From the KCRG-TV9 Newsroom:
More than ten people were hurt, some seriously, after an explosion at a Bio-diesel plant in Marengo. There are no reported fatalities. Thirty people were inside the plant at the time of the fire. Officials evacuated residents in nearby homes and offered help at the Iowa County Transportation building. Fire crews from as far as Iowa City spent hours at the scene. Investigators have not said what may have been the cause of the fire.
Firefighters also fought back a building fire in the 33 hundred block of Southgate Court Southwest in Cedar Rapids Thursday afternoon. That’s just off of 33rd Avenue and Interstate 380. No one was hurt. Fire investigators say a discarded cigarette butt container, next to the building, caught fire and spread throughout the upper levels of the business. That building was badly damaged.
Documents filed in court give us a clearer picture of what might have happened to a missing Fort Dodge newborn. Though police are still searching for the newborn’s body, the baby’s mother, 24-year-old Taylor Blaha, and father, 31-year-old Brandon Thoma, are charged with first degree murder. Documents show that on November 16th, Blaha gave birth to a baby girl inside her apartment. They show the two named the baby and planned to have a family member adopt the girl. But documents show Blaha told police the two pushed the baby under water in a bathtub, killing her. Police have yet to find the child’s body.
A Grundy County man is now facing charges in connection with a woman’s death in Reinbeck Iowa nearly a year ago. Kevin Halladey is now charged with first degree murder in the death of 41-year-old Christian Jeys. He was already being held at the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison for separate charges. Deputies found Jeys unresponsive at Halladey’s address on Chesnut Street on December 23rd of last year. She later died at a hospital.
Eastern Iowa representatives Ashley Hinson and Mariannette Miller Meeks joined 37 other Republicans to support the ‘Respect for Marriage Act’. Yesterday’s House passage means the bill will go to the president for his signature. The legislation requires states to recognize marriages from other states, even if the Supreme Court overturns federal protections. It does not require states to legalize same-sex marriages. Nonetheless, it’s called a landmark vote protecting LGBTQ rights.
