IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The City of Des Moines is confirming the longtime president of the Des Moines police officers’ union sent explicit photos to four female colleagues but retired before he could face disciplinary action. In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, four Des Moines Police Department employees alleged that they were sent unsolicited photos by Des Moines Police Bargaining Unit Association President Stew Barnes in 2019 and 2020, including many of himself naked. A statement from the city says that Barnes admitted he sent inappropriate photos and retired from employment last year. The city says that it “immediately and thoroughly investigated the allegations” but claimed that it could not take any steps to deny Barnes his retirement benefits.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A man charged in the 2018 stabbing death of another man who was found buried at a Cedar Rapids home has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge. KCRG reports that Paul Hoff pleaded guilty Tuesday to obstructing prosecution for his role in the death of Chris Bagley and faces up to two years in prison when he’s sentenced. Prosecutors say a felony charge of a abuse of a corpse was dropped in exchange for his testimony against Drew Blahnik, who was found guilty earlier this year of second-degree murder and other counts in Bagley’s death. Bagley went missing after leaving his home in December 2018. His body was found buried at a home in southeast Cedar Rapids more than two months later.
BUFFALO, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have identified a man killed last week in a house fire in the eastern Iowa city of Buffalo. The Buffalo Police Department reported Tuesday that 63-year-old Bernard Gerischer died in the Friday afternoon fire. Police say the cause of the fire is still under investigation, and no other information was released. Firefighters were called to the home around 2 p.m. Friday and found the house fully engulfed in flames. Authorities say first responders tried to get into the home, but the intensity of the flames kept them from entering. Crews worked for more than two hours to extinguish the fire. Officials said another person was treated for minor injuries from the fire.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A federal judge has extended a restraining order for 14 days that prohibits Iowa officials from enforcing a law that bans school districts from enacting mask mandates. The order issued by Judge Robert Pratt Monday extends the order until Oct. 11 which means school districts may impose mask mandates and the state cannot stop them. Information filed Monday in a lawsuit challenging the law indicates nearly a quarter of Iowa public school students are in districts that have experienced significant COVID-19 outbreaks this year. It indicates 11 school districts have reported more positive cases in the first month of the school year than during the entire previous year.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Faculty at Iowa public universities are demanding the right to require masks in their classrooms regardless of state law or policies against them. Biology professor Steve O’Kane Jr. has pushed a resolution among colleagues at the University of Northern Iowa saying faculty should be allowed to manage their classrooms. O’Kane told The Cedar Rapids Gazette that he’s already imposed a mask mandates for his students and lowers their lab grades if they refuse to comply. Northern Iowa, the University of Iowa and Iowa State University sent petitions last month to the state Board of Regents signed by hundreds of faculty asking for the ability to require masks and vaccines.
FAIRFAX, Iowa (AP) — Officials in eastern Iowa say two people are dead after their vehicle was hit by a train at a private railroad crossing in Linn County. The Linn County Sheriff’s Office says in a news release that the crash happened around 4:15 p.m. Sunday west of Fairfax. Investigators say the vehicle was traveling south when it was hit by the Union Pacific train. The vehicle’s two occupants — a male driver and a female passenger — were both pronounced dead at the scene. Officials are still investigating the cause of the crash.
