From the Associated Press:
WEBSTER CITY, Iowa (AP) — A jury has convicted a man of first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of an Iowa State Patrol trooper last year. The jury on Monday also convicted 42-year-old Michael Lang of attempted murder and assaulting a police officer for his actions on April 9, 2021, that killed patrol Sgt. Jim Smith. He faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Smith was shot as he led a tactical team into Lang’s home to arrest him following Lang’s assault of another officer during a traffic stop that day. Smith was a 27-year patrol veteran.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Abby Finkenauer’s bid to clinch the Democratic nomination for a U.S. Senate seat in Iowa wasn’t supposed to be so fraught. She built a wunderkind reputation in the Legislature before toppling a Republican congressman in 2018. She was the second-youngest woman elected to Congress, helping Democrats retake control of the House that year. But her Senate campaign faced unexpected trouble last month when, at least for a moment, it appeared she wouldn’t be allowed to compete in the June 7 primary. A judge found errors in her nominating petitions after Republican activists challenged her filings. Some Democrats blame her for quickly blaming political motivations and not acknowledging her campaign’s organizational mistakes.
An outbreak of avian flu is forcing farmers to cull their flocks and leading to concerns about even higher food prices. While it doesn’t pose a significant threat to humans, the outbreak is prompting a new wave of some of the same conspiracy theories that emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts who study misinformation say claims that the avian flu is a bioweapon or an elaborate hoax reflect a deepening distrust of the media and scientific experts. For poultry farmers and animal health officials in affected states, however, the flu poses a threat that’s all too real for both their animals and their local economies.
FAIRFIELD, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa teenager accused of killing his high school Spanish teacher will be tried as an adult. The judge’s ruling Thursday in the case against 16-year-old Willard Miller comes a day after his accused accomplice also saw his request to have the case moved to juvenile court rejected. Miller is charged with first-degree murder in the November beating death of 66-year-old Nohema Graber, who taught at Fairfield High School. The judge said the juvenile court system would not have enough time to rehabilitate Miller “for a crime of such magnitude.” Miller and 17-year-old Jeremy Goodale were both 16 when they were arrested in Graber’s killing.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A new congressional report says that in the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, the meat processing industry worked closely with political appointees in the Trump administration to stave off health restrictions and keep slaughterhouses open even as COVID-19 spread rapidly among workers. The report issued Thursday says meat companies pushed to keep their plants open even though they knew workers were at high risk. The lobbying led to health and labor officials watering down recommendations for the industry and culminated in an executive order from President Donald Trump designating meat plants as critical infrastructure that needed to remain open. The North American Meat Institute trade group says the report distorts the truth and ignores steps companies took to protect workers.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A Cedar Rapids man has been sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to a lesser charge for the shooting death of another teen during a botched robbery. Court records show that 20-year-old Kyler Carson pleaded guilty Tuesday to assault and other counts and was sentenced to three years’ probation. He also must pay $150,000 in restitution to the family of 18-year-old Andrew Gaston. Prosecutors say Carson was 16 when he fatally shot Gaston and injured Gaston’s cousin, Tyrell Gaston, when the Gastons ambushed Carson during a drug deal in an effort to rob Carson of marijuana.
