Monday morning news headlines from the KXEL News Center:
Iowa’s unemployment rate remained at 3.7% in March, the same as the revised level in February. Iowa Workforce Development reported the stable unemployment rate on Friday as the state saw an increase both in the number of people employed and the number who were out of work. Iowa’s unemployment rate of 3.7% is compared to a 2.9% rate last year, before the full brunt of the coronavirus-caused economic slowdown hit the state. Iowa is tied with Kansas for the seventh-lowest unemployment rate in the country, far below the national unemployment rate in March of 6.0%.
A fifth Iowan has now been charged in connection with the January 6 U.S. Capitol disturbance. 37-year-old Kyle James Young of Redfield has been charged with assaulting Metropolitan Police Department Officer Michael Fanone and trying to steal the officer’s gun. Young is charged with counts of civil disorder, assault on an officer, and robbery. He was arrested last week by the FBI Omaha Field Office; he and two other men were indicated on Friday.
A man charged in a 2019 murder in East Dubuque entered a plea of guilty on Friday. As part of a plea agreement, 32-year-old Joseph Wright of Dubuque admitted guilt to a charge of 2nd Degree Murder for the shooting death of 44-year-old Jennifer Miller of East Dubuque, Illinois, on April 21, 2019. Wright was initially facing a 1st Degree Murder charge. A judge sentenced Wright to 17 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, followed by two years of supervised release.
A 72-year-old Sioux City man faces up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to having gun silencers mailed to him from China. Lloyd Clark entered the plea Thursday to smuggling goods into the U.S. Federal prosecutors said Customs and Border Protection officials seized parcels that were sent from China to Clark’s home. In November, authorities seized seven silencers, a modified rifle with an installed silencer and a World War II-era machine gun from Clark’s home. He did not have legal authority to own the items. Clark remains free on bond awaiting sentencing.
Data from the Iowa Department of Public Health shows that the state reached a new benchmark over the weekend…more than two million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered. According to the state database, a total of 851,762 people are fully vaccinated against the virus, with a total of 2,005,757 doses administered so far. 5,878 Iowans have died from coronavirus in the past 13 months.
For the first time since vaccinations began, some counties are declining vaccine allocations from the state. The decision comes as counties across Iowa are struggling to fill vaccine appointments. Webster County, for example, took only half of its 600 vaccine allotment, joining 20 other counties turning down vaccines. Low turnout at clinics is leaving health departments with hundreds of vials of unused doses. While they can just store them for later use, they’re deciding to accept fewer doses and let more vaccines go to other areas that may need them.
Grinnell College says all students will be required to show proof of vaccination before they can return to campus in the fall. The college said the requirement will allow students to return to full in-person classes. Grinnell is the first college or university in the state to require vaccinations by the fall, and it’s one of the few in the country to do so. But there will be some exceptions including for medical and religious reasons. College president Anne Harris said she expects the vaccination requirement will give students a greater sense of comfort when they return in the fall. Last week, the Iowa Board of Regents said such a requirement would not be in place for UNI, Iowa, or Iowa State.
The man police say killed a Fort Dodge pastor will be on trial starting today. Joshua Pendleton faces first-degree murder and robbery charges in connection with the death of Al Henderson, who was found unresponsive outside St. Paul Lutheran Church on Oct. 2nd, 2019. During questioning by police, investigators say Pendleton confessed to being at the church and having a physical confrontation with Henderson, who was a pastor at the church. Henderson’s cell phone was later found in Pendleton’s possession. Pendleton was previously considered unfit to stand trial due to a mental health condition but was cleared last May after further evaluation. He has entered a plea of not guilty and his lawyers are preparing an insanity defense.
