A Chicago man robbed two Iowa gas station employees at gunpoint and confined them in a cooler before he fired ten shots at a sheriff’s deputy who responded to a report of the crime…all according to new details released by prosecutors yesterday. The shots fired by 36-year-old Stanley Donahue injured the left hip and leg of Linn County Deputy William Halverson, who was wearing a protective vest. Donahue then is accused of stealing Halverson’s service weapon before leaving the Casey’s store in Coggon. Deputy Halverson remains hospitalized in stable condition at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. The shooting of the seven-year department veteran, was the first of an on-duty Linn County deputy since 1973. Donahue has been charged with ten counts, including attempting to murder an officer, disarming an officer, first-degree robbery, false imprisonment, trafficking stolen weapons and possessing a gun as a felon. The most serious carry sentences of up to 50 years in prison. If convicted of attempting to murder an officer, he would be required to serve 100% of the prison sentence imposed and not be eligible for parole. During a brief court appearance yesterday, a judge set Donahue’s bond at $2.5. Authorities say Donahue, who is in custody at the Linn County jail, was previously convicted of felonies in Illinois and Oklahoma.
Linn County Public Health has reported COVID-19 vaccination numbers…as of the end of the day Monday, 50.6 percent of all Linn County residents were fully vaccinated. Of those 12 years of age and older, that number increases to 59.6 percent.
Linn County LIFTS will resume collecting bus fares on Thursday, July 1st…LIFTS suspended fares in March of last year as a safety measure due to COVID-19. Passengers are still required to wear face masks on buses, due to federal rules.
The Waterloo Black Hawks will have a new head coach when they take the ice this fall. The Black Hawks announced late yesterday that after 19 seasons on the team bench, P.K. O’Handley is now the organization’s President of Hockey Operations. The Hawks hope to hire a new head coach by early August. O’Handley’s 778 regular season victories are the most by any coach in United States Hockey League history. He has been named USHL Coach of the Year four times since joining the Black Hawks in 2002. KXEL’s Tim Harwood will have more with P.K. O’Handley in the 9 o’clock hour of KXEL Live & Local today.
A man who admitted leaving a menacing voicemail for Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has been ordered to undergo a psychological evaluation and have no contact with the Republican governor for five years. 48-year-old Harvey Hunter Jr. was also fined and granted a one-year term of probation during a sentencing hearing this week in Des Moines. Hunter entered a plea of guilty last month to a misdemeanor charge of second-degree harassment, under an agreement with Polk County prosecutors. He admitted leaving a threatening voicemail on January 5 on a governor’s office phone line established for input on the state’s partial mask mandate. The message said Reynolds and other politicians should be hung or shot for treason for imposing restrictions to fight COVID-19.
A new poll shows the majority of Iowans disapprove of the job Joe Biden is doing as President. The latest Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll says 52 percent of Iowans disapprove of the job he is doing, compared to 43 percent of Iowans who approve…five percent were unsure. According to the poll, Biden received low marks from Iowans on the economy, criminal justice, voting laws and immigration. The poll also showed that the majority of Iowans disapprove of Vice President Kamala Harris’ job performance, with 50 percent disapproving, 42 percent approving, and eight percent unsure. Seltzer & Co. polled 807 Iowa adults between June 13-16. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds joined 14 other Republican governors in issuing a joint letter urging U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo to release the 2020 U.S. Census redistricting data as soon as possible. The governors note that the nearly half-year delay in release of data leaves their states unable to redraw district boundaries prior to the 2022 election cycle.
