From the Associated Press (11:20 a.m.):
JESUP, Iowa (AP) – A northeastern Iowa weekly newspaper has ended publication after being unable to find a suitable buyer. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that the Jesup Citizen Herald printed its final edition on Dec. 29, ending its 122-year existence. Publisher Kim Edward Adams, who lead the newspaper for its last 43 years, says and his longtime news partner, Robin Harms, are both in their 60s and were ready to retire. Adams says the pair agreed to either sell or shutter the newspaper by the end of 2021. They talked with four to six interested buyers, Adams said, but “most of them had no prior newspaper experience.” The paper’s website for now remains accessible and includes recent obituaries and a heartfelt letter from Adams titled, “Saying Goodbye to Jesup.”
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Prosecutors have dropped a second case against an activist who exposed what many viewed as the inhumane killing of hundreds of pigs at two Iowa pork plants. Agriculture industry supporters say the activist’s action ran afoul of the the state’s “ag gag” laws. The Des Moines Register reports that Matt Johnson had been scheduled to stand trial starting Thursday on counts of burglary, electronic eavesdropping and food operation trespass at Iowa Select Farms properties in 2020. A judge dismissed the case Wednesday at the request of county prosecutors. Last January, Grundy County prosecutors dropped two counts of trespassing against Johnson at the request of Iowa Select after company personnel were subpoenaed to testify.
GRUNDY CENTER, Iowa (AP) – The trial of a man accused of killing an Iowa state trooper will be moved out of Grundy County but the new location has not yet been decided. Attorneys for 42-year-old Michael Thomas Lang argued the trial should be moved because it would be difficult to find an unbiased jury in Grundy County. Lang is charged with murder and two other counts in the April death of State Patrol Sgt. Jim Smith. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reported prosecutors did not object to moving the trial. During a court hearing Wednesday, prosecutors argued against a defense motion to have a separate trial on a charge of assault on a peace officer. A judge took that issue under advisement.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Hospitalizations of people being treated for coronavirus infections in Iowa surpassed 1,000 this week as COVID-19 cases grow at the fastest rate since the beginning of the pandemic nearly two years ago. State data updated Wednesday shows Iowa surpassed 1,000 hospitalizations on Monday and then dipped lower to 991 with 182 patients in intensive care. The state reported 19 children age 11 or younger in hospitals and 13 aged 12 to 17. Most were unvaccinated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says Iowa’s seven-day moving average of daily cases was 5,440 on Monday. That is the highest rate ever, surpassing the previous high of 4,622 in November 2020. The state Wednesday reported 8,317 deaths, which is 116 more than reported on Monday.
WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) – A Wisconsin man accused of killing his girlfriend and trying to kill his teenage daughter in a double shooting in Milwaukee has been arrested following an hourslong standoff in northeastern Iowa. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that 47-year-old Simone Hughes, of Milwaukee, was arrested Wednesday morning at a Waterloo, Iowa, home after he held officers at bay for eight hours in sub-zero temperatures. Milwaukee police say Hughes was wanted on first-degree intentional homicide for the Jan. 6 shooting death of 41-year-old Quinette Walters outside their Milwaukee home. Police say Hughes then shot and injured his 14-year-old daughter as she fled the home.
