There are now four Second Amendment Sanctuary counties in Iowa…after the Boards of Supervisors in both Madison and Cedar counties approved resolutions on the topic yesterday. The resolutions prevent law enforcement from enforcing state or federal gun laws that appear to violate the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. The two other counties that previously approved such resolutions are Jasper and Hardin.
An Evansdale man has entered pleas of guilty to charges that he stole a tanker semi filled with biodiesel fuel and crashed into a home last August. 26-year-old Dakota David Luck entered pleas Monday in Black Hawk County District Court to first-degree theft, reckless use of explosives and possession of marijuana. The most serious charge, first-degree theft, is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Police say Luck stripped naked at the Kwik Trip fuel blending facility on West Ridgeway Avenue in the early morning hours of Aug. 20 and drove off in a semi tanker with 76,000 gallons of biodiesel. The semi reached speeds of 70 mph and struck a minivan, a beer delivery truck, and a house. The wreck spilled thousands of gallons of biodiesel, triggering environmental cleanup efforts for the soil at the collision site and a nearby creek. Police searched Luck’s pickup truck back at the blending facility and found a bag and a pill bottle with marijuana inside.
A Dubuque teen was taken to the hospital Monday night after being shot. Officers responded to UnityPoint Health-Finley Hospital shortly after 10:30 Monday night for a report of a 17-year-old with a gunshot wound. The teen was taken to the hospital by private vehicle and is reportedly in stable condition. The shooting happened earlier in the night in the 400 block of Rhomberg Ave. near the Hardee’s. Police believe the victim and suspect knew each other. No details have been released about the suspect and the investigation is ongoing. It’s the second time this month a teen was shot in Dubuque. 18-year-old Robert Powell-Moore was shot and killed by two other teens on July 17.
RAGBRAI riders are on their way from Iowa Falls to Waterloo this morning for the “day four” overnight stop. There will be music from multiple downtown stages, and 15 bars and 24 restaurants are within walking distance of the RAGBRAI set up. Headlining the evening entertainment will be Purple Xperience, a Prince Tribute band. RAGBRAI riders will then head out of Waterloo, through Center Point and to Anamosa tomorrow. News/Talk 1540 KXEL is the exclusive radio sponsor of the Waterloo RAGBRAI stop.
The first Democrat to announce plans to run for Congress in 2022 made it official yesterday…state Sen. Liz Mathis of Robins announced she would be seeking her party’s nomination in next June’s primary for the right to face incumbent GOP Congresswoman Ashley Hinson of Marion. Mathis has been in the state senate for the past decade, and spent much of her career as a television anchor.
Manchester will soon elect a new mayor for the first time since 1974. Mayor Milt Kramer said during a City Council meeting Monday night he will not be seeking re-election. Kramer and his wife were honored for their decades of service to the town earlier this year when the city named its aquatic center for them.
The Des Moines Metropolitan Wastewater Reclamation Authority has begun sampling sewage as part of a national program to track the spread of the coronavirus and its variants. Agency workers began collecting samples last week and shipping them to a national lab in Maine. The effort is funded by the federal government and is expected to continue for eight or nine weeks. Larry Hare, manager of the southeast Des Moines sewage treatment plant, says sewage sampling can inform officials if a dangerous virus or germ is circulating in a community.
