Boyden Woman Charged With Stabbing
(Boyden) — A Boyden woman was arrested and charged with stabbing after an incident that occurred Sunday afternoon in Boyden. Sioux County authorities say 38-year old Susan Ochoa is charged with willful injury in the incident.
Investigators say Ochoa allegedliy stabbed the unidentified male victim with a knife during a domestic disturbance. The victim was taken to a Sheldon hospital, then airlifted to Sioux Falls for medical treatment. Ochoa remains in custody at the Sioux County jail.
Man Drowns Near Rock Valley Campground
(Rock Valley) — Authorities say a Minnesota man drowned while swimming at a northwest Iowa campground. Rock Valley police say 31-year old Anthony Boyenga went under the water Saturday afternoon while swimming with his children at the Rivers Bend Campground beach. A diver called to the scene found his body less than an hour later. Authorities say Boyenga lived in Ellsworth, Minnesota.
Voter ID Law Challenged Before A Judge
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A court challenge to a 2017 law that changes voting in Iowa has begun before a judge.
The nonjury trial that began Monday in Polk County District Court is focused on portions of the law that require a voter to show an ID at the polls before voting, require an ID number on absentee ballots and allow election officials to throw out absentee ballots if election workers were to decide the voter’s signature doesn’t match those on file.
The lawsuit filed by the League of United Latin American Citizens, a civil rights group, says the law – passed with only Republican votes in May 2017 – makes it too hard for some people to vote.
The group wants the judge to permanently bar the state from enforcing the law.
The Iowa Supreme Court temporarily forbade the state from implementing the absentee ballot provisions, pending a trial on the lawsuit.
Manchester Hospital Officials Charged With Theft
MANCHESTER, Iowa (AP) – Two former hospital officials in northeast Iowa are accused of taking personal trips on hospital time and seeking expense reimbursement from the hospital.
Delaware County court records say 61-year-old Lon Butikofer (BYOO’-tih- koh-fur) and 53-year-old Mike Briggs are charged with theft. Butikofer was chief executive officer of Regional Medical Center in Manchester. The Telegraph Herald reports that Briggs was the hospital’s system fund and development director.
Butikofer’s attorney, Mark Liabo (LEYE’-boh), said Monday that his client would plead not guilty. Butikofer’s accused of stealing nearly $257,000 from January 2009 through March 15, 2017, by failing to properly record the personal trips as vacation or paid time off and by seeking reimbursement for the expenses.
The court records don’t list an attorney for Briggs. He’s also accused of stealing more than $23,000 for failing to properly record personal trips as vacation or paid time off and by seeking reimbursement for expenses.
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Drake University To Sell Some Land
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Drake University says it is selling or leasing more than four acres of land on the east edge of its Des Moines campus to a developer for construction of apartments, townhomes, commercial space and a parking garage.
Drake President Marty Martin said Monday the proposed development valued at more than $63 million will create a “walkable, vibrant hub of retail and restaurant options” for the private university located northwest of city’s central business district.
Cedar Falls-based Merge Urban Development Group will get federal tax incentives for developing in the federally designated Qualified Opportunity Zone, a program for improving low-income areas.
The new announcement follows a new Hilton hotel and restaurant already under construction in the area and a planned $8 million new Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement, a center named after former Democratic U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin.
