CRIME & SAFETY
Iowa teen charged in connection to middle school swatting call
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) — A teen is facing charges after police said they made a false report of a possible shooter at Harding Middle School in Cedar Rapids on Friday,according to KCRG. Previous video above: Bill to address uptick in 'swatting' calls across Iowa heads to governor's desk.
Polk County deputies identify 63-year-old man killed in crash
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office has identified the driver who was killed in a single-vehicle crash on Wednesday as 63-year-old Slater resident Timothy Alan Simmer. Officers were notified of the crash south of Northwest 126th Avenue around 2:30 p.m., according to a news release from the Polk County Sheriff's Office. A preliminary investigation found that Simmer, driving a white GMC Yukon, was traveling westbound on Northwest 126th Avenue, left the roadway, entered a ditch and went through a fence before coming to a stop in an adjacent field.
Law enforcement investigating deadly crash near Polk City
POLK CITY, Iowa — The Polk County Sheriff's Office is investigating a deadly crash near Polk City on Wednesday afternoon. Previous video above: Deadly crashes on Iowa roads at a seven-year high. The single-vehicle accident happened at about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday in the 2800 block of Northwest 126th Avenue....
Four Zearing residents plead not guilty to abusing and handcuffing a family member to a bed
Four members of a Zearing family have filed not-guilty pleas for kidnapping and abuse charges. Gary Graham, 44, Danielle Graham, 42, Aaron Williams, 20, and a 16-year-old were each charged with first-degree kidnapping and willful injury in March for allegedly handcuffing an adult family member to a bed. The Story...
Two shootings, two different responses — Maine restricts guns while Iowa arms teachers
Six months after a deadly mass shooting by an Army reservist, Maine lawmakers this week passed a wide-ranging package of new gun restrictions.Three months after a fatal school shooting, Iowa lawmakers this week passed legislation allowing trained teachers and staff to carry guns on school property.Two states. Two tragedies. Two different approaches to improving public safety.“We live in two different Americas, in essence," said Daniel Webster, a health policy professor affiliated with the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions.“We see terrible acts of gun violence; no one wants them, of course," Webster said. "But we see this through different...
Lightning strike sparked fire at wildlife refuge near Nebraska-Iowa border
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Lightning sparked a fire Tuesday at the DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge near the Nebraska-Iowa border. In an update Wednesday, Blair Volunteer Fire & Rescue said a dead cottonwood tree was struck by lightning, igniting the wildfire. Multiple agencies responded to the wildlife refuge just east...
Iowa's victim notification system hasn't worked for years. The state is trying to fix it
Iowa officials are working to restart a long-shuttered notification system for domestic and sexual abuse victims who have protection or no-contact orders against their abusers. State law directs the Iowa Attorney General's Office to maintain a system to notify victims, electronically or by phone, when their protective orders are served on the abuser, and again 30 days before that order is about to expire. ...
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