A 22-year-old Marion man was killed in a collision between his car and a semi Saturday morning. It took place just before 10 o’clock along Iowa Highway 1, south of Mount Vernon when a southbound vehicle operated by Kyle Goodell crossed the center line, leading to a head-on collision with a northbound semi. Goodell was pronounced dead at the scene. The semi driver was not injured.
The University of Northern Iowa has been reaccredited by the Higher Learning Commission, one of six regional accreditation institutions in the country. A three-year review process led to the designation. The commission cited UNI’s strong graduation rates, commitment to community involvement, and general education program. Accreditation is necessary so colleges and universities can maintain eligibility for federal student financial aid.
A California law taking effect Jan. 1 could make pork harder to find and more expensive. Voters in 2018 overwhelmingly approved the law, which requires more space for breeding pigs, egg-laying chickens and veal calves. National veal and egg producers are optimistic they can meet the new standards, but only 4 percent of hog operations in the U.S. comply with the new rules. Unless courts intervene or the state temporarily allows non-compliant meat to be sold in the state, California will lose much of its pork supply. Groups have long been pushing for more humane treatment of farm animals but the California rules could be a rare case of consumers clearly paying a price for their beliefs. Iowa is the nation’s largest pork producer.
An aide says Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has no plans to offer $100 incentives to Iowans to get the coronavirus vaccine, despite President Joe Biden pleading with states and local governments last week to offer incentives using federal funds to stop the spread of a virus variant. Many states and some Iowa counties have offered incentives for citizens to get a COVID-19 vaccination. Gov. Reynolds continues to call for citizens to get vaccinated, but says ultimately it is their choice. Iowa had 49.5% of the population fully immunized as of Thursday, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
And while older Iowans made up the majority of COVID cases during much of the pandemic, the Delta variant is affecting younger people. Currently more than 60 percent of all new COVID cases in Iowa are among those under age 40…that age group also has the lowest vaccination rate, below 37 percent.
Cedar Rapids Police have charged three people in connection with a shooting that sent three people to the hospital. It started around 1:45 Saturday afternoon in the 1900 block of Bever Avenue SE in Cedar Rapids as a fight between two men, with one carrying a gun. When officers arrived, they found 27-year-old Darius Howard-Brandon, 36-year-old Jeremy Dell Hepker, and an unidentified 25-year-old woman. Hepker and the woman were treated and released at UnityPoint-St. Luke’s Hospital. Howard-Brandon was grazed by a bullet and underwent evaluation at the same hospital. However, two of the victims and third man were taken into custody. Howard-Brandon was charged with Going Armed with Intent, Hepker was arrested for Going Armed with Intent with a Weapon, and 45-year-old Lamar Brandon was arrested and charged with Being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Going Armed with Intent and Intimidation with a Weapon.
A 23-year-old man has been charged in the death of a Lake Park woman in December. Justice Bernston has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of 25-year-old Angel Bastman. He was arrested Thursday at the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility. His bond is set at $1 million. 26-year-old Allison Decker was charged earlier this week with first-degree murder for Bastman’s death. Bastman’s body was found Dec. 22 at her home. Authorities have not said how she died.
A 24-year-old Muscatine man has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for the shooting death of his girlfriend. During sentencing on Friday, David J.S. Hatfield also was ordered to pay $150,000 in restitution to the estate of 18-year-old Kaitlyn Palmer. Hatfield was convicted of first-degree murder in June. An arrest affidavit says Hatfield called police on Oct. 16, 2019, and said Palmer had tried to commit suicide by shooting herself at the Saulsbury Recreation Center. The affidavit says Hatfield later admitted to shooting Palmer.
Lawyers for the state of Iowa are arguing the state’s open-records law is not a “a well-recognized public policy” and does not give job protections to employees who fulfill public information requests. They are making that assertion in asking a judge to dismiss a wrongful termination lawsuit filed by Polly Carver Kimm, the Iowa Department of Public Health’s former longtime communications director. Carver Kimm contends that the office of Gov. Kim Reynolds pressured her bosses to strip her duties after the pandemic began last year, and later forced her to resign because of her willingness to release records and data sought by journalists and the public. The attorney general’s office says Carver Kimm was an at-will employee, and that no clear public policy was jeopardized by her firing.
