Authorities say a 27-year veteran of the Iowa State Patrol was killed during a standoff with a man who fired on agents twice, including as they smashed into his home in an armored personnel carrier. Sgt. Jim Smith, who was based at the Patrol post in Oelwein, was killed Friday night at the suspect’s home in Grundy Center. Later, the suspect, 41-year-old Michael Thomas Lang, was shot by officers and is hospitalized in critical condition. He has been charged with first-degree murder and is being held on $1 million bond. Authorities say events began when a Grundy Center officer tried to stop Lang for a traffic violation, and Lang fled to his home after a physical altercation with the officer and a confrontation with a Grundy County deputy. Later, when several officers entered the home, Lang struck Sgt. Smith by fire from a shotgun. Lang was then barricaded for several hours before he was shot by officers using the armored vehicle. This is Iowa Department of Public Safety Commissioner Stephan Bayens. Sgt. Smith is the 11th Iowa trooper to die in the line of duty since the state patrol was created in 1935. The last death was in September 2011 when trooper Mark Toney died in a crash in Warren County as he tried to make a traffic stop.
Des Moines police are searching for a suspect who opened fire in the Court Avenue downtown district early Saturday morning. Two people were shot and another person was hit by bullet fragments around 12:30 a.m. Saturday. Officers believe a male victim was the intended target, and a woman near him was hit by a stray bullet. Both were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The victim hit by fragments refused medical attention. Police say witnesses and the victim are refusing to cooperate with police.
Des Moines police also investigating after a car struck and killed a pedestrian in the 4500 block of Hubbell Avenue just before 5 a.m. yesterday. Officers arrived to find a man dead at the scene. Police say the man was in a traffic lane when he was struck by a vehicle traveling south on Hubbell. Driver impairment has been ruled out as a contributing factor to the crash, but the technical crash investigation is ongoing.
Budget time for area schools…the Waterloo board of education is expected to approve a nearly $215 million budget for the next school year when it meets later today, including a 1.32% increase in overall property tax collections. Meanwhile, the Cedar Falls board today will consider a $115 million budget including a 1.14% increase in overall property tax collections.
A former instructor has filed a lawsuit against Upper Iowa University, claiming one of her bosses made sexist remarks to her, and that she was repeatedly demoted and eventually fired because she asked for an investigation. The lawsuit was filed in Fayette County district court last month by 59-year-old Katherine Thomas, who was an instructor in the English Department from 1992 to 2020. Thomas says she was verbally mistreated by Dr. Douglas McReynolds, the chair of the English department. Thomas says she complained to the university’s human resources department in 2017 and 2018. In 2018, she was told she was no longer qualified to teach and was moved to the job of “Writer’s Workshop Coordinator”. She was furloughed in April 2020 and later fired. The university says it cannot comment on pending litigation.
A Des Moines police sergeant with a history of excessive force complaints has resigned amid an internal investigation into what other officers reported were offensive remarks he made to another officer during a recent union meeting. More than a dozen officers who attended the meeting say Sgt. Greg Wessels made a comment that was inappropriate and insensitive in response to discussions of an officer allegedly leaking police information. Des Moines Police spokesman Sgt. Paul Parizek says Wessels resigned but didn’t give details about the reasons. However, he called the allegations against Wessels “incredibly serious.” Wessels has a history of disciplinary action within the department and was at the center of two 2018 excessive force cases.
