From the Associated Press:
DETROIT (AP) — Deere workers approved a new contract Wednesday that will deliver 10% raises immediately and end a monthlong strike for more than 10,000 employees. The United Auto Workers union members voted 61% in favor of the deal with the tractor maker. Waterloo workers were not in favor, however; they voted 56-44 against. It was the third vote on a contract offer. Workers recently rejected an offer that was similar to the one approved Wednesday. This latest proposal made only modest changes to the details of Deere’s internal incentive pay plan. The new contract covers 12 plants in Iowa, Illinois and Kansas where the Moline, Illinois-based company’s iconic John Deere equipment is made. The workers had been on strike since Oct. 14.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — State data shows hospitalizations, people in intensive care and deaths from COVID-19 are all up in Iowa. The information released Wednesday by the Iowa Department of Public Health data says 544 people are hospitalized with COVID-19, including 123 who are in intensive care. The latest report posted 102 deaths, which the agency says occurred between Sept. 15 and Nov. 11. The state is now reporting 7,268 deaths. Iowa is 15th in the nation for the death rate in the past week with 3.1 deaths per 100,000 people. About 9.7% of Iowa children aged 11-15 have received a dose of vaccine.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Chris Lykes scored 26 points and No. 16 Arkansas reeled off 13 straight points in the final minutes to beat Northern Iowa 93-80. The teams traded the lead 18 times and were tied another 10. Northern Iowa stayed competitive by making 17 of 37 from 3-point range and led 78-77. Jaylin Williams’ layup with 2:42 put Arkansas ahead for good. The Razorbacks forced three straight turnovers during the final run and finished off the game from the foul line. Arkansas is 3-0. Northern Iowa is 1-3.Trae Berhow led the Panthers with 23 points and shot 7 of 11 from deep.
MAQUOKETA, Iowa (AP) — Two people have died in a two-vehicle crash at Maquoketa in eastern Iowa. The Iowa State Patrol says the crash happened around 5 p.m. Tuesday when a southbound car turning left off Highway 61 was hit by a northbound pickup truck. Television station KCRG reports that the crash killed two men, 68-year-old Gary Schlapia and 61-year-old Michael Griffin, both of Maquoketa. It was not clear from a patrol report whether Schlapia and Griffin were in the same vehicle. Two other men were taken to hospitals for their injuries.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police in Des Moines are seeking two people suspected in the fatal shooting a dog that was protecting its owner during a home invasion early Wednesday. Police say the incident happened around 12:30 a.m. as a woman and her dog returned home from a walk. Investigators say two armed people kicked in the woman’s door, leading the dog to attack the intruders. Police say that’s when one of the suspects shot the dog. The dog was rushed to an emergency veterinarian hospital, but died of its injuries. Police say the suspects fled and no arrests have been made.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A former manager for an influential Iowa-based pork dealer has died in a crash, days after federal prosecutors charged him in a scheme to swindle hog farmers through fraudulent buying practices. The Iowa State Patrol says 70-year-old Steven Demaray, the former regional buying manager for Lynch Livestock, was driving a truck that crashed head-on Monday morning into a concrete overpass support pier on Highway 63 near New Hampton, where he lived. Demaray, who was known by his nickname “Shooter,” was the only person in the vehicle and died at a hospital. An accident report released Tuesday gave no indication why his truck left the road. A federal grand jury on Nov. 4 indicted Demaray and a former Lynch Livestock bookkeeper on two counts of mail fraud. Demaray had pleaded not guilty.
SIGOURNEY, Iowa (AP) — A 32-year-old Iowa man has been found guilty in the death of a Black man whose body was found burning in a ditch last year. Steven Vogel, of Grinnell, was convicted Tuesday of first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse. Prosecutors said he killed 44-year-old Michael Williams, whose body was found burning in September 2020 in a rural Jasper County ditch. Testimony during the trial indicated Vogel killed Williams because of a “love triangle” involving Vogel’s girlfriend. Three other people were charged in the case but Vogel was the only suspect charged with murder.
