Jurors To Decide Soon On Emmet County Murder Case
ESTHERVILLE, Iowa (AP) – Jurors are expected to resume deliberations Friday in
the slaying of an Emmet County man.
Closing arguments were delivered Thursday and Lee Christensen’s case was
turned over to jurors. The 19-year-old is charged with first-degree murder, accused
of shooting to death 19-year-old Thomas Bortvit on June 6 last year at the
Christensen farm in the Estherville area.
Defense attorneys acknowledged that Christensen killed Bortvit but argued that
it was a killing in the heat of passion over Bortvit’s girlfriend, whom Christensen
had once dated. Prosecutors say Christensen planned the killing, did it and then
tried to cover up his crime.
Emerald Ash Borer Found In Two Additional Iowa Counties
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – State officials say an invasive insect that kills ash
trees has been discovered in two more Iowa counties in southeast Iowa. That means
the emerald ash borer is now in more than one-third of the state’s counties.
The Iowa Department of Agriculture said Friday the insect is confirmed in
Brighton in Washington County and Birmingham in Van Buren County. That brings to 34
the number of counties with confirmed ash borer populations. It was first detected
in Iowa in 2010.
The insect has killed tens of millions of ash trees in the 27 states. It is a
native insect of Asia and was first reported in the U.S. in Michigan in 2002.
Trees can be injected with a treatment that helps prevent ash borer
infestation through the end of August.
Des Moines Man In Critical Condition After Being Stabbed With Scissors
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Des Moines police say a man is in critical condition
after being stabbed with scissors at a YMCA homeless shelter.
27-year-old Cory Hogan has been charged with assault causing willful injury in a stabbing at the YMCA Supportive Housing Complex around midnight Wednesday.
Police had been called to the complex earlier in the evening. At that time,
Hogan told officers he’d previously been in a fight with a black man over
cigarettes and that the two exchanged racial name calling. Hogan said that before
officers arrived, the man slapped him, held a pocketknife to his throat and
threatened him for using the racial term.
Police found the black man with a serious stab wound later that night.
Hogan was being held on $10,000 bond Thursday.
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Mega Millions Jackpot Reaches $415 Million
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Friday night’s Mega Millions drawing will give lottery
players a shot at the 10th largest jackpot in U.S. history.
Because no one has won a Mega Millions jackpot since March 8, the prize has
steadily grown to an estimated $415 million. That makes it the largest jackpot
since a $430 million Powerball prize won by a New Jersey family May 7.
The record prize was a $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot won in January by
players in three states.
Winning numbers in the Mega Millions game will be drawn at 11 p.m. Eastern
time. The odds of picking the correct numbers on five white balls and one yellow
ball are one in 259 million.
Mega Millions is played in 43 states plus the District of Columbia and the
U.S. Virgin Islands.
