From the Associated Press:
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Two southeast Iowa teenagers charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the death of their high school Spanish teacher asked a state court judge Tuesday to lower their bond so they could be released from jail. But prosecutors asked bond be maintained at $1 million or even raised to $2 million. Willard Noble Chaiden Miller and Jeremy Everett Goodale, both 16, are accused of killing their high school Spanish teacher Nohema Graber in Fairfield. Her body was found Nov. 2 in a park. Goodale’s lawyer Nicole Jensen says $1 million bond is so excessive it amounts to pretrial detention without bond. Assistant Iowa Attorney General Scott Brown says the brutal nature of the crime justifies it. Judge Joel Yates says he will file his decision next week.
CENTERVILLE, Iowa (AP) — An investigation continues after police officers fatally shot a man near the south-central Iowa town of Centerville. The shooting happened Sunday after officers received a call about a domestic assault outside of town. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation said Monday that two Centerville officers and an Appanoose County sheriff’s deputy “were engaged in an officer-involved shooting that resulted in one person killed.” The DCI identified the man killed as 45-year-old Kevin Arbogast of Centerville. No further information about the shooting was released. The officers involved were placed on administrative pending the investigation. No officers were injured.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa judge has ruled that 2019 state law passed by Republicans prohibiting Medicaid coverage for sex reassignment surgeries for transgender residents violates the Iowa Civil Rights Act and the Equal Protection clause of the Iowa Consitution. Judge William Kelly ordered the Iowa Department of Human Services to provide coverage for sex reassignment surgeries when ordered to treat gender dysphoria. The ruling is a victory for Aiden Vasquez and Mika Covington, two Iowans represented by the ACLU of Iowa, who sought surgeries under their Medicaid plans but were denied. ACLU of Iowa Legal Director Rita Bettis Austen says it’s an historic win for civil rights in Iowa. Gov. Kim Reynolds says she disagrees with the district court’s ruling and is exploring all options moving forward.
WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — A Waterloo, Iowa man has pleaded not guilty to federal child porn charges connected to an international investigation. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports a federal grand jury charged 31-year-old Mychal Paul Olson with receipt and possession of child pornography. Olson pleaded not guilty Thursday. He’s currently jailed. The indictment alleges Olson had images of a child under age 12 between 2019 and 2020. Undercover Australian police took over a man’s account in 2019 and received images of child abuse from hundreds of people. Australian police found Olson’s email in the mix and sent findings to U.S. authorities.
Hedge fund Alden Global Capital, one of the country’s largest newspaper owners with a reputation for intense cost cuts and layoffs, has offered to buy the local newspaper chain Lee Enterprises for about $141 million. Alden said in a Monday press release that it sent Lee’s board a letter with the offer. It already owns 6% of Lee’s stock and is proposing to buy the rest for $24 a share. A Lee spokesperson did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Lee’s papers include the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Buffalo News, along with dozens of smaller papers.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — A man and woman face charges for allegedly restraining a man while striking and burning him in Cedar Falls. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that 46-year-old Donovan James Danielson and 32-year-old Nicole Elise Sage could face life in prison if convicted. Both were arrested Sunday on first-degree kidnapping charges and it wasn’t immediately clear on Monday if they had attorneys. Police say the suspects were armed with a handgun when they restrained the victim to a chair, gagged and burned him and struck him with blunt objects inside a Cedar Falls home. The man later made his way to a motel and called police. The suspects are jailed on $500,000 bond each.
