From the Associated Press:
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — For years Americans have been told autonomous technology was improving and that driverless vehicles were just around the corner. Finally they’re here, but to catch a glimpse of them, you’ll need to go to a farm. Beginning this fall, tractors that can plow day or night with no one sitting in the cab will come off the John Deere factory assembly line in Waterloo, Iowa. The development follows more than a decade-long effort by the world’s largest farm equipment manufacturer, and marks a milestone for automation advocates, who for years have been explaining why driverless cars aren’t quite ready for prime time. Deere isn’t releasing the cost of the tractor. It plans to operate the tractors on 10 to 50 farms by this fall.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An 18-year-old student who was shot in the head in a shooting outside a Des Moines school that killed one teen and injured another is making what her family and doctors say is a remarkable recovery. Kemery Ortega’s parents tell the Des Moines Register she was rushed into emergency surgery on March 7 after the shooting at East High School, and doctors warned that her prognosis didn’t look good. Thirteen hours after the surgery, she opened her eyes and waved at her mother. Doctors said Ortega might struggle with speech, memory loss, or personality changes due to her injuries. But her mother, Miriam Montiel Téllez, says Ortega is speaking and writing normally and walking when she has the strength to do so.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A Coralville man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for a fatal 2020 crash police say he caused while under the influence of illegal drugs. The Gazette reports reports that 32-year-old Bryce James Wagehoft was sentenced Tuesday for the April 2020 death of 43-year-old Dawn Elaine Detweiler Stout. Wagehoft pleaded guilty last month to reckless vehicular homicide and being a habitual offender in the crash. He also pleaded to a third offense of operating while intoxicated, driving while barred and possession of drug paraphernalia. Investigators say Wagehoft was speeding when he passed another vehicle on a rural road near Palo and hit Detweiler’s vehicle, killing her. Police say a toxicology report showed Wagehoft had amphetamines, marijuana and opiates in his system.
BOONE, Iowa (AP) — Authorities now say that speed and alcohol were likely factors in a November crash that killed a police officer from Boone. The Polk County Sheriff’s office said Tuesday that Officer Mario Gonzalez was alone when his vehicle crashed on a highway near the town of Grimes. It wasn’t immediately clear how fast the vehicle was going. Gonzalez worked full-time for the Boone department from 2016 to October 2019, then began working part-time. He also was a member of the Iowa National Guard. Gonzalez was 26. He is survived by his wife and two young children.
WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Officials have identified a woman killed last month in a house fire in Waterloo. The Courier reports that authorities identified the woman as 79-year-old Mary Kaye Olsen. Olsen died in a fire that broke out Feb. 23 in a duplex between the Cedar River and Rooff Park. Firefighters called to the scene arrived to find smoke coming from the two-story structure’s windows. Fire officials say the cause of the blaze hasn’t been determined but said investigators have not found anything suspicious about how the fire started.
BUCKLIN, Kan. (AP) — An accident in southwestern Kansas has claimed the lives of three children from Iowa. The Kansas Highway Patrol says the accident happened around 3:30 p.m. Saturday on U.S. 54 near the town of Bucklin. The patrol says a 2008 Mercury was westbound when it crossed the center line and struck a tractor-trailer. The driver of the Mercury, 43-year-old David Clements of West Des Moines, Iowa, sustained serious injuries. Three children in the Mercury died. The patrol identified them as 12-year-old Juno Clements, 10-year-old Arabella Clements, and 7-year-old Harper Clements. The children were from Johnston, Iowa. The patrol report did not state the relationship between the driver and the children. The driver of the tractor-trailer was unhurt.
