WEST LIBERTY, Iowa (KCRG) – A West Liberty city employee was placed on administrative leave after being arrested last week for alleged sexual abuse, officials said. A criminal complaint says Daniel Goodale, 38, of Atalissa, is charged with second degree sexual abuse for an incident that happened while he was off duty earlier this month. Goodale is listed on the city’s website as the West Liberty Water and Sewer Superintendent. In a Facebook post on Sunday, city staff said City Services were temporarily closed until 11 a.m. Monday while city staff attended an emergency crisis meeting.
VAN HORNE, Iowa (KCRG) – A former Benton Community School District employee has been sentenced after police said she sent nude pictures to a student earlier this year. Melissa Sherbon took a plea deal and was given a deferred two-year sentence and two years of probation. A criminal complaint said Sherbon knowingly sent at least two pictures to a teen on Jan. 31. She was arrested on Feb. 15. Sherbon was charged with Telephone Dissemination of Obscene Material to a Minor. She is no longer employed by the district, but she was hired last summer as a Special Ed Associate MS/HS and Bus Stop Supervisor.
ALGONA, Iowa (KUOO/KCRG) – A Northwest Iowa man riding a motorcycle on Sunday died after authorities say he collided with a car that didn’t stop at a stop sign. According to the Iowa State Patrol, 42-year-old Adam Allen of Pocahontas died after a crash near the Kossuth County town of Algona. The crash report says at about 1 p.m. a 17-year-old from Ackley, Iowa was driving a Nissan Sentra toward the intersection of 160th Avenue and U.S. Highway 18, located east of Algona. The teen was going south on 160th Avenue, and when the teen got to the intersection, authorities say the teen didn’t yield for the stop sign and the vehicle was struck by Allen’s motorcycle that was going westbound on the highway. The ISP says Allen died from his injuries while the 17-year-old, who has not been identified, had serious injuries and was life-flighted to a hospital in Mason City.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Improperly stored petroleum soaked rags are the likely cause of a fire that injured two firefighters over the weekend in Cedar Rapids, the fire department said Monday. The fire happened in the 2900 block of Center Point Road Northeast just before 9:15 p.m. on Saturday. No one was inside the home at the time of the fire, but multiple firefighters are now recovering from minor injuries sustained when responding to the fire. Firefighters said the cause of the fire is not officially determined yet, but it was likely the petroleum soaked rags, which were part of a home remodeling project.
