From the Associated Press (11:20 a.m.):
ARGYLE, Iowa (AP) – The Animal Rescue League of Iowa says it has removed hundreds of animals from the same rural Lee County property where it rescued 42 dogs in February. The organization said in a news release that it helped remove 225 dogs, barn animals, reptiles and small animals from the home last week. It says the animals were living in “horrendous” conditions. In February, the organization removed 42 dogs and puppies and 41 hamsters from the same property. The Des Moines Register reports a man and woman from the Argyle area were charged with seven counts of animal neglect on March 7, before the latest rescue.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Des Moines police say two people were injured in a shooting outside a bar. Police Sgt. Paul Parizek said the shooting occurred about midnight Saturday at a Whisky River bar. One man was taken from the bar to a hospital with a gunshot wound. Parizek says he is expected to survive. A second person later walked into a West Des Moines hospital with a minor gunshot wound that Parizek says occurred in the same shooting. Parizek says the shooting stemmed from a dispute at the bar. No arrests have been made as the investigation continues.
DETROIT (AP) – Canadian Teamsters and CP Rail blamed each other for a work stoppage Sunday that halted trains across Canada and interrupted shipments to and from the U.S. More than 3,000 CP Rail conductors, engineers, train and yard workers represented by the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference are off the job after negotiators failed to reach a deal by a midnight deadline. Both sides say they are talking with federal mediators. Canadian Pacific covers much of the U.S. Midwest and is a large shipper of potash and fertilizer for agriculture. It also carries grain from the U.S. to Canada.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa. (AP) – A 62-year-old Cedar Rapids man who police say was the leader of a drug-trafficking ring has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison. George Patrick Ashby was sentenced Friday for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. Court documents say he distributed meth and heroin in the Cedar Rapids area from 2018 through March 2020. Ashby told investigators that his meth supply came from Fort Madison, Burlington and another city in Iowa. Two other men who were working with Ashby have been convicted of conspiracy.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – State agriculture officials say the confirmation of bird flu at another Iowa egg-laying farm will force the killing of more than 5 million chickens. It’s the second case of avian influenza in Buena Vista County, about 160 miles northwest of Des Moines, but the outbreak confirmed Friday is at an operation with 5.3 million chickens. The earlier case was at a farm with about 50,000 turkeys. The latest case means nearly 12.6 million chicken and turkeys in at least eight states have been killed or will be destroyed soon. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the cases in birds do not present an immediate public health concern.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Supreme Court has for the first time formally recognized transitional alimony, a new type of support that may be considered in divorce cases. The court said transitional alimony may address an inequity not addressed by the other recognized categories of support. The Iowa court’s decision came at in the case of a Dubuque physician who appealed an Iowa Court of Appeals decision that had awarded his ex-wife $1.2 million in alimony over 12 years. The Supreme Court ruled that factors in the marriage supported the need for an alternative to traditional alimony.
