DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Another teenager accused in a fatal shooting near an Iowa high school has admitted to the crime, marking the fifth guilty plea among the 10 people charged. The Des Moines Register reports that 18-year-old Daniel Hernandez pleaded guilty Friday to second-degree murder and two counts of willful injury. Ten teenagers were charged in the shooting that happened March 7 outside Des Moines’ East High School. Fifteen-year-old Jose Lopez died. His sister, 16-year-old Jessica Lopez, along with 18-year-old Kemery Ortega, were badly injured. Jose Lopez was not a student at the school, but the two injured teens were.
DES MOINES, Iowa (Iowa’s News Now) — Last Friday, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate hosted a ceremony with members of the Legislature and the Iowa Firearms Coalition to commemorate the ratification of the 49th Amendment to the Constitution of the State of Iowa. The event was held in the Secretary of State’s Office in the Iowa Capitol building. The ‘Right to Keep and Bear Arms’ Amendment to the Constitution of the State of Iowa was proposed by the 88th General Assembly in 2019 and was readopted by the 89th General Assembly in 2021. On November 8, 2022, the citizens of the State of Iowa voted 748,363 to 399,959 in favor of the amendment’s adoption. This marks the 49th amendment to the Iowa’s 1857 constitution.
MARENGO, Iowa (Iowa’s News Now) — The City of Marengo is still reeling after Thursday’s explosion at the C-6 Zero Bio Plant. It took fire crews about 15 hours to put out the fire. On Friday, engineers assessed the building which had significant structural damage. While investigators are looking into the exact cause of the explosion, authorities said maintenance was being done to a conveyor belt when the explosion happened. There were 15 reported injuries. At least two people were in serious condition at the UIHC Burn Unit. Residents on the eastern part of Marengo said the explosion rocked their homes, and many were forced to evacuate because of the smoke and chemicals. Iowa Valley High School is less than a mile away from the plant. It was placed on lockdown following the explosion. Some students were not able to leave until 4:30 p.m. on Friday.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Leaders of the Five Seasons Ski Team said someone stole $10,000 to $12,000 worth of sound equipment from the team’s trailers. Ryan Furnish, the president of the team, is the one who discovered the theft on Thursday. Amps, speakers, microphones, and other pieces of the sound system for the show were gone. “They have no idea—I mean, the thousands of hours it takes. It’s not just like, ‘We got to go buy it again.’ We have to spend thousands of hours working in fundraising to try and get it back,” Furnish said. “Every year we struggle just having enough fundraising to cover operating costs,” Furnish added. “As small as we are, to fundraise $12,000, it’s going to take a lot of work.” Leaders say future shows will not be affected by the theft, though. Those who want to donate can do so on the team’s website.
