No change in the number of Iowa’s seats in Congress…that’s according to preliminary census data released yesterday. The Census Bureau says the population of the United States is 331,449,281. The 7.4% increase over the past decade is the second slowest ever. The numbers released Monday, along with more detailed data expected later this year, will be used by states to redraw political maps to account for shifts in population. Iowa will still have four congressional seats for the next decade but based on population growth and changes, Texas will gain two congressional seats, while Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina and Oregon will each gain one. The states of California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia will lose one seat each. The release of the numbers comes almost four months later than planned because of delays caused by the pandemic and anomalies discovered in the data as the numbers were being crunched.
Hundreds of 17-year-olds who could not cast ballots in the 2020 election because of their age are among 294,000 registered Iowa voters recently marked as inactive. Being marked as inactive in the state’s voter registration database does not immediately affect anyone’s ability to vote in any way, according to the Iowa Secretary of State’s office. But under state law, it’s the first step in a process that would result in the cancellation of one’s registration after four more years of inactivity. A new law rewriting election rules, signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds last month, requires the Iowa Secretary of State to move all voters who did not cast ballots in the most recent general election to inactive status. Previously, they had to miss two.
The search continues for the suspect in a weekend shooting on Court Avenue in downtown Des Moines. The gunman opened fire just outside the Court Center Building, shortly before bar closing time early Sunday morning. Two women were struck and are expected to survive, and police say they weren’t the intended targets. Police say nearby officers heard the gunfire and responded quickly. Des Moines police will continue its added patrols on Court Avenue. No information about a suspect in the case. You may recall that three people were injured in a shooting on Court Avenue on April 10, as well.
Trial has been set for two prison inmates accused of using a hammer to kill a prison nurse and correctional officer during an escape attempt last month. Michael Dutcher and Thomas Woodard Jr. are scheduled to go on trial June 22 in Jones County for the March 23 deaths of nurse Lorena Schulte and correctional officer Robert McFarland. Both inmates were serving time for armed robbery convictions at the time of the killings, and both entered pleas of not guilty earlier this month to two counts each of first-degree murder and other charges.
Jackson County Sheriff’s officials say a 12-year-old girl died when the utility vehicle she was on crashed and rolled Sunday afternoon just outside Springbrook. The incident happened on a farm. The sheriff’s office said in a news release that “extensive life-saving measures were attempted” to save the girl, but she died at the scene. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the sheriff’s department are investigating.
A juvenile male was arrested in Cedar Rapids early Monday morning after leading police on a pursuit. CRPD says it started shortly before 4 a.m. at Hollywood Boulevard and Center Point Road NE. The suspect traveled through northeast Cedar Rapids into Marion, in a stolen Mercedes. He was arrested on charges from the pursuit as well as other outstanding warrants.
A Des Moines man has agreed to plead guilty in connection with a 2019 homicide as part of a deal with prosecutors. Court documents said 47-year-old Yancy Freland plans to plead guilty to attempted murder, manslaughter and two other charges in the death of 23-year-old Marshal Aaron Terrell Johnson in an industrial area just south of downtown Des Moines. Freland was originally charged, along with 28-year-old Bryan Norris, with first-degree murder in the case. Authorities said Johnson was shot and had his neck cut. His body was first wrapped in plastic and buried before it was dug up, partially burned and then reburied.
