PALO, Iowa (KCRG) – One person was taken to the hospital for minor injuries after a chain reaction crash involving four vehicles in Linn County on Wednesday morning. The Linn County Sheriff’s Office said it happened at about 8 a.m. in the area of Covington Road and Lone Tree Road. First responders said they arrived to find a Toyota Sienna and a Chevrolet Cruz were blocking both lanes and had heavy damage. Investigators said a construction truck with a trailer was heading northbound on Covington Road when the driver slowed down to turn west into a job site just north of Lone Tree Road. A Prius and Chevy Cruz that were behind the truck slowed down as well. That’s when officers said a Toyota Sienna, which was the fourth vehicle in the line of vehicles, rear-ended the Cruz, pushing it into the Prius and the trailer in front of it. The driver of the Sienna was not injured and was cited for following too close. A 64-year-old Cedar Rapids woman was taken to the hospital for minor injuries. No one else was injured.
DAVENPORT, Iowa (KCRG) – A judge sentenced the man convicted of kidnapping and killing a ten-year-old girl in Davenport on Wednesday. A judge found Henry Dinkins guilty of first-degree murder and kidnapping last month in the death of Breasia Terrell. Terrell disappeared in Davenport in 2020. Her body was found months later in Clinton County. Prosecutors say Dinkins, a registered sex offender, sexually assaulted Breasia and shot her because he thought she would tell someone. His attorneys argued there wasn’t enough physical evidence and that police didn’t investigate other possibilities. Dinkins opted for a bench trial, meaning there was no jury. His murder conviction means a mandatory life-in-prison sentence without parole under Iowa law. During the hearing, the judge ruled Dinkins to serve consecutive life sentences, citing his previous criminal history and a lack of remorse for the crime.
STORM LAKE, Iowa (KTIV) – Police say a school lockdown in Storm Lake, Iowa was caused by an 11-year-old who falsely reported a shooting. The Storm Lake Police Department says just before 8 a.m. they got two 911 calls that requested police to Storm Lake Elementary School and reported a shooting. The elementary school was placed on lockdown while Storm Lake Police Officers and O’Brien County Sheriff’s Deputies were sent to the building. Following an investigation, police determined there was no evidence of a credible threat. They also determined the call was made by an 11-year-old student at Storm Lake Middle School. Police say that 11-year-old boy was taken to the police department for questioning and was charged with third-degree harassment, false reports to a public entity and willful disturbance. All three charges are misdemeanors. Additionally, police charged two other 11-year-old boys in connection to this incident. They are facing charges of aiding and abetting harassment, aiding and abetting false reports to a public entity, and aiding and abetting willful disturbance. These are all misdemeanor charges. All three boys were transported to the Cherokee Youth Emergency Services Center, police say. This incident remains under investigation and more arrests are possible.
DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) – Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds on Wednesday extended the Harvest proclamation she signed last month. The Harvest proclamation allows vehicles transporting corn, soybeans, hay, straw, silage, stover, fertilizer (dry, liquid, and gas), and manure (dry and liquid) to be overweight (not exceeding 90,000 pounds gross weight) without a permit. The proclamation was originally set to run through October 11, but is now extended through November 11. The proclamation applies to transported loads on all highways within Iowa, excluding the interstate system, that do not exceed a maximum of 90,000 pounds of gross weight, do not exceed the legal maximum axle weight limit of 20,000 pounds, and comply with posted limits on roads and bridges.
