Man Charged With Murdering Mollie Tibbetts Pleads Not Guilty
MONTEZUMA, Iowa (AP) – The farmhand charged in the abduction and stabbing death of 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts in Iowa has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder.
Cristhian Bahena Rivera entered his plea Wednesday at the Poweshiek County Courthouse in Montezuma, Iowa.
Rivera is charged in the killing of Tibbetts, a University of Iowa
student who disappeared while out for a run July 18 in Brooklyn, Iowa.
Investigators recovered her body a month later in a cornfield. A
medical examiner has said Tibbetts was stabbed to death.
Rivera is a Mexican national who has been accused of being in the country illegally. The 24-year-old worked at a dairy farm a few miles from where Tibbetts disappeared.
He waived his right to be tried within 90 days. Trial is set for April 16.
Man Accused Of Vandalizing “Field Of Dreams” Pleads Guilty
DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) – A man accused of driving onto and damaging the eastern Iowa baseball field made famous by the 1989 movie “Field of Dreams” has changed his plea to guilty.
Dubuque County court records say 21-year-old Austin Pape, of
Dyersville, entered the plea Monday, the day his trial was to begin on a felony charge of criminal mischief. His sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 13.
Investigators say Pape acknowledged driving onto the field Jan. 22. Court records say the owner estimated the damage at more than $5,500. The vehicle left deep gashes in the field and damaged sprinklers.
The field sits just outside Dyersville, which is 140 miles (220
kilometers) northeast of Des Moines. Thousands of people visit the property every year, running around the bases and walking to the surrounding cornfields.
Clock Tower On County Courthouse To Be Repaired
FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) – County officials in central Iowa plan to make a 3D scan of a historic courthouse clock tower to study how to repair the structure.
The Messenger reports that the Webster County Board of Supervisors approved the $72,200 plan with Shuck-Briston Inc. engineers. The project will also involve a crane to get measurements and details of the copper dome and a drone to take pictures.
The green clock tower was built in 1902 along with the rest of the courthouse, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The clock’s mechanics were most recently replaced in 2016.
Supervisor Merrill Leffler says the 3D scan will help show officials
what needs to be done to keep the dome in good shape.
Supervisor Nick Carlson says the scan hasn’t been scheduled.
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Northeast Iowa Man Convicted Of Shooting Stepfather
WAUKON, Iowa (AP) – A northeast Iowa man has been convicted of shooting to death his stepfather at the home they shared. Allamakee County court records say John Quanrude is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 1 for second-degree
murder. The records say Quanrude told officers he’d fired a warning shot with a shotgun because 60-year-old Dean Russell had been messing him and then shot Russell in the chest.
