DES MOINES, Iowa (Gray Iowa Capitol Bureau) – 59 additional Iowa churches are leaving the United Methodist Church. In 2019, the General Conference of the United Methodist Church reaffirmed its ban on gay clergy and same-sex weddings. Both progressive and conservative churches have left the denomination because of the issue. The Reverend Katie Dawson of the Iowa Conference says the church created a process, called disaffiliation, for churches who wanted to leave. A total of 153 churches have chosen to leave the denomination. That’s about 20% of the churches in the Iowa conference. Dawson says some of the more conservative churches want to form a new denomination.
DELAWARE COUNTY, Iowa (KCRG) – On November 5, 2023, the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office responded to a location one mile south of the 1300 block of 180th Street for a report that human remains had been located in a field just west of Manchester by some pheasant hunters. The remains were removed from the scene and taken to the Iowa State Medical Examiner’s Office for positive identification. Officials have still not positively identified the remains, but believe that they are those of Brian Burns who was reported missing back on December 23, 2013. Brian Burns was the cousin of Jerry Burns, who was convicted of killing Michelle Martinko. At the time Jerry Burns was arrested in 2018 for the murder of Martinko, TV9 asked the Delaware County Sheriff’s office if Jerry Burns was connected to Brian Burns’ disappearance. At the time, Delaware County Sheriff John LeClere said in a statement, “We are reviewing the case and at this time have not uncovered any additional information that would implicate Jerry Burns in that disappearance.” The incident remains under investigation. Anyone with information regarding Brian Burns is asked to contact the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office at 563-927-3135.
WATERLOO, Iowa (KCRG) – After the discontinuation of the Land O’ Corn passenger rail route in 1967, large cities like Waterloo, Des Moines, and Cedar Rapids have become a passenger railway desert. Although southern Iowa hosts two sections of national Amtrak routes, INRCOG Director of Transportation Nick Fratzke says Iowans want to see more options. After collaborating with local officials and stakeholders and submitting an Expression of Interest to the Federal Rail Administration for a feasibility study, INRCOG says it’s started seeking public support. But one of the main challenges in gathering that support is the amount of time and resources expanding passenger railway would take. The Iowa Department of Transportation’s Passenger Railway Vision Plan says it’s studying or plans to study several cities such as Des Moines, Iowa City, Waterloo, and Dubuque for routes to Chicago and Omaha. Fratzke says routes like these would take at least a decade to develop, if not longer. INRCOG says that because planning is still in the early stages, a cost estimate for these routes is still unknown. But they also said it’s important to keep in mind that passenger railway is more eco-friendly and about 20 times safer than traveling by automobile.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – On Monday, a 49-year-old woman from Iowa City was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison after kidnapping her child and running across the U.S./Mexico border. Court records show that Kira K. Zielinski filed for divorce from her husband in 2020. A judge issued joint legal custody of their child and established a joint custody schedule. In February 2022, Zielinski took the child and drove from Iowa to California and across the Mexican border. Zielinski and her child remained in Mexico until November 2022, when she was taken into custody as she attempted to reenter the U.S. Following the completion of her imprisonment, Zielinski will have to serve one year of supervised release.
