A Linn County jury has convicted a man of stabbing a Cedar Rapids man to death and burying his body in apparent retaliation for theft from a drug dealer. Drew Blahnik was convicted late yesterday of second-degree murder and two other charges tied to the December 2018 death of 31-year-old Chris Bagley. Bagley’s body was found buried at a home in southeast Cedar Rapids on March 1, 2019. Prosecutors said Blahnik killed Bagley after he allegedly stole money from a drug dealer. The defense acknowledged Blahnik killed Bagley but said it was in self defense. He had been charged with first-degree murder, but the jury only found him guilty of the lesser offense.
Trial has been continued in the case of one of those accused of killing two Anamosa prison employees. Michael Dutcher waived his right to a speedy trial in a hearing yesterday morning. His trial to the court, which was supposed to start next week, now will likely not start until next year. Dutcher and Thomas Woodard are each facing two counts of first-degree murder, second-degree kidnapping, and attempted murder stemming from a failed prison escape on March 23. At this time, Woodard still has a jury trial scheduled for September 21.
An Air Quality Alert has been issued for the entire state due to impacts from upper-level wildfire smoke until 4 p.m. today. Upper-level wildfire smoke moved into our atmosphere last night and will stay thick through this afternoon. Because of those levels, the air quality may be unhealthy for the elderly, those with respiratory illnesses or heart disease, and children.
A third Democrat has entered the race for U.S. Senate. Dr. Glenn Hurst of Minden made his announcement yesterday. He is a physician and health administrator in Pottawattamie County, and said the impact of healthcare on his community was the driving force behind his run.
The Marion Times has announced it’s shutting down and will deliver its last issues today. The weekly newspaper primarily covered Marion community and school news. In a letter to readers and advertisers, the publisher of the paper said the decision came after “some time” of the publication losing money. Woodward Communications said in the letter that the Times “does not have enough subscriber and advertising support to make it sustainable.” Woodward said the company would continue to publish its other area papers, including the Anamosa Journal-Eureka, Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun and the North Liberty Leader.
A state audit report says Gov. Kim Reynolds fired the leader of Iowa’s state-run nursing home for veterans in May after learning he had been overpaid by $90,000 over a nearly two-year period. The report says Iowa Veterans Home Commandant Timon Oujiri told governor’s office representatives in May that he was long aware of the payroll errors that improperly boosted his salary by $950 per week, but that he did not say anything about receiving the excess pay because he was embarrassed. The next day, the governor fired Oujiri, who had been commandant since 2017, and the governor’s office reported the financial irregularities to the state auditor. State officials are working to recover any overpayments that Oujiri received during his tenure.
The influential hog dealer sanctioned twice for defrauding pork producers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars says it has fired employees responsible for its latest violations, and paid restitution to affected sellers. Lynch Livestock, based in Waucoma, Iowa, also announced that pork industry veteran Dan Sutherland would lead the company going forward “as a further safeguard against future violations.” The U.S. Department of Agriculture had taken enforcement action against the company for illegal buying practices for the second time since 2017.
A 28-year-old Oskaloosa man who injected a woman with methamphetamine before she died has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Cody James Vancenbrock was sentenced yesterday in connection with the August 2019 death of 24-year-old Ashley Shafer. Prosecutors said Vancenbrock injected Shafer with the meth at an Oskaloosa apartment. He and two other people then are believed to have dumped her body in the Skunk River. After he serves his sentence, Vancenbrock will be on five years of supervised release.
An autopsy shows an Illinois scuba diver who died inside a million-gallon farm tank in eastern Iowa accidentally drowned. The autopsy for 54-year-old Robert Baenziger Jr., of East Moline, Illinois, was released this week. It shows Baenziger died June 8 in an anaerobic digester, a large tank in which cow manure and food waste are combined with water and broken down by microorganisms to create methane. Officials had initially described the tank as a manure tank. Baenziger was a self-employed contractor exempt from federal workplace oversight who had been hired by Sievers Family Farm in Stockton to make repairs inside the tank.
Dubuque Police are now investigating the death of a 20-year-old woman. Police say Kylie Duster was found dead at 635 West 11th Street after they conducted a welfare check. No other details about her death were released but authorities say an investigation is ongoing.
