From KCRG-TV9:
MILLVILLE, Iowa (KCRG) – A fire has caused extensive damage to a bar in rural Clayton County according to witnesses. The fire was reported Tuesday evening at the Bootleggers River Tavern, located along Noble Road in Millville not far from where Highway 52 crosses the Turkey River. Officials have not released any information on the fire.
From the Associated Press:
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa would be the first state in the nation to require that gas stations have pumps selling fuel with at least 15% ethanol under a bill that received final legislative approval Tuesday. When signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds, who initially proposed the mandate, the measure would give a boost to corn growers and the ethanol industry. Ethanol production consumes roughly half the state’s corn crop. Iowa leads the nation in corn and ethanol production. Most gas sold in Iowa and across the country now is blended with 10% ethanol.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A jury has convicted two men of murder for shooting three Iowa teenagers at point-blank range while stealing their video game console and cellphones. The Des Moines Register reports that 23-year-old Daishawn Gills was found guilty Monday of first-degree murder and robbery counts, while 21-year-old Emmanuel Totaye Jr. was found guilty of second-degree murder and robbery counts. A third man, 18-year-old Leontreal Jones, is expected to plead guilty Thursday to two robbery charges in a deal with prosecutors in which he testified against Gills and Totaye, saying they carried out the January 2020 shooting deaths of 19-year-old DeVonte Swanks and his brother, 16-year-old Malachi Swanks, as well as the brothers’ friend, 15-year-old Thayne Wright.
DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) – A Pleasant Valley man has been acquitted of two felony manslaughter counts but convicted of two lesser misdemeanor counts for his role in a 2020 boat crash that killed two people. The Quad-City Times reports that a jury found 45-year-old James Theil Sr. guilty Monday of two aggravated misdemeanor charges of involuntary manslaughter counts, but acquitted him of two felony manslaughter counts. Prosecutors say Thiel owned and was aboard the 35-foot center-console boat that crashed into a ski boat, killing 52-year-old Anita Pinc and her fianc, 61-year-old Craig Verbeke, both of Moline, Illinois. Investigators say a 15-year-old was driving Thiel’s boat at the time.
GREELEY, Iowa (AP) – Authorities have identified a young girl killed in an eastern Iowa house fire over the weekend. The Delaware County Sheriff’s Office tells television station KCRG that 9-year-old Brooklyn Lendt died in the Greeley fire. Firefighters were called to the house just after 3:30 a.m. Saturday, and the caller said there was a child inside the home. Crews later found the body of the girl in the charred remains of the house. Officials believe an electrical issue is the likely cause of the fire. Greeley is located about 60 miles northeast of Cedar Rapids.
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by Kansas to revive a law that banned secret filming at slaughterhouses and other livestock facilities but that was struck down by lower courts. The justices did not comment Monday in leaving in place a ruling by a federal appeals court panel that the so-called ag-gag law violated the First Amendment by stifling speech critical of animal agriculture. The Kansas law made it a crime for anyone to take a picture or video at an animal facility without the owner’s consent or to enter the facility under false pretenses. Federal appeals courts considering similar laws in Iowa and Idaho had split over the issue.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa man has been charged with first-degree murder after a deadly shooting at a Des Moines hotel Saturday night. Des Moines Police spokesman Sgt. Paul Parizek said a 54-year-old man was found wounded after the shooting Saturday night, and he died Sunday at a hospital. KCCI reported that the shooting happened in the parking lot of an AmericInn Hotel. Parizek said Eric Lewis Stricklin of West Des Moines was detained at the scene of the shooting and later charged with first-degree murder. The name of the victim was not immediately released Sunday.
