Iowa D-O-T Raised I-29 To Help Prevent Being Flooded
(Des Moines) — Three flood-prone sections of Interstate 29 in southwest Iowa were raised last year and while they’re still not flood-proof, the Iowa Department of Transportation says they are ready to weather future flooding. The D-O-T’s Austin Yates says I-29 and nearby I-680 are typically impacted the same way during a flood.
The three sections were raised different heights, ranging from two inches to 14 inches to more than two feet. Yates says the new asphalt is a big clue something has changed, but drivers may not notice the road is higher. He says it’s kind of like target practice.
The three sections include northbound I-29 from Honey Creek to Loveland, a stretch of southbound I-29 north of Crescent, and a stretch near Blackbird Marsh. Yates said flooding would’ve still closed those parts of I-29 in March, but not in September or June, if the changes had already been in place.
State Supreme Court Says Tickets Issued From Speed Cameras Are Not Public Record
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Supreme Court says names of car owners ticketed by automated speed cameras are not public records. The court considered a lawsuit filed by former Ottumwa police sergeant Mark Milligan who was ticketed in 2016 driving a city-owned car. He filed an open records request for names of car owners caught on camera and ticketed and those not ticketed. Officials driving government cars often aren’t ticketed. The city denied his request, but a judge ordered their release. The city appealed.
The supreme court concluded Friday that speed camera tickets are city citations not filed in court and therefore aren’t public record.
Credit Union Manager Admits To Stealing Funds
AMES, Iowa (AP) – A credit union manager has been accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from a branch he managed in Ames. Henry Hill is jailed on charges of fraudulent practice and theft. His attorney declined to comment Friday. Court records say Hill went to police and told officers that he’d stolen an estimated $250,000 from his Greater Iowa Credit
Union branch vault over seven years. An audit found the vault and some accounts were short nearly $431,000. Television station KCCI reports that Hill told police he came forward after the credit union brought in a new compliance officer who planned to conduct cash accounts.
Man’s Dead Body Found In Grassy Area May Be Linked To Domestic Disturbance
(Fort Dodge) — Police say a domestic disturbance may have resulted in a man’s death in Fort Dodge on Thursday night.
Information given during the call indicated that a male and female were possibly involved in a physical assault. Officers responded and met with a female who had left the residence but stayed in the area to speak with officers when they arrived. While officers were speaking with the female, other officers arriving at the residence located an unresponsive male in a grassy area outside of 116 Avenue D. Officers began medical treatment but the male was pronounced dead at the scene. As investigators and patrol officers continued their investigation, it was determined that the male had likely been ran over by a vehicle. A traffic investigator with the Iowa State Patrol was called in to assist in documenting the scene. The exact circumstance that led to the male’s death remains under investigation. The name of the victim has not been released. No charges have been filed in connection with the case.
Mental Competency Evaluation Ordered For Man Accused Of Killing Pastor
FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) – A mental competency evaluation has been ordered for a man accused of beating to death a pastor outside a central Iowa church. A judge recently approved a request from the attorney for 36-year-old Joshua Pendleton. The attorney says his client has been acting irrationally. Pendleton has pleaded not guilty in the Oct. 2 slaying of the
Rev. Allen Henderson. Court records say Pendleton acknowledged to investigators that he fought with a man at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Fort Dodge. The 64-year-old Henderson was senior pastor at St. Paul and had served as a chaplain to area first responders.
Inmate Serving A Life Sentence Dies In Prison
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – A man imprisoned for beating to death his girlfriend nearly 23 years ago has died at an Iowa hospital. The Iowa Corrections Department says Rick Bird was pronounced dead at 3:10 p.m. Wednesday at the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics in Iowa City. He was 72. Bird was found guilty of first-degree murder in Union County for killing 47-year-old Linda Trenkle in Creston in February 1997. Prosecutors say Bird used a
hammer to hit Trenkle several times in the head after she slapped him.
Bird’s began his life sentence on Oct. 24, 1997.
Father Of Des Moines Boy Shot This Week Asks For Assistance
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The father of a 14-year-old boy shot to death early New Year’s Day in Des Moines is asking the public to come forward with information on the shooting. The Rev. Ron Woods tells the Des Moines Register that his son, 14-year-old Josiah Woods, was standing in a house’s enclosed porch when he was hit by gunfire from a drive-by shooting. The elder Woods says his son was not the target, “but he was the victim.” Des
Moines Police Sgt. Paul Parizek says the shooting was deliberate and intentional, but that police don’t yet know who the intended target was.
