DUBUQUE, Iowa (KCRG) – The company that owns the Dubuque Grand Harbor Resort and Hotel has failed to pay back a $9.5 million loan and faces a court-ordered sale of the building. Platinum Holdings, which is located in Dubuque, owns the building. Westdale Capitol Investors 3 of Texas filed a lawsuit this summer claiming Platinum owes about $10 million including interest and fees. Platinum signed a loan in 2019 for the $9.5 million. In June of this year, Westdale sued demanding Platinum pay up or surrender the building. This month, a Dubuque County judge approved the request from Westdale and ordered the Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office sell the property. That sale is scheduled for December 9 at 9 a.m. Westdale has set a price for the building at more than $10 million to make sure it gets back the loan amount plus interest.
LINN COUNTY, Iowa (KCRG) – The Linn County Sheriff’s Office says a 15-year-old driver was injured Tuesday morning after falling asleep at the wheel and crashing into a power pole. Deputies, Linn County Rescue, Iowa State Patrol, Walker Fire, and Center Point Ambulance responded to the personal injury accident at 7:20 a.m. on North Center Point Road north of Ring Road. Emergency personnel found the vehicle had been traveling northbound on North Center Point Road when the teen driver fell asleep. The vehicle went into the east ditch and struck a power pole. The 15-year-old was transported to a local hospital by Center Point Ambulance with what are believed to be non-life-threatening injuries.
MARION, Iowa (KCRG) – It’s been two years since traffic cameras were installed in the City of Marion. And officers with the Marion Police Department said those cameras are helping to reduce traffic crashes. Back in 2023, about 50 people were hurt in crashes at the intersection of Highways 13 and 151 each month. Now that number has dropped to only two injury-accidents a month. The cameras at that intersection only give people tickets for running red lights, because an Iowa law prohibits using most cameras to issue speeding tickets. And the number of people running red lights in Marion has dropped. But in the last year, more than 10,000 drivers still ran red lights at the two intersections. One Marion police officer said many people get tickets for running red lights when turning right on red. If drivers don’t come to a complete stop before turning, the camera captures the violation and issues a citation. Although Marion can’t use fixed speed cameras due to the new state law, it does have a mobile speed camera that changes position. That camera issued about 1,600 speeding tickets.
DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) – Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand says his office received a qualifying request to audit the Iowa Department of Education and the Board of Educational Examiners. Democrat Senator Tony Bisignano requested an audit of the Iowa Department of Education’s licensing and background check procedures. In a statement, Sand said his office received the request on Wednesday afternoon. This comes after Republican lawmakers called for an audit of Des Moines Public Schools after the arrest of former superintendent, Ian Roberts, for illegally possessing firearms and being in the country illegally. Bisignano expressed in a statement that the responsibility for transparency extends beyond Des Moines Public Schools. “Ian Roberts was granted a license by the state Board of Education Examiners (BOEE), which operates under the authority of the Iowa Department of Education,” Bisignano said. “I am hopeful that an audit of the Board’s background check and licensing procedures will provide necessary accountability and begin to restore public trust.”
