OELWEIN, Iowa (KCRG) – Newly filed court documents show a woman admitted to investigators that she set the fire that destroyed three homes in Oelwein Tuesday morning. Jeannie Murphy, 50, is charged with two counts of First Degree Arson and one count of Second Degree Arson. The fire started just after 2:00 a.m. Tuesday at a home in the 300 block of First Ave NE in Oelwein before spreading to two neighboring homes. All three homes are considered total losses. Oelwein police have not said what led them to Murphy, but court records list Murphy as living at 316 First Ave NE in Oelwein, one of the homes that burned down. A December 2023 arrest on drug charges also listed Murphy’s address as 316 First Ave NE in Oelwein. That drug charge was later dismissed. Murphy was also arrested in 2023 and charged with attempted murder for an attack on a detention officer in the Fayette County Jail. She later took a plea deal to assault on persons in certain occupations and received a year probation. Also in 2023, Murphy was charged with domestic assault after Oelwein police said Murphy poured a homemade acid on a man in the home at 316 First Ave NE. She took a plea deal in that case and received a 2-day jail sentence.
DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) – Senator Joni Ernst has named a campaign manager for her 2026 re-election. Bryan Kraber will serve as Ernst’s campaign manager. According to a press release from Ernst, Kraber has more than ten years of experience in Iowa politics. He has also worked on several federal and state campaigns, including Ernst’s campaign for U.S. Senate in 2020. Several people have announced campaigns for Ernst’s seat, including Democrat J.D. Scholten, Democrat Nathan Sage, and Republican Joshua Smith.
OELWEIN, Iowa (KCRG) – Misty Cook, the mother of Lyric Cook-Morrissey, was arrested on multiple drug charges Tuesday evening in Oelwein. The Oelwein Police Department says officers, along with Iowa State Patrol, conducted a search warrant in the 300 block of 6th Avenue SE in Oelwein at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. During the search, illegal controlled substances were found and seized by authorities. Cook, 47, is charged with Conspiracy with Intent to Manufacture or Deliver Meth and Conspiracy with Intent to Manufacture or Deliver Marijuana. Both are felony charges. Cook is also charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, a simple misdemeanor. Oelwein Police say Zackery Frazer, 31, and Regina Larsen, 52, are also facing the same charges as Cook. Arrest warrants have been requested. The case is still under investigation. Cook is the mother of Lyric Cook-Morrissey. Lyric and her cousin, Elizabeth Collins, were abducted from Evansdale in July 2012. The girls’ bodies were found in a rural area of Bremer County in December 2012. Cook has faced legal troubles in the time since her daughter’s murder. In June 2023, she was arrested on meth charges in West Union. Cook took a plea deal in that case and was given a suspended prison sentence. She was also arrested on meth charges in 2013. She was sentenced to ten years in prison in 2014. She served a portion of her sentence before being released.
MARION, Iowa (KCRG) – Wilkins Elementary School held an assembly Wednesday to surprise the school principal, Amanda Potter. At the assembly, Potter learned she is one of just 10 winners to get her picture printed on a box of Wheaties cereal. A PTO member nominated Potter for the recognition. The parent who nominated Potter said she works to make sure Wilkins is a safe, happy place to learn and have fun. She said Potter is more than a principal, acting instead as a captain of the Wilkins team–from helping in the hallways, to the parking lot, and always showing up to support families and teachers. “I think that these teachers and staff members all want to be here, not only because they love and care about children, but because they love and care about each other. So it really is a family here, and I think our students feel that, and I think they feel like they are a part of a true family while they are here at school,” Potter said. She plans to display the cereal box at the school, so students and families who’d like to see it can check it out.
