From the Associated Press (11:20 a.m.):
DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A hit-and-run crash in eastern Iowa on Friday briefly knocked out power for neary 500 people. Davenport police say a car hit a power line pole Friday morning, and the driver fled the vehicle. KWQC-TV in Davenport says the crash left 492 people without electricity, but power has since been restored. Police say the driver hasn’t been found.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Des Moines city officials will begin negotiating with a local infrastructure group for an unpaid $1.6 million in unpaid costs for the construction of an underpass connecting two parks. The Des Moines Register reports that the city council approved a request to begin negotiating with the Des Moines Water Works Foundation. At issue is an underpass known as the Ruan Connector, which provides a path under Fleur Drive that connects Gray’s Lake Park and Water Works Park. It was completed in September 2020 with money from a public-private partnership in which the city fronted $3.1 million.
EAGLE GROVE, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have identified the body of a woman found dead inside a wrecked car in northern Iowa. The Globe Gazette in Mason City reports that 42-year-old Tonya Collins had been missing since last week. The Wright County sheriff’s office says she was found inside her 2019 Nissan Rogue, which was wrecked in a creek bed on the western edge of Eagle Grove. Collins was pronounced dead at the scene from injuries she sustained in the crash.
DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s 2nd congressional district has the dubious distinction of having the second-most structurally deficient bridges in the country. So, it struck some Iowans as strange when the district’s Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks voted against a bill that would pour more than $100 million in federal money to repair and replace bridges into southwest Iowa. Miller-Meeks objected to majority Democrats’ handling of the bill, a common refrain from the minority that overwhelmingly opposed it. If anyone in Iowa was surprised that the Republican would oppose money for a glaring local priority, few in Washington were. Strategists and onetime party leaders note it’s become so common for lawmakers to prioritize their party’s line over district needs that it’s hardly mentioned.
MERRILL, Iowa (AP) — Construction has begun on a 16-mile hiking and biking trail connecting the Iowa towns of Sioux City and Le Mars. The Sioux City Journal reports that ground was broken Tuesday on the PlyWood Trail. The PlyWood Trail Foundation has raised more than $4 million from public and private sources, and is seeking state and federal grants. Foundation chairman Ryan Meyer says “quality of life” amenities are important in attracting workforce and young families to the area. Mike Wells, president of Le Mars-based Wells Enterprises, says the new trail along with the mountain bike trail at Cone Park will create a “bicycle destination in Northwest Iowa.” The company is a major donor.
CRESTON, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa man has been convicted of killing his brother whose body was found this summer in a rural field more than a week after he was reported missing. The Des Moines Register reports that jurors deliberated about four hours this week before finding 43-year-old Dustin Seley, of Creston, guilty of first-degree murder in the death of 58-year-old Timothy Fechter. An autopsy determined Fechter had been shot and bludgeoned in the head. Investigators searching Seley’s home found clothing with what appeared to be bloodstains, and two witnesses told investigators Seley had admitted to them he’d killed or “popped” his brother. The defense argued it was self defense.
