BLACK HAWK COUNTY, Iowa (KCRG) – The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation is investigating a fatal shooting in Black Hawk County. The shooting happened along Highway 20 around 9:30 p.m. Sunday. Iowa State Patrol and other law enforcement began pursuing a Waterloo man in Grundy County. Officials say the man’s vehicle stopped on the side of the road in Black Hawk County when he came out of the car and fired at officers. Grundy County Deputies and an Iowa State Trooper returned fire, hitting the man. Officers performed lifesaving measures on the man and he was taken to Mercy One in Waterloo, where he was pronounced dead. The officers involved were uninjured and have been placed on leave per department policy.
BREMER COUNTY, Iowa (Iowa Capital Dispatch/KCRG) – A group of 11 Bremer County EMTs and paramedics are suing Waverly Health Center for what they claim are unpaid wages. The plaintiffs — Nicole White, Brent Smeins, Miria Schuster, Dave Wedeking, Devontez Roberts, Jeff Mason, Kimberly Browning, Anthony Haubrich, Gayle Robinson, Leland Williams and Kerigan Kammeyer — are each current or former emergency medical technicians or paramedics employed by the ambulance department of the Waverly Health Center. WHC operates an array of medical clinics located in Waverly, Janesville, Nashua and Shell Rock. The plaintiffs allege that while employed by WHC, they had a regular rotating schedule in which they worked a 24-hour shift and then received 48 hours off, while occasionally working additional hours beyond their regular shift. In May 2022 and again in April 2023, WHC allegedly announced a policy to begin paying hourly employees who worked nights and weekends a “shift differential” in addition to their regular rate of pay. In August 2024, the policy was allegedly revised to state that hourly employees who worked nights and weekends would receive a shift differential of $2 to $15 per hour depending on when the hours were worked. The lawsuit claims the 2022, 2023 and 2024 shift differential policies were communicated to the paramedics and EMTs by email, with each recipient required to review and acknowledge the policies electronically. Despite this, the lawsuit claims, the EMTs and paramedics never were paid the applicable shift differentials. The lawsuit, filed in state court before being transferred this week to federal court, seeks unspecified damages for alleged violations of Iowa’s wage laws and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Waverly Health Center has yet to file a response to the lawsuit.
LINN COUNTY, Iowa (KCRG) – A jury on Monday found Luke Truesdell guilty of three counts of first-degree murder and one count of second-degree murder. Luke Truesdell faced four first degree murder charges in the deaths of Romondus Cooper, Keonna Ryan, Amanda Parker, and Brent Brown. In the death of Romondus Cooper, the jury found Truesdell guilty of second-degree murder. Investigators say Truesdell used a metal pipe to beat all four victims to death inside a detached garage on East Otter Road, Cooper, Ryan, and Parker died at the scene. Brown died at a hospital. Truesdell will spend the rest of his life in prison.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – A Tama man was sentenced to 17 years in prison for distributing and possessing child pornography. 36-year-old Jacob Yang, of Tama, pleaded guilty to distributing and possessing child pornography in May. Authorities say Yang admitted to distributing child pornography to others in March 2024. He also received child pornography between 2019 and 2025. According to the attorney’s office, he stored the images on his phone and computer, including content involving an infant or toddler. Yang must serve five years of supervised release following imprisonment and pay victims $15,000 in restitution.
