From the Associated Press (11:20 a.m.):
WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) – Officials say one person has died in a house fire in Waterloo. The Courier reports that the fire broke out Wednesday afternoon in a duplex between the Cedar River and Rooff Park. Firefighters called to the scene arrived to find smoke coming from the two-story structure’s windows. Officials say an adult died in the fire, but have not released the victim’s identity. Waterloo’s city fire marshal is investigating to determine the cause of the blaze.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa’s Supreme Court has heard arguments about abortion restrictions Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law in 2020. Many of the conservative justices deciding the case have replaced predecessors who affirmed four years ago that the state constitution guarantees women the right to have abortions. Abortion providers filed a lawsuit challenging the law passed by the Republican Legislature and signed by the GOP governor in June 2020 that required a 24-hour waiting period before a woman can get an abortion. A judge struck down the law in June 2021, citing a 2018 Iowa Supreme Court decision that declared abortion a fundamental right under the Iowa Constitution.
ELDON, Iowa (AP) – A southeastern Iowa school district is joining a handful of others in the state in moving to a four-day school week. The Hawk Eye reports that the Cardinal School Board voted Monday to approve the switch. Under the new calendar, classes will be held Tuesday through Friday with an additional 20-25 minutes added to each school day. Cardinal Superintendent Joel Pedersen says the switch follows a staff survey that showed 95% approved of switching to the four-day school week. State law requires schools to provide students with either 180 days or 1,080 hours of instructional learning. Cardinal’s new 2022-23 schedule will cover 150 days, but will include a total of 1,095 learning hours.
SERGEANT BLUFF, Iowa (AP) – The Woodbury County attorney says a sheriff’s deputy acted reasonably when he shot and killed a man in Sergeant Bluff in January. County Attorney Patrick Jennings announced his findings Wednesday after he reviewed an investigation into the shooting death of 35-year-old Michael Meredith. Jennings said Woodbury County sheriff’s deputy Eric Fay shot Meredith after he hit the deputy with a tire iron. Jennings said Fay had reason to fear for his safety and that of others at the scene. Fay, another county deputy and a Sergeant Bluff police officer responded to the scene after a report of a possible burglary in progress.
WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) – A man who said he shot another Waterloo man last year in self-defense has been convicted of first-degree murder. The Courier reports that a jury convicted 29-year-old Stephen Devon Phillips on Wednesday in the killing of 30-year-old Terrell Bernard Flowers on May 15, 2020. Phillips took the stand during his trial last week, saying Flowers had knocked him to the floor during a fight, strangled him and then stood over him with a gun before Phillips pulled his own gun and shot Flowers. But investigators say the shooting followed an earlier argument between the two and that Phillips had threatened to carry out a shooting. He faces a mandatory term of life in prison when he’s sentenced at a later date.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – President Joe Biden has approved requests for a federal disaster declaration for Nebraska and Iowa after a line of destructive thunderstorms and tornadoes swept across the states in mid December. The designation allows segments of the two states to access federal funding for emergency work and the repair or replacement of damaged facilities. The declaration covers 25 counties from south-central to east-central Nebraska and 25 counties across Iowa. At least 45 tornadoes were confirmed in the Dec. 15 storms that crossed the Great Plains and Midwest amid unseasonably warm temperatures, with Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota taking the brunt of the damage.
