Law enforcement officials have released more details about a fire in Swisher yesterday morning. Shortly before 5:30, Johnson County emergency responders were sent to a fire at a home at 1726 Derby Avenue NW in a rural area southwest of Swisher. Firefighters extinguished a fire on the second story of the house, and also located two residents inside the home. 59-year-old Linda Ludvicek was pronounced dead at the scene. 38-year-old Jeremy Ludvicek was injured and taken to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City via ambulance. The cause of the fire is still being investigated.
Police have arrested a 13-year-old after they say he fired gunshots at an occupied home in Cedar Rapids Tuesday night. It happened in the 600 block alley between 16th Avenue and 18th Avenue Southwest just after 11 p.m. Officers said they heard gunshots in the alley and immediately went to the area, where they saw a dark-colored sport utility vehicle heading eastbound in the alley entering 6th Street Southwest without its headlights on. The suspect vehicle was stopped in the 500 block of 16th Avenue Southwest, and multiple people were removed, leading to the teenager’s arrest.
State Auditor Rob Sand released a report on Wednesday detailing a special investigation into operations of the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office between 2018 and 2020. The special investigation uncovered more than 100 instances in which an inmate was either released early or late—not matching the time sentenced. There was also more than 100 instances in which jail time served was not recorded, or there was insufficient data to determine if an inmate had served more or less than the time they were sentenced to serve. There was also insufficient data to determine if all jail collections were properly deposited into the county’s accounts. Sand recommended the sheriff’s office strengthen its procedures, including adequate records and periodic comparisons of jail time served to jail time sentenced.
No improvement expected in the state drought monitor to be released today, and the effect of this drought on crops and livestock is the subject of a meeting for those in Franklin and Hardin Counties this coming Monday, sponsored by ISU Extension. Extension field agronomist Angie Rieck-Hinz gave KXEL’s Tim Harwood an overview of the impact. And even though rain is in the forecast for tomorrow night…rain now really won’t have an impact on this growing season. The meeting will be Monday at the Ackley Recreation Club from 9-11 a.m. The full conversation is a podcast at kxel.com.
A contractor that recently took over management of the University of Iowa utility system has been cited for safety violations after a worker fell into an underground steam tunnel and was injured. The Iowa Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Engie North America for five violations in connection with the March 25 incident in which a steamfitter fell 20 feet from a ladder down a maintenance hatch. Engie agreed to pay a $16,000 penalty as part of a settlement reached last month, and says it has repaired one ladder and taken another out of service. Engie also defends its overall safety record. The company took over the university’s utilities operations under a landmark $1.2 billion privatization agreement that went into effect last year.
Police have arrested a Des Moines man accused of setting his father’s house on fire while the elderly man was still inside it. Police say 48-year-old Shane Lorenz was arrested Wednesday and charged with attempted murder and first-degree arson. Investigators believe Lorenz started the fire Saturday morning at his father’s home. Police say Lorenz’s father survived by climbing out his bedroom window, suffering minor injuries in the process. Lorenz is being held in the Polk County Jail.
