From the Associated Press (11:20 a.m.):
DYERSVILLE, Iowa (AP) – The new owners of the “Field of Dreams” site in Iowa plan to use $80 million in private investment to make the popular tourist attraction a destination for youth baseball and softball tournaments. The Des Moines Register reports that Go the Distance said in a news release Thursday that the money will be used to build baseball and softball fields, team dormitories and a hotel, among other improvements. Go the Distance’s CEO is longtime Chicago White Sox star and hall-of-famer Frank Thomas. The site in rural Dyersville, Iowa, has long been a popular destination, since the 1989 Kevin Costner movie.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A lawyer for former Democratic Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer has told the Iowa Supreme Court that a lower court judge was wrong to kick her off the June 7 primary ballot for U.S. Senate and the high court should allow her to run in June’s primary for the chance to try to unseat Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley. A panel of state officials concluded that signatures with missing or incorrect dates on Finkenauer’s nomination petitions still substantially complied with state law. But the lower court judge said a literal interpretation of the law required the signatures to be disqualified. The high court heard arguments Wednesday and must rule before Monday, when ballots must go to printers in order to be mailed on time to Iowans abroad.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – Court records indicate that a suspect charged in a deadly Iowa nightclub shooting is the father of one homicide victim’s child and once worked at the nightclub. Police arrested 32-year-old Timothy Rush on Monday, and he was charged with second-degree murder and other counts in the shooting death of 35-year-old Nicole Owens and the wounding of another man early Sunday at the Taboo Nightclub and Lounge in Cedar Rapids. Police have said Rush was one of two people who fired shots in the crowded club, killing Owens and 25-year-old Michael Valentine and injuring 10 others. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports Linn County birth records show Rush and Owens are the parents of a girl born in early 2021.
GILMORE CITY, Iowa (AP) – The National Weather Service has confirmed a tornado hit near Gilmore City in north-central Iowa as a strong line of storms moved across the state Tuesday night into Wednesday. Weather service meteorologist Rod Donavon in Des Moines said Wednesday that the tornado was confirmed by a trained spotter southwest of the small town of Gilmore City and tracked several miles to the northeast. Donavon says up to 10 tornadoes were reported across mostly the northern half of the state as the storms moved through, but only ones near Logan in western Iowa and near Stacyville and St. Ansgar in northeastern Iowa have been confirmed. There have been no reports of serious injuries with the storms.
RISON, Ark. (AP) – Officials say a 20-year-old Arkansas woman was killed when a tree fell on her home as severe storms swept through the state. Her death occurred Wednesday as part of a multiday severe weather outbreak that caused tornadoes, powerful winds and huge hail in parts of the central and southern United States. A possible tornado also caused damage Wednesday night in rural Greene County, Alabama. A day earlier, 23 people were injured in the central Texas town of Salado. Tornadoes were also reported Tuesday in parts of Iowa and Minnesota. And a blizzard struck North Dakota this week, closing the state Capitol, schools, government offices and interstates.
Iowa’s solicitor general has pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge of assault after he was arrested and accused over the weekend of taking several swings at a Des Moines bar bouncer. The Des Moines Register reports that 64-year-old Jeffrey Thompson, of Des Moines, was arrested late Friday night following the altercation with a bouncer at Blazing Saddle bar who was reportedly trying to escort Thompson out of the bar. Thompson, who is a member of the Iowa Attorney General’s Office and represents the state in legal matters, was released on $300 cash bond. He pleaded not guilty to the the charge on Monday. If convicted, he faces up to 30 days in jail and a $855 fine.
