From the Associated Press (11:20 a.m.):
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) – A man and woman face charges for allegedly restraining a man while striking and burning him in Cedar Falls. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that 46-year-old Donovan James Danielson and 32-year-old Nicole Elise Sage could face life in prison if convicted. Both were arrested Sunday on first-degree kidnapping charges and it wasn’t immediately clear on Monday if they had attorneys. Police say the suspects were armed with a handgun when they restrained the victim to a chair, gagged and burned him and struck him with blunt objects inside a Cedar Falls home. The man later made his way to a motel and called police. The suspects are jailed on $500,000 bond each.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa officials say they will continue to strive for fewer than 300 annual traffic deaths, but it won’t happen in 2021. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports that as of Friday, Iowa traffic death count stood at 312. Iowa Department of Transportation officials say that outpaces the death toll for the same date in the four previous years, but it is below the 350 count by the same time in 2016 – the last year that highway crashes claimed more than 400 lives. A safety campaign will continue that urges drivers to slow down, buckle up, drive sober and remain distraction-free heading into the busy Thanksgiving holiday travel period.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Much of downtown Des Moines, Iowa, has been transformed in the past decade by new apartments, shops and restaurants, but a stench from animal processing plants still often lingers over all that shiny new development. Many other cities across the country are dealing with similar problems as angry residents deluge officials with complaints and file lawsuits. Companies have responded by installing new equipment, making payments to neighbors or even closing down. In Des Moines, officials recently began a comprehensive study that will lead to tighter regulations on some smelly manufacturing plants to finally clear the air.
BOONE, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa police officer died in a car crash while he was off duty this weekend. The Boone Police Department said Mario Gonzalez died Saturday in a crash, but they didn’t immediately release any details about the crash. Gonzalez had been a part-time officer with the department since 2019. Before that, he worked full-time for the department between August 2016 and October 2019. He was also a member of the Iowa Army National Guard. The Des Moines Register reports that 312 people had died in traffic crashes across the state this year as of Friday. That’s 26 higher than at the same time last year.
WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation has identified the man shot and killed by police in Waterloo as 42-year-old Brent Lee Boggess. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier on Saturday also reported that the officer involved in the shooting was Ken Schaaf. Police say a chase began when Boggess was spotted driving recklessly and tried to hit an officer’s patrol car. Several other officers converged to stop his car. Police say Boggess refused to get out of the car and instead rammed a patrol car. Police say Schaaf then fatally shot him.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Four Iowans have pleaded guilty to participating in a loan fraud scheme involving small businesses. Federal prosecutors announced Friday that three former executives of Valley Bank in Moline, Illinois, and the president of Vital Financial Services fraudulently obtained loan guarantees from the Small Business Administration on behalf of Valley Bank borrowers. The defendants knew the loans did not meet SBA’s requirements for the loan guarantees. The defendants are Susan McLaughlin of Bettendorf; Michael Slater, of Clive; 43-year-old Andrew Erpelding and 70-year-old Larry Henson, both of Davenport. In all, the defendants successfully obtained guarantees on more than $9 million in loans and caused the SBA to lose more than $4.5 million.
