From the Associated Press (11:20 a.m.):
BOONE, Iowa (AP) – Authorities now say that speed and alcohol were likely factors in a November crash that killed a police officer from Boone. The Polk County Sheriff’s office said Tuesday that Officer Mario Gonzalez was alone when his vehicle crashed on a highway near the town of Grimes. It wasn’t immediately clear how fast the vehicle was going. Gonzalez worked full-time for the Boone department from 2016 to October 2019, then began working part-time. He also was a member of the Iowa National Guard. Gonzalez was 26. He is survived by his wife and two young children.
WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) – Officials have identified a woman killed last month in a house fire in Waterloo. The Courier reports that authorities identified the woman as 79-year-old Mary Kaye Olsen. Olsen died in a fire that broke out Feb. 23 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. Fire officials say the cause of the blaze hasn’t been determined but said investigators have not found anything suspicious about how the fire started.
BUCKLIN, Kan. (AP) – An accident in southwestern Kansas has claimed the lives of three children from Iowa. The Kansas Highway Patrol says the accident happened around 3:30 p.m. Saturday on U.S. 54 near the town of Bucklin. The patrol says a 2008 Mercury was westbound when it crossed the center line and struck a tractor-trailer. The driver of the Mercury, 43-year-old David Clements of West Des Moines, Iowa, sustained serious injuries. Three children in the Mercury died. The patrol identified them as 12-year-old Juno Clements, 10-year-old Arabella Clements, and 7-year-old Harper Clements. The children were from Johnston, Iowa. The patrol report did not state the relationship between the driver and the children. The driver of the tractor-trailer was unhurt.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Funeral plans are set for two of the seven people killed during a violent outbreak of tornadoes that struck central Iowa earlier this month. The Des Moines Register reports that 64-year-old Rodney Clark’s service will be at 4 p.m. Tuesday at a cemetery in Madison County. The Clark’s home in the Winterset area didn’t have a basement. His family said he died while protecting his wife. A funeral for 40-year-old Jesse Theron Fisher of Chariton will be at 4 p.m. Friday at a funeral home in Chariton. Fisher died when a tornado struck Red Haw State Park. A friend says Fisher was staying at the park at the time.
BONDURANT, Iowa (AP) – An employee of an Iowa assisted living facility is now facing charges related to the Jan. 21 death of a 77-year-old resident. KCCI-TV reports that 30-year-old Catherine Forkpa of Ankeny has been charged with dependent adult abuse and intentional reckless abuse. The charges stem from the death of Lynne Harriet Stewart. She was found in subzero temperatures outside of Courtyard Estates at Hawthorne Crossing in Bondurant. The facility is a senior living home for people with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Staff members tried to warm up Stewart, then took her to a hospital, where she died.
