DYERSVILLE, Iowa (KCRG) – A Dyersville woman has been sentenced to more than nine years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy back in March. Whitaker Ingles was sentenced in Cedar Rapids last Thursday. That’s according to a news release from the Northern District of Iowa U.S. Attorney’s Office. Authorities say Ingles pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute 500 or more grams of cocaine between 2019 and February of 2021. In February of 2021, one of Ingles’ partners distributed cocaine to a young woman in Dubuque, who later died from using the drug. There is no parole in the federal system.
MECHANICSVILLE, Iowa (KCRG) – A farm in Mechanicsville must clean up its third wind turbine fire in less than a year and a half. Lightning strikes caused all three. Now the farm’s owners are trying to figure out what’s next. A Cedar County ordinance requires wind turbines that aren’t producing energy must be taken down within the year. While the turbine’s owners have to take care of that, the damage left behind is the responsibility of the land owner. After the wind turbine’s blade fell to the ground, debris from the turbine coated the surrounding farmland. Sally Freeman, the farm’s owner, said she’s learned from experience that cleanup takes forever. She also learned the cleanup the wind energy companies do isn’t perfect. Previous cleanups left Freeman’s cornfield littered with wires and fiberglass, and the industrial equipment used to remove the last turbine is still taking up space. All the fiberglass and waste in the field means she can’t use the land, a loss that loss costs a lot of money. Days after the fire, the fallen blade is still smoldering and chunks of the structure are still blowing off in the wind. Freeman’s worried those pieces of fiberglass could break the farm’s equipment. She already knows she won’t be able to sell any corn from the affected area. Freeman said she isn’t against wind energy, but she said there needs to be legislation to speed up the cleanup process.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – A Cedar Rapids man who tried to murder his wife four years ago has taken a plea deal. Anthony Depolis, 34, pleaded guilty to an attempted murder charge on Friday. His willful injury and domestic abuse charges were dropped. Police say when officers responded to the couple’s home on 12th Avenue Southwest in July 2020, his wife had severe stabbing injuries to her neck. Depolis admitted to police that he bought a knife as part of a plan to kill his wife. “I used a knife to stab my wife in the throat area, directly about two times, and she also had some wounds on her hands,” Depolis said in court on Friday. “I was out of body during this experience.” Depolis said he suffers from two mental health conditions. He faces up to 25 years in prison. His sentencing is set for Nov. 28.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Fans got the chance to welcome home Olympic medalist Spencer Lee late Saturday night. The former Iowa Hawkeye wrestler won the silver media in this year’s Olympic games in Paris. He’s the 11th Hawkeye wrestler in school history to earn a medal at the Olympic Games. Fans gathered at the Eastern Iowa Airport along with the Hawkeye Wrestling Club to give him a warm welcome home. Lee said he was grateful and humbled to see the fans come out, continuing to support not only him but the sport itself as well. Lee said while he of course wanted to take home the gold, he said he’s proud to have represented his country the best that he could.
