From the Associated Press:
GRUNDY CENTER, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa man has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for fatally shooting an Iowa State Patrol trooper last year during a standoff and shootout with police. The mandatory sentence was handed down Monday, a little more than a month after a jury found 42-year-old Michael Lang guilty of first-degree murder, attempted murder and assaulting a police officer for his actions on April 9, 2021, that killed patrol Sgt. Jim Smith. Smith was shot as he led a tactical team into Lang’s home to arrest him following Lang’s assault of another officer during a traffic stop that day. Smith was a 27-year patrol veteran. Judge Joel Dalrymple also ordered Lang to pay $150,000 in restitution to Smith’s estate.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A 71-year-old Iowa City man who seriously wounded a U.S. Marine while shooting an air rifle at a squirrel has been fined $855 after pleading guilty in April to a misdemeanor. The Press-Citizen reports that Philip Olson was issued the fine Thursday for violating an Iowa City ordinance prohibiting the discharge of toy guns and slingshots. Police have said Olson was shooting at a squirrel in his yard last October when he hit then 20-year-old Gabe Heefner, of Kirkwood, Missouri, who was driving by. Police found Heefner in a wrecked car with what looked like a gunshot wound to the head. At the time, Heefner was a lance corporal in the Marines who was in Iowa City visiting his grandparents and friends.
YARMOUTH, Iowa (AP) — The Des Moines County Sheriff’s Office has identified a man killed in a grain silo collapse as a 30-year-old resident of the small southeast Iowa city of Winfield. The sheriff’s office said Friday taht Rickey Ryan Kammerer was killed in the collapse of the silo Tuesday morning at the Agri-way Grain Elevators in Yarmouth. His body was recovered Wednesday afternoon. Authorities said two men had just unloaded a semitrailer full of grain into a holding shed at the elevator when they heard a loud bang and began running from the facility as the silo partially collapsed. Nearly 60 emergency responders, contractors and towing crew members responded to the scene to remove the debris in an effort to reach the man.
BURLINGTON, Iowa (AP) — Burlington, Iowa, has agreed to pay $5 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the mother of a man who was shot to death by police five years ago. The settlement announced Thursday comes nearly five years after Officer Chris Chiprez fatally shot 27-year-old Marquis Jones. Police stopped Jones on Oct. 1, 2017, for allegedly playing music too loudly, and police say he ran away with a gun in his hand. Chiprez said in reports that he thought Jones was armed when he shot him. But lawyers for Jones’ mother say evidence showed Jones had dropped the gun yards away and was nearly prone on the ground when he was shot.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sixteen states and Puerto Rico are jockeying for early slots on a new Democratic presidential primary calendar, offering presentations for party bosses on why they deserve to go first — or at least close to it. Iowa has held the leadoff position since 1972, but technical glitches undermined its Democratic caucus two years ago. That sparked clamor for change. States are pressing their case over three days of Democrats’ Rules and Bylaws Committee meetings. The full Democratic National Committee plans to vote in August. It could opt to alter the current order of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina — or keep it the same.
AMES, Iowa (AP) — The men’s hockey club at Iowa State University has been suspended for the next academic year. University officials announced Thursday an investigation found the club engaged in alcohol abuse, personal humiliation and hazing against new or rookie members. An investigation also found the club coerced money from new members for admission, continued membership and status in the club. A separate investigation found Recreation Services staff and the club’s coaches did not understand or have appropriate oversight of student complaints and club finances. The club’s players, parents and alumni denied the allegations and said they would explore all options for responding to the suspension.
