The Bremer County Sheriff’s Office reported yesterday that an 18-year-old male was killed in a single-vehicle accident just after 5:30 early Saturday morning. It happened at the intersection of 160th St. and Y Ave. south of Sumner. Carter Cannon of Hawkeye was driving an auto north in the 1600 block of Y Ave. when the vehicle went into the west ditch, hit a culvert, landed on its top on 160th St., and caught fire. Cannon was the only one in the vehicle.
An internal report has found that state police officers in Iowa drew their weapons and used force against suspects significantly more often in 2020 than in prior years, due to a major increase in resistance. The Iowa Department of Public Safety’s annual report on force incidents found that suspects fled in vehicles and on foot from officers far more often last year than before. It found that officers responded by drawing their handguns, shotguns and rifles 269 times in 2020, an 83% increase from the prior year. Officers also took or ordered suspects to the ground in dozens more cases compared with 2019.
Campers looking to overnight in Iowa’s state parks this year will pay more to do so. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has raised camping fees at the state’s parks for the first time in more than 20 years. The move comes after the state legislature passed a measure in 2018 allowing the department to set its own fees. Under the agency’s new four-tier pricing structure, out-of-the-way parks that get fewer visitors won’t see a rate increase. But larger parks that draw more visitors will see nightly fee increases from 25% to 55%, which will mean an increase of about $3 to $7 per night, depending on amenities.
The Land Trends and Value Survey reported a statewide average increase of 7.8% for tillable cropland values in Iowa. This is for the period between September 2020 and March 2021. In some areas, high quality cropland is selling at $11,191 per acre. Timber is selling at $2,981 per acre. The cropland market is being helped by strong commodity prices, reasonable interest rates, and a limited supply of available land.
Iowa first district Congresswoman Ashley Hinson is part of a congressional delegation visiting the U.S. southern border today. The members will travel to Eagle Pass, Texas to tour a Department of Homeland Security Detention Facility and meet with area law enforcement officials. Then they’ll tour the border area in Del Rio, Texas and meet with U.S. Border Patrol leadership.
The Delaware County Sheriff’s Office is investigating after a body was found in the water at Bailey’s Ford Park Monday afternoon. Investigators found the body of an 82-year-old man lying face down in Spring Branch Creek at the north end of the park around 1 p.m. The man had been fishing at the park. His fishing pole and hat were found on the edge of the water just upstream from where his body was found. The Sheriff’s Office says it’s unclear if the man fell in or suffered a medical issue. The water depth in that area of the creek is around one to two feet deep and the shoreline also has several large rocks along the bank.
Voters who did not participate in the 2020 General Election need to be on the lookout for a mailer from the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office. Secretary of State Paul Pate says he wants all Iowans to know the “No Activity” mailer is required by state and federal law. It’s to update voter registration information including your current residential address. The state says Iowans who receive the notice should fill it out and sent it back right away. No postage is required.
A Des Moines man police accused of intentionally running over and killing a local college instructor has been sentenced to 50 years in prison. 50-year-old Jason Sassman was sentenced Monday after being convicted in February of second-degree murder in connection with the April 5, 2020, death of 38-year-old Lauren Rice. Police have said Sassman was using meth when he intentionally ran over Rice as she walked her dog, which also died. Police say Sassman told investigators he ran down Rice because he believed she was a criminal about to kill someone. Rice was an instructor at Des Moines Area Community College.
Police say a man wanted in the fatal shooting last week of another man in Mason City has been arrested in Algona. Police say 38-year-old Benjamin Gonzalez of Mason City was arrested Monday, four days after an arrest warrant was issued for him in last Wednesday’s shooting death of 36-year-old Michael Creviston. Gonzalez has been charged with first-degree murder and is being held on $1 million cash bond at the Cerro Gordo County Jail.
Cedar Rapids police have identified a man fatally stabbed earlier this week at a motel. 33-year-old Victor Huerta died from his injuries in the stabbing that happened around midnight early Sunday morning in a guest room at the Residence Inn. Police say two men at the scene of the stabbing were arrested. That included 39-year-old Victoriano Dias-Barrera, who was charged with first-degree murder and other counts. The second man, 29-year-old Anthony Diaz, was arrested on a murder warrant in a separate case in Texas.
