Body Found In Burned Out Vehicle
(Sioux City) — Sioux City Police are investigating the death of a person whose body was found inside a burning car Sunday evening. Fire units and police were dispatched to 1115 Logan Street at around 5:45 p.m. Sunday evening for a report
of a vehicle on fire. Once the burning car was extinguished, authorities discovered the body inside the vehicle. The name of the victim has not been released, and the incident remains under investigation.
Iowa City Students Protest School Shootings
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Dozens of high school students have left their Iowa City classrooms to send a message: School shootings must stop.
Students from at least three schools – City High, West High and South East Junior High – walked Monday to a gathering spot in downtown Iowa City. By 11:45 a.m., an estimated 200 students were chanting in front of the Old Capitol
building. Some carried signs decrying gun violence.
A student read the names of the 17 victims of last week’s Parkland, Florida, shooting. The other students repeated the names in unison.
District spokeswoman Kristin Pedersen said in a statement the district applauded the students’ social action and honors their free speech rights. She says students were encouraged to notify their parents if they planned to participate in the walk.
Governor Reynolds Tells Reporters The Federal Government Needs To Do Better Background Checks For Possible Shooters
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – When asked whether she supports further restrictions to Iowa’s gun laws, Gov. Kim Reynolds said the federal government needs to take responsibility in discussing gun legislation.
Reynolds told reporters Monday “the federal government has to play a role” in deciding possible firearm restrictions. She says that includes examining background check requirements.
She declined to comment more specifically on Iowa’s gun laws, calling them reasonable and responsible.
Reynolds announced a suspicious activity reporting campaign at the state Capitol press conference following last week’s school shooting in Florida. Iowa public safety agencies will partner with the federal government to promote the campaign.
Reynolds says preventing mass shootings cannot be only about guns and should happen in “a holistic manner,” including reporting suspicious activity and improving mental health care.
Muslim Students Ask For Holidays Be Recognized
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Some Iowa City elementary students are urging the school district to recognize Muslim holidays, and board members say they’re willing to consider the request.
The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports several students proposed the idea at a school board meeting last week. They suggested the district schedule days off for the Muslim holidays of Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha.
Fifth-grader Reem Kirja says she wants other students to know both holidays are times for families to get together, similar to Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Board member Ruthina Malone says the board can explore the feasibility of accommodating major holidays celebrated by Jewish and Muslim students.
The board has time to decide, as neither Eid Al-Fitr nor Eid Al-Adha fall on a school day until the 2020-2021 school year.
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Des Moines Catholic Bishop Retires
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Roman Catholic bishop of the Des Moines Diocese has turned 75 and submitted his required resignation to Pope Francis.
Bishop Richard Pates, who took the post in 2008, announced his intended retirement in the diocesan newspaper, The Catholic Mirror. He says “the past 10 years in the Des Moines Diocese have flown by.”
It’s unclear when the Vatican will announce Pates’ successor. The diocese serves people in 23 counties in Iowa’s southwestern quadrant.
