxicated, possession of drug paraphernalia and interference with official acts. Court records do not list an attorney.
Authorities say Siegert was driving around 4 a.m. on Dec. 20 when he drove off the road and struck a utility pole. Siegert is accused of fleeing the scene.
Deputies followed a trail of blood to an address where Siegert was found inside injured and intoxicated.
Authorities say a preliminary blood test shows Siegert's blood alcohol concentration was above the legal limit to drive.
The city of Des Moines has named a new public works director.
Officials on Wednesday named 39-year-old Jonathan Gano as its new leader for the department. He is expected to begin on Jan. 26 with an annual salary of $145,000.
Gano is currently the interim co-director at the public works department in Springfield, Missouri. He replaces Pat Kozitza, who retired Wednesday after 38 years with the city.
The appointment comes as the city searches for a new police chief. The city selected a new city manager in September.
A former nurse at an Iowa City rehabilitation center has been arrested on suspicion of abusing a patient in April.
Online court records show 44-year-old Ann M. Hobbs, of Belle Plaine, was arrested Tuesday afternoon on a felony charge of dependent adult abuse. Other court filings spell her first name as Anne.
Hobbs was a temporary nurse at a Iowa City rehabilitation center in April. A police complaint says a patient said Hobbs beat her. The patient reported bruising and nail scratches on her body.
Hobbs remains at the Johnson County Jail on $10,000 bond. Court records do not list an attorney.
An April trial has been scheduled for a former Boone man charged with killing his wife in 2012.
Online court records show 40-year-old Alexander Fazzino's trial will begin April 15 at the Winneshiek County Courthouse in Decorah. The trial has been delayed multiple times.
Fazzino is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Emily Fazzino. She was found dead on a bathroom floor at the couple's Boone home in January 2012.
Authorities say Fazzino killed his wife because she wanted to divorce him. His attorneys said in pretrial motions that she drowned in the bathtub after having a seizure brought on by alcohol withdrawal.
Fazzino has pleaded not guilty. He is currently free on bond.
Waterloo authorities are looking for a 25-year-old man suspected of killing a Waterloo man earlier in December.
An arrest warrant alleging first-degree murder has been issued for James Ernst II, of Cedar Rapids. Authorities say he shot 23-year-old Orintheo Campbell Jr. after a fight near a convenience store escalated on Dec. 6. Campbell died later at Allen Hospital.
It's unclear whether Ernst has an attorney.