Judge Denies Oil Pipeline Company An Injunction – Allow Protesters To Continue
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A federal judge has refused to issue a restraining order
against Iowa protesters planning to risk arrest to stand against a Texas company
building an oil pipeline across the land of unwilling farmers.
Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger says in an order issued Tuesday that Texas-
based pipeline company Dakota Access hasn’t proven there’s an immediate risk of
injury or damage by protesters exercising their First Amendment rights. She set a
hearing for Friday to consider the issue further.
Ed Fallon, state director of Bold Iowa, a group opposing the Dakota Access
pipeline for environmental and property rights reasons, says up to 100 protesters
plan peaceful civil disobedience Wednesday at a pipeline construction site in
central Iowa.
Dakota Access on Monday sought an immediate restraining order to keep
protesters 25 feet away.
Sioux City Police Identify Shooting Victims
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Police say a Sioux City restaurant parking lot had been a
meeting spot for a man who apparently killed himself after shooting the woman he
had been meeting there.
On Tuesday police released the pair’s names. The dead man was identified as
46-year-old Michael Hasson, of North Sioux City, South Dakota. The wounded woman
was identified as 54-year-old Christine Fuentes, who lives in Sioux City. She was
taken to Mercy Medical Center-Sioux City after Sunday evening’s shooting in the
Chili’s lot just north of the Missouri River.
Police say the two drove separately to the lot, and then Hasson got into
Fuentes’ vehicle, where the shootings took place. Police say their investigation
points to an attempted murder-suicide. Autopsy results are pending.
Council Bluffs Police Identify Body
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Authorities have released the name of a man whose
body was found in a Council Bluffs street.
Police identified him as 39-year-old Larry Scott, who lived in Council
Bluffs. His body was discovered around 4:20 a.m. Tuesday near train tracks in the
central part of the city
The shooting death is being investigated as a homicide. No arrests have been
reported.
Des Moines Man Found Guilty Of Stabbing Landlord
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A 76-year-old man has been found guilty of stabbing to
death his former landlord in Des Moines.
A Polk County jury returned the verdict Tuesday, convicting Norman Wadsworth
of second-degree murder in the slaying of Rebecca Crook in October 2014.
Authorities say Crook had evicted Wadsworth from an apartment complex after
he threatened her and another person. Wadsworth spent almost six months in jail
for that incident.
Prosecutors say Wadsworth sought vengeance against Crook. Wadsworth’s
attorneys argued that his mental health problems made him incapable of forming the
specific intent to kill Crook.
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Marshalltown School Board Member Resigns Following Charges Of Trespassing
MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (AP) – A Marshalltown school board member who resigned his
post as a prosecutor has pleaded not guilty to trespassing and theft charges.
Authorities say a co-worker accused Ben Stansberry of stealing underwear from
her home. He was arrested Monday and released. The Marshalltown Times-Republican
reports (https://bit.ly/2c88noi ) that the two pleas were entered Tuesday. A trial
date hasn’t been set.
Marshalltown Police Chief Mike Tupper says Stansberry’s co-worker reported
the underwear missing on Aug. 22, after Stansberry stopped by her Marshalltown
home. Tupper stressed that the woman and Stansberry only worked together and had
no personal relationship.
Marshall County Attorney Jennifer Miller has said Stansberry resigned from
her office Friday. An assistant Iowa attorney general has been assigned to
prosecute Stansberry.
Stansberry was elected to the Marshalltown school board in November.
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