Waterloo Police say a teenager was arrested in connection with a deadly shooting Tuesday near the Kwik Star off Highway 218. A 17-year-old was arrested yesterday and charged with Robbery in the 1st Degree and Intimidation with a Dangerous Weapon. Police have identified the victim as 20-year-old Dayton Sanders of Waterloo. When police responded to the 1100 block of Washington St., they found Sanders in the median of Highway 218 with a gunshot wound. He was later determined to be dead. Police say they are continuing to investigate and speak with witnesses.
An inmate who confessed in court to using a hammer to kill a nurse and correctional officer during an escape attempt at an Iowa prison has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Thomas Woodard Jr. was sentenced yesterday after pleading guilty earlier this month to two counts of first-degree murder, as well as to kidnapping and attempted murder counts. Prosecutors say Woodard and his co-defendant, 29-year-old Michael Dutcher, carried out the March 23 hammer attacks at the Anamosa State Penitentiary on 50-year-old nurse Lorena Schulte and 46-year-old correctional officer Robert McFarland. Woodard also admitted to bludgeoning an inmate who tried to stop the attack, and briefly holding another female employee as a hostage. As part of a plea agreement, he will serve his sentence in a Nebraska prison.
Des Moines police have opened a sexual exploitation investigation into a deceased Des Moines teacher and his ex-wife. Kristopher Rollins is accused of the sexual exploitation of a now-former student beginning in 2019. Rollins’ ex-wife, former teacher Emily Lang, is accused of failing to report child abuse. Police said the associate principal of Central Campus received a report from Lang that Rollins began a “lengthy inappropriate sexual relationship” with the student that started when the student was 17. Lang reportedly told the school she learned of the relationship in 2019 but did not report it because the student asked her not to. DMPS placed Lang and Rollins on administrative leave on Aug. 19. Rollins died by suicide the following day. Lang resigned her position yesterday. Police said their investigation will continue despite Rollins’ death to rule out anything else that could have occurred.
Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a disaster proclamation yesterday for Bremer and Fayette counties in response to severe weather that began Tuesday. The governor’s proclamation allows state resources to be utilized to respond to and recover from the effects of the severe weather, and activates the Iowa Individual Assistance Grant Program for qualifying residents, along with the Disaster Case Management Program, for residents of Bremer and Fayette counties.
Waterloo Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald is responding after a letter written by three former Waterloo police chiefs raised concerns about the current state of the department. Former chiefs Dan Trelka, Bernal Koehrsen, and Thomas Jennings released a letter saying the situation within the department is dangerous for Waterloo citizens, and they want to know about what is being done to address the issue of low morale. They raised concerns over recent resignations, leaving the department with seven open positions. In Chief Fitzgerald’s response, posted on the department’s website, he says that “the sky is absolutely not falling in the Waterloo Police Department.” Chief Fitzgerald says it is not uncommon for police departments to have vacancies and that officer turnover is a situation not unique to Waterloo. The former chiefs said in the letter that department morale is at its lowest point in decades. “We are not proud of what the agency has become over the past year. As a matter of fact, we’re outraged,” they wrote.
The pandemic did not keep Iowans from going to this year’s state fair. While attendance was down nearly 6.5 percent from the all-time record set in 2019, attendance was still better than expected. The fair’s all-time record is more than 1.1 million people. This year, overall attendance dipped to 1,094,480. Organizers had to cancel the fair last year due to COVID-19. That led to a loss of more than $12 million.
