Council Bluffs Woman Charged with Murdering Boyfriend
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – A Council Bluffs woman convicted of fatally stabbing her former boyfriend has been sentenced to 50 years in prison.
A judge Friday sentenced 47-year-old Jodie Sherman in the July 2014 death of 52-year-old Douglas Richt.
Sherman must also pay $150,000 in restitution.
She was found guilty of second-degree murder in February after being accused of stabbing Richt in the throat during an argument. Richt died while being taken to a hospital.
Sherman’s attorneys argued that she’s not guilty by reason of insanity. The judge rejected the insanity defense but dropped the charge down from first-degree murder.
Regent Chair Hasn’t Fulfilled Donation Pledge
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Iowa powerbroker Bruce Rastetter has long used his $5 million pledge to Hawkeye football to build his image as a successful businessman and philanthropist.
But years after his 2008 commitment was touted as the largest gift to Iowa athletics, Rastetter has given less than a third of that amount. Another donor who promised $5 million that day has completed his pledge. The football complex they were supporting has been built.
Rastetter is now president of the school’s governing body.
His handling of the donation contradicts public statements claiming he’s given $5 million, which he’s used to deflect criticism that his policies hurt the university. And it raises questions about whether the delay was part of the pressure he put on former university president Sally Mason, who resigned last year.
Supreme Court Says Man Cannot Recover Damages From Charges
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Supreme Court says a man cannot recover damages for the time he spent in custody before his conviction for having sex with another man while infected with HIV was overturned.
The court ruled Friday that since Nick Rhoades initially pleaded guilty to criminal transmission of HIV in 2008, he cannot sue the state for wrongful imprisonment. The justices say a strict interpretation of a 1997 Iowa law prohibiting wrongful imprisonment cases when the defendant has pleaded guilty means Rhoades cannot sue even though his conviction was thrown out and charges were dropped.
Rhoades spent about a year in jail before the Iowa Supreme Court in 2014 overturned his conviction. Last May, Rhoades filed the wrongful imprisonment lawsuit.
The court’s ruling upholds a district court’s dismissal of the case.
Unemployment Edges Upward
(Des Moines) – Iowa’s unemployment rate increased for the second straight month — moving up one- tenth of a percent in March to three-point-eight percent. Iowa Workforce Development spokesperson, Courtney Greene, says some of the layoffs that have been announced are showing up.
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Says manufacturing saw many of the lost jobs.
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Good weather helped keep the construction industry moving ahead.
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There were other areas that also saw progress.
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The increase in the unemployment rate in February was the first increase since 2009. And while it increased again in March, Greene says things are still way ahead of last year.
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Iowa is still well below the national unemployment rate, which increased to five percent in March.
