We now know the identities of those killed and injured as the result of a Sunday motor vehicle accident on Mt. Vernon Road north of Dunkerton. The vehicle with four teenage girls from Dunkerton inside was being driven by 15-year-old Rylee Boyer. Boyer lost control on Mt. Vernon Road, went into the ditch, and the vehicle rolled. Two passengers, 15-year-old McKenzie Farmer and 17-year-old Lynzi Hoffman were ejected from the vehicle. Farmer died at the scene and Hoffman was transported to Allen Hospital and then flown to Iowa City. Another passenger, 15-year-old Ashlyn Latham, and the driver, Boyer, were transported to Allen Hospital for injuries and released.
Authorities say no one was seriously injured when a school bus carrying 10 students overturned into a ditch in rural south-central Iowa. The accident happened early Monday morning on a rural road near the Hanson Prairie Preserve north of Winterset. The Winterset School District bus was seen lying on its side off a dirt road before a tow truck pulled it upright. Officials said the 10 students on board the bus were taken to Madison County Hospital as a precaution. The Madison County Sheriff’s Office is investigating how the incident happened.
Ground Round announces its newest concept, GR Kitchen & Taps…which will open its first location in downtown Waterloo at the Best Western Executive Residency hotel. The GR Kitchen & Taps concept, developed during the COVID 19 pandemic, has a greater focus on a large selection of local and craft beers than traditional Ground Round restaurants. A job fair for positions at GR Kitchens & Taps will be held at the Best Western tomorrow and Thursday from 1-5 p.m. each day. Applications for bartenders, servers, and kitchen positions will be received and interviews will be done on site as time allows.
Transamerica Corporation, one of Cedar Rapids’ largest employers, is under review by the Iowa Insurance Division for a rash of complaints related to the company’s taking over of customer service for Vanguard Annuity last December. People who complained to the Insurance Division or the Iowa Attorney General said they couldn’t get through to Transamerica, an investment, retirement and life insurance company, to check on their investments, make transfers or seek payouts after the death of a loved one. Although customer service complaints aren’t unusual—especially for a large multinational company—state officials say those complaints about Transamerica went up in January after Transamerica took over customer service for the Vanguard Variable Annuity block of business.
Fourth generation Cedar Falls resident and former city council member Tom Blanford today announced his candidacy for Cedar Falls Mayor in this November’s election. Currently working as vice president of administration for Collins Holding Company in Cedar Falls, Blanchard brings 12 years of experience in the financial industry, including organizational management, small business lending, financial analysis, marketing and business development. The campaign website is tomforcfmayor.com.
A Marshalltown man was killed in an accident at a Dike golf course Friday. 56-year-old Jon Espenscheid was crossing County Club Lane in a golf cart to enter the Fox Ridge Course shortly before 1 p.m. when the cart and a vehicle headed south on County Club Lane collided. Espenscheid was transported to a Cedar Falls hospital and then transferred to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City where he later died. The driver of the vehicle, 66-year-old Cynthia Beavers of Dike, was not injured. Investigation continues.
A judge has ruled that three men charged in the shooting death of three Des Moines teens will be tried together. Emmanuel Totaye Jr., Daishawn Gills and Leontreal Jones had all filed motions seeking separate first-degree murder trials in connection with the January 2020 deaths of brothers Devonte Swanks and Malachi Swanks and a friend, Thayne Wright. Police found the bodies of the three teens inside a Des Moines home and say robbery was the motive for their killings. Polk County Judge David Porter last week granted prosecutors’ motion to try the men’s cases together. A new date for the consolidated trial has not yet been set.
