A 15-year-old girl has died as the result of injuries she sustained Saturday when the car in which she was a passenger was hit by a train in Black Hawk County. Kate Michels of Maynard was in a car driven by her 18-year-old sister Emma southbound on Canfield Road when it entered a train crossing just as a train was arriving from the west. Kate Michels was airlifted to University Hospitals where she died Sunday. Emma Michels was hospitalized in Waterloo for non-life-threatening injuries.
Several U.S. senators are questioning the Food and Drug Administration’s work with a consulting firm that helped businesses sell prescription painkillers during the nation’s overdose crisis. Republican Charles Grassley of Iowa and Democrat Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire are among those asking the FDA about potential conflicts of interest from its work with McKinsey & Company. A letter from the senators notes that the FDA paid McKinsey more than $140 million after hiring it several times starting in 2008. The consultant also worked with opioid painkiller makers like Purdue Pharma while serving the government.
One person is dead and another person has been arrested after a shooting in Sioux City. Police said the shooting was reported shortly before 9:45 a.m. Sunday in the 200 block of 21st Street. Authorities did not immediately release many details about the shooting, including the names of the victim and the suspect.
A human body was found in the Big Sioux River in Sioux City Saturday. A fisherman reported seeing the body in the water around 6 p.m. Saturday. The body was taken to the morgue for identification. It was not immediately clear how long the body had been in the river.
A lightning strike is believed to be the cause of a barn fire near the city of Sherrill shortly after 7 o’clock Monday morning off of Hochrein Road. A barn was completely on fire, along with several pieces of farm equipment and hay inside. Loss is estimated at $250,000 but no injuries were reported.
A group of alumni and friends of Columbus Catholic High School in Waterloo want to change the school’s name, to remove reference to Christopher Columbus. The group started an online petition, citing what they call a history of enslavement, sexual abuse and killing of Native Americans linked to Columbus’ exploration of the continent. The group has approached the Cedar Valley Catholic Schools Board and Archdiocese of Dubuque with the name change request several times over the past year but say those efforts have not led to change. The group says the request is not a criticism of the school, its teachers or supporters, but is a push to have the name match the school’s values.
Investigators say they’ve identified the sunken car pulled out of Clear Lake on August 9. The 1982 auto with Cerro Gordo County license plates was raised from the water and found empty except for some ice fishing equipment. Officials say an investigation found the car had been reported stolen to Mason City Police in February 1996. The owner said the car had been stolen from a parking lot in Mason City while the owner was inside a business. The owner says the car had been left unlocked and running. The Sheriff’s Office says the car may have been submerged in Clear Lake for several years. An investigation is continuing but no criminal charges are expected.
The work of an off-duty Boone County Sheriff’s deputy operating a drone was instrumental in locating a kayaker who was reported missing on the Des Moines River Sunday night. A 911 call came in shortly before 9 o’clock about an 18-year-old kayaker who had become separated from his group. Officials said there was extra concern because members of the group had been drinking excessively throughout their float trip. Deputy Quinten Gustafson, one of the two sheriff’s employees certified to fly a drone, was off-duty at the time but dropped what he was doing to assist in the search. A kayak belonging to the teen was spotted from the drone just after 11 p.m. and deputies located him in a wooded area along the river. He was heavily intoxicated but otherwise okay when he was found. Deputies cited him for being a minor in possession of alcohol and he was released to family members.
