The head of the Iowa National Guard says Iowa is sending 250 soldiers and airmen to the U.S. Capitol, after officials called for additional support for the presidential inauguration next Wednesday. Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Ben Corell says initially Iowa had been scheduled to send 15 airmen to Washington, D.C., but because of the disturbance at the Capitol last week, guard soldiers from all states and territories were asked to send support. He and Gov. Kim Reynolds agreed to send 250 additional Iowa National Guard members by this weekend. Corell says so far no Iowa National Guard support has been needed for security at the Iowa Capitol.
University of Northern Iowa Provost Jim Wohlpart is resigning to become the president of a public university in Washington state. Wohlpart announced the move yesterday after being hired to lead Central Washington University in Ellensburg starting in June. Wohlpart has served as UNI provost and executive vice president for academic affairs for the past six years. He also served as UNI’s interim president for seven months in 2016. Central Washington has an enrollment of near 16,000, compared with about 10,000 at UNI.
With the widest reach of any lotteries in the U.S., Powerball and Mega Millions are designed to produce eye-popping jackpots that generate huge sales. It’s safe to say it’s working, as their combined jackpots reached an estimated $1.39 billion on Thursday. The next Mega Millions drawing is tonight, when an estimated $750 million prize will be up for grabs. The drawing for an estimated $640 million Powerball jackpot will be tomorrow night. The odds are 1 in 292.2 million to win Powerball and 1 in 302.5 million to win Mega Millions.
Waverly-Shell Rock school district residents will vote on a $31 million bond issue to help fund construction of two new elementary buildings and renovation of another. The Board of Education yesterday unanimously approved setting the March 2 vote during a special meeting. A resolution had been tabled during the board’s regular meeting Monday as bond supporters continued collecting the signatures needed on a petition seeking to hold the referendum, as required under Iowa law. They were up against a deadline of today to get board approval and submit the vote date to the Bremer County election office. If approved by at least 60% of voters who go to the polls, the bonds would help fund construction of two elementary schools to replace Waverly’s three existing ones and renovate Shell Rock Elementary. The money would also pay for some limited high school improvements.
Test Iowa drive-thru sites in Council Bluffs and Des Moines are closed today due to blizzard conditions are expected in the western and central parts of the state. The governor’s office says sites in Cedar Rapids, Davenport and Waterloo will stay open on Friday…but may close if the weather is worse than anticipated. Those who have tests scheduled for the closed locations today, will receive an email to reschedule. All five state-operated Test Iowa sites and the State Hygienic Lab will be closed on Monday for a national holiday, and will reopen Tuesday at 8 a.m.
La Porte City Police say a delivery driver was hospitalized after being attacked by two dogs that also attacked a postal carrier. It happened Wednesday morning after the dogs escaped their fenced backyard and ran down a FedEx driver. She suffered significant bites and tears before she was able to escape to her vehicle. The dogs then attacked a letter carrier, but it’s not clear whether the letter carrier suffered any injuries. Police say one of the dogs was hit by a car as officials chased the animals and had to be euthanized. Police say the other dog is under quarantine.
Eleven students from Brazil and Chile have filed a federal lawsuit accusing a northwest Iowa community college, a recruitment company, a pet food manufacturer and a packaging company of human trafficking and involuntary servitude. The lawsuit filed in the Northern District of Iowa says Western Iowa Tech Community College in Sioux City and the companies conspired to lure the students to Iowa under a work- and study- based visa exchange program only to push them into unskilled labor positions, pay them significantly less than U.S. employees and take unlawful deductions from their paychecks. The college denies the allegations calling them malicious, untrue, and offensive.
Cedar Rapids Police arrested two teenagers after an online marketplace sale went wrong. There was a report of a robbery in the area of Cenex Gas Station on the NW side of the city on Wednesday around 3 p.m. Two minors reported being robbed at gunpoint in the parking lot of the gas station. They had used social media to sell tennis shoes to another person. Officers searched the area and located two other minors matching the descriptions given by the victims, the sellers. The other two were arrested and charged with first degree robbery. The stolen property was recovered.
Two more suspects have been arrested in connection with a fatal shooting at a New Year’s party in Sioux City. Carlos Morales and Anthony Bauer, both 18 years of age, were arrested Wednesday…each being held on $500,000 bond. Morales’ brother, 19-year-old Christopher Morales of Sioux City, was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder and four other counts as a result of the shooting. Court documents say the three forced someone into the house where the party was being held and then fired at least 27 shots into the house. 18-year-old Mia Kritis was killed and three others were injured. Police say detectives are not seeking any other suspects.
A man has been charged with felony extortion and domestic assault counts after police say he threatened to shoot a woman if she didn’t give him thousands of dollars. 27-year-old Anthony Scott Moore was arrested Tuesday, and charges were filed Wednesday in Cerro Gordo County. Police say Moore admitted to investigators that he held a gun to a woman’s head in a Mason City home and threatened to kill her if she didn’t write him a $50,000 check. Police say he also took a cellphone from the woman and disconnected the 911 call she was trying to make. Moore is being held without bond.
