Hail Hits Hinton
(Hinton) — The town of Hinton and southern Plymouth County got hit hard Saturday evening with a hail storm, breaking several windows, and damaging homes’ siding and metal awnings, as well as damaging several cars. The storm passed through the area at about 8:00 p.m. and produced hail the size of golf balls, and in some cases even tennis ball size. Hinton Police Officer Brent Ford got caught in the storm.
Ford says the hail storm lasted for nearly ten minutes. He says it was raining so hard for a short period of time that you couldn’t see beyond 20 feet.
The hail storm did extensive damage to the Hinton High School. At least 20 windows on the north side of the building were broken, and window air conditioner units were also damaged from the Saturday storm. Ford says, in some
cases the hail had piled up, and he compared it to winter snowfalls.
Covered Bridge of Madison County Destroyed By Fire
WINTERSET, Iowa (AP) – An iconic Madison County, Iowa, covered bridge – pictured on the cover of the best-selling novel “The Bridges of Madison County” – has been destroyed by fire.
The Madison County Sheriff’s Office tells the Des Moines Register
(https://dmreg.co/2pj5Yk9 ) that the fire at the Cedar Bridge was reported around 6 a.m. Saturday.
Officials say the bridge was fully engulfed by the time firefighters got to the bridge near Winterset in south-central Iowa.
The original Cedar Bridge was built in 1883 before it burned in 2002.
Investigators determined the fire to be arson, but no arrests were ever made. It was rebuilt and reopened in 2004.
The bridge was featured in the movie adaptation of “The Bridges of Madison County.” The novel was written by Robert Waller, who died in March.
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Photo courtesy of The Des Moines Register
Republican Legislature Uneasy About Spending Cuts To Balance State Budget
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa Republicans have had plenty to celebrate this legislative session, as they pushed through a conservative agenda ranging from gun rights expansion to public worker collective bargaining restrictions, but none seem to be enjoying the final task of balancing the budget.
Although GOP lawmakers pride themselves on reducing government spending, they acknowledge it’s hard to make deep cuts needed in the face of sluggish tax revenue growth. Available money has also been reduced by tax cuts and credits
approved in previous years.
Lawmakers could complete work as soon as this week on a roughly $7.24 billion budget that cuts funding within agencies that include health care, higher education and court services. Funding could end or be reduced for research centers that study agriculture, flooding, renewable energy and the environment.
Grassley Comments On Syria and North Korea
(Washington) — There is a general sense of feeling nervous among this nation’s people with regards to recent actions taking place in both Syria and at North Korea. With President Trump making the order to bomb specific targets in Syria for the retaliation of the Syrian president using bio and chemical weapons on his own people, and for the military build-up demonstrated by North Korean officials, along with statements by North Korea saying they will use nuclear weapons if they feel provoked. U-S Senator Chuck Grassley was asked about both
foreign relations concerns during his weekly news conference with Iowa news reporters. Grassley says the actions are a departure from President Trump’s earlier rhetoric.
Grassley says former President Obama never carried through with his words of warning.
The Republican senator was asked for his thoughts about how Trump is handling the two challenging incidents.
Grassley says leaders of all the nations involved need to protect themselves from political embarrassment. He says, for that reason, real action may be slow and small to recognize.
Dive Team Locate Body In Lake
URBANDALE, Iowa (AP) – A dive team has recovered the body of a man from a pond in the Des Moines suburb of Urbandale.
Police were first called to the Extended Stay America hotel around 9 p.m. Saturday, where a man reported that his brother and another man had been swimming in the pond near the hotel when one of them went missing. Officers couldn’t find him Saturday night.
The Polk City dive team was called in early Sunday morning, and divers found the body a little before 2 p.m.
Police haven’t released the man’s name. An autopsy was ordered.
Customs Officials Arrest Shooting Suspect
JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say customs officials near the Canadian border have taken into custody a man suspected of fatally shooting his girlfriend in a suburb of Des Moines.
The man was picked up Sunday at International Falls, Minnesota. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials recognized his car from information in a release put out by police in Johnston, Iowa, where the slaying occurred.
Police say the man has yet to be formally charged.
The victim’s been identified as 34-year-old Agnes Yarlee. She was found wounded Saturday night by officers sent to investigate several reports about gunshots at an apartment complex. Police say she died at the scene.
Couple To Restore Old Church
DENVER, Iowa (AP) – A couple is restoring a 150-year-old church believed to be the second-oldest in Black Hawk County because of fear it would otherwise disappear like so many other churches in rural Iowa.
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that Martha Reineke and her husband, William Cozart, are restoring the former East Janesville United Methodist Church southwest of Denver, Iowa. They plan to reopen it as a country wedding chapel and community events center.
Reineke said the building drew little interest when it was put up for sale. It has been vacant since the aging 38-member congregation disbanded in July 2011.
The building has been stabilized, and foundation cracks have been repaired. The basement has been gutted, and water has been connected..
