Linn County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden has cleared of wrongdoing a Cedar Rapids police officer who fatally shot a man suspected of stabbing a woman to death. The prosecutor found Officer Kyzer Moore was justified in shooting 39-year-old Arnell States of Cedar Rapids on Feb. 20 as States ran from a hotel where two women had been attacked. Police say States was believed to have been the attacker who killed 34-year-old Katrina Latrese Brinson and injured another woman. Moore is a nearly four-year veteran of the Cedar Rapids Police Department.
A Waterloo man accused of shooting at a Butler County home had entered a plea of guilty in the case. 54-year-old Timothy Eugene Ovel entered guilty pleas to charges of threatened intimidation with intent to injure, going armed with intent, child endangerment, domestic abuse assault, and reckless use of a firearm. The Butler County Sheriff’s Office says Ovel fired at least seven shots with a pistol into the front door of his ex-wife’s home in Parkersburg on May 26 of last year. Investigators say the incident started with an argument over the couple’s children, who were inside. Ovel was arrested at the scene; law enforcement found a bag on the front porch containing a spare 9mm magazine, multiple first aid and survival items, loose 9mm bullets, two small ballistic panels used in body armor, and a blue journal. His sentencing is scheduled for July 6.
The Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office is warning the public about Fentanyl pills circulating throughout the area. Authorities say they have recently become aware of a trend involving pills being sold as ecstasy or other prescription drugs, but instead contain Fentanyl, a highly dangerous narcotic analgesic, adding that a small amount of Fentanyl can cause an overdose, and possibly death. Police are urging people to use caution and not to purchase pills from street dealers.
A hazardous materials team rescued a worker who was overcome by fumes yesterday inside a suburban Des Moines food packaging manufacturing plant. It happened just after 8 a.m. at Amcor in Saylor Township. That’s when Polk County first responders were sent to the plant and found a 40-year-old man unconscious in a pit. Authorities say the man was pulled from the pit and given medical aid and was breathing. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office shut down a section of Aurora Avenue near the plant as emergency workers sought to determine what the fumes were and where they were coming from.
Cedar Falls Police are looking for several suspects caught on video after breaking into a church. It happened just after midnight Tuesday at Trinity Bible Church at 125 Orchard Drive. The suspects were caught leaving the church on a Ring video camera. The church is currently building an addition. Cedar Falls Public Safety Director Jeff Olson says the suspects broke into the church by tearing down a section of drywall in the construction area. Olson says the suspects stole a laptop. So far, no suspects have been arrested. If you have any information, you’re asked to call Cedar Falls Police.
Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller has joined a bipartisan coalition of 45 attorneys general in sending a letter to congressional leaders requesting the federal government provide the necessary funding to support state antitrust enforcement efforts. State attorneys general around the country, from both major political parties, are leading antitrust cases against Big Tech firms. Late last year, Miller joined a bipartisan coalition of 48 attorneys general in a lawsuit against Facebook for anticompetitive conduct, as well as another bipartisan coalition of 38 attorneys general suing Google on antitrust grounds.
North Iowa Area Community College has joined a new consortium to support manufacturing in the state. Organizers say the effort includes key state associations and agencies who have agreed to partner for the best interest of manufacturing businesses, implementing an education and awareness strategy statewide that will lead to the development of curriculum to meet training needs of all sizes of manufacturing businesses throughout Iowa. The consortium will respond to workforce, training/education and integration needs to help manufacturers strategically address technology investments, workforce pipeline, and workforce talent challenges. NIACC officials say they look forward to expanding recruiting and training in the field of advanced manufacturing.
