From the Associated Press (11:20 a.m.):
SPIRIT LAKE, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa State Patrol says a Minnesota woman and her 1-year-old baby died in a crash in northwestern Iowa that also injured four others, including woman’s two other children. The crash happened late Saturday morning at an intersection northeast of Spirit Lake. A patrol investigation found that an eastbound car driven by 29-year-old Mariah Nelson, of Jackson, Minnesota, ran a stop sign and collided with a southbound pickup truck driven by 63-year-old Allen Weinzetl, also of Jackson, Minnesota. Television station KTIV reports that Nelson and her 1-year-old son, Symere Williams, died in the crash. Nelson’s daughters, ages 5 and 6, were rushed to a hospital with serious injuries. Weinzetl and his passenger, 58-year-old Teresa Chonko, also were injured and taken to hospitals.
MONTROSE, Iowa (AP) – A train struck a barge in southeast Iowa late Saturday night, knocking several cars off the tracks and spilling coal into the Mississippi River. BNSF railroad officials told the Burlington Hawk Eye that two coal cars landed in the river and three others were partially in the water after the collision near Montrose, Iowa that also knocked over two locomotives. One other car that left the tracks remained upright. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources said several hundred gallons of diesel fuel also spilled out of the locomotives. No injuries were reported. The railroad said it will work to remove any coal that ended up in the river.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A Sunday morning shooting in Des Moines left one man dead and another injured. Des Moines Police said the shooting was reported around 4 a.m. Sunday. Officers found an 18-year-old Des Moines man critically hurt with a gunshot injury inside a vehicle near the intersection of Pennsylvania and E. University Avenue. That man was taken to a hospital where he later died. Police said in a statement that a 23-year-old Des Moines man was also injured in the shooting, which took place in a road about one mile east of where the victims were found. Police said the shooting was the city’s 12th homicide of the year.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Deere & Co. and union officials have reached a third preliminary contract agreement that workers who began striking four weeks ago will vote on soon. The United Auto Workers said in a statement Friday night that the proposed contract with the agricultural machinery giant “includes modest modifications” to the latest rejected proposal, which included immediate 10% raises. The union described the new proposal as the company’s “last, best and final offer.” The contract, which union members will vote on on Wednesday, would cover more than 10,000 Deere workers at 12 facilities in Iowa, Illinois and Kansas, who make the company’s iconic John Deere green tractors and other equipment.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Two southeast Iowa teenagers have been formally charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the death of a high school Spanish teacher. Prosecutors in Fairfield filed documents containing the charges Friday against Willard Noble Chaiden Miller and Jeremy Everett Goodale. Documents alleged the two 16-year-olds killed Nohema Graber on or about Nov. 2. A judge said he reviewed details of the crime laid out in a sealed document and was convinced they warrant a jury trial. Both are being held in jail. Bond reduction hearings are set for Nov. 23. Arraignment for both is Nov. 29. Goodale’s attorney declined to comment. Miller’s attorney did not immediately respond to a message.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa judge accused of trying to rig a judicial nomination to get a favored candidate appointed to the bench has agreed to not lead any future selection processes. The Iowa Judicial Branch says District Judge Kurt Stoebe could also face an investigation by the Iowa Judicial Qualifications Commission, an independent body that investigates allegations of misconduct. The Iowa Supreme Court could discipline Stoebe, who was appointed by then-Gov. Chet Culver in 2011, only after receiving a report from the commission. Gov. Kim Reynolds on Thursday said an investigation by her staff found that Stoebe’s misconduct tainted the process of interviewing candidates and recommending finalists for an open district court judgeship in District 2b in central Iowa.
