DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI/KCRG) – Des Moines police are investigating a human skull found in a wooded area on the city’s east side. Officers responded late Saturday night in the area of Southeast 36th Street and Vandalia Road. Police have confirmed it was a human skull, but would not release any other details. The State Medical Examiner’s office is analyzing the remains. This skull was found about four miles from where two sisters found what appeared to be a human skull back in June. They discovered it in a sandbar near Yellow Banks Park in Pleasant Hill. Officials are still investigating that finding.
MARION, Iowa (KCRG) – A fire at the HyVee in Marion caused the grocery store to have to evacuate Monday afternoon. At approximately 1:00 p.m., Marion Fire was called to the 3600 block of Highway 151 for a report of a fire. Marion Fire Chief Tom Fagan said the fire started in a refrigerator unit and was out by the time they got there. However, there was quite a bit of smoke throughout the building which forced people to evacuate. After approximately an hour the building was properly ventilated and staff were allowed back inside. The store was then allowed to re-open for business another hour after that. No one was injured. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
CAMBRIDGE, Iowa (KCCI/KCRG) – A former Iowa church pastor has been sentenced to prison for drugging and sexually abusing a child more than a decade ago. Court records show that 69-year-old Mark Benson abused a victim several times at his home in Cambridge from 2009 to 2012. She was between the ages of 10 and 13 at the time. Prosecutors say Benson gave her medicine to make her sleep. Benson pled guilty to the charges. A judge sentenced him to an indeterminate period of time behind bars but no more than the maximum of 10 years. Benson must also pay a fine, submit a DNA sample for profiling, and register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, along with a 5-year no-contact order.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – A guaranteed job interview to help a career take off–that’s the promise for a new program at Kirkwood Community College. The program aims to solve a shortage of airline maintenance workers that can contribute to flight delays nationwide. One study estimates the U.S. will need 48,000 workers by 2027. SkyWest operates regional flights out of the Eastern Iowa Airport for major carriers like Delta, American, and United. It’s partnering with Kirkwood Community College and putting together a hangar at the Eastern Iowa Airport– giving students hands-on training and a guaranteed interview with SkyWest. The SkyWest AMT Pathway Program is giving Aviation Maintenance Technology students at Kirkwood Community College the unique opportunity. Kirkwood says that having this program is a big deal for the school–having to get industry support and work with the FAA to make it a reality. The classes can have up to 24 students in them, but there is already a waitlist for next semester.
