Iowa News
May 23, 2019
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – The Missouri State Highway Patrol says an elderly couple and another woman were killed when a powerful storm destroyed their homes in southwest Missouri. Patrol spokesman Sgt. John Lueckenhoff said the bodies of 86-year-old Kenneth Harris and his 83-year-old wife, Opal, were found about 200 yards from their home outside Golden City Wednesday night. And 56-year-old Betty Berg died and her husband, Mark, was seriously injured when their mobile home was destroyed just west of Golden City.
SOLDIER, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say a man shot his wife in western Iowa after mistaking her for an intruder trying to get into their home. Monona County Sheriff Jeffrey Pratt says in a news release that 48-year-old Jackie Krier had been outside the family home about 3 miles (5 kilometers) west of Soldier when she was shot Tuesday evening by 49-year-old Brian Krier.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A man who had said he was only defending himself when he beat another man at a central Iowa bar has been given 50 years in prison. Polk County District Court records say 49-year-old Rodney Henricksen was sentenced last week for killing Joshua Sadlon. Sadlon, of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, died a day after the incident at the Escape Lounge in Urbandale in January 2018. A jury found Henricksen guilty of second-degree murder.
OTTUMWA, Iowa (AP) – Iowa prison officials say an inmate from Wapello County serving time for sexual abuse has died of natural causes. The Iowa Department of Corrections said in a news release that 74-year-old Albert Lemoine Collins died Wednesday at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. He was hospitalized for what the department described as a chronic illness.
Illinois News
May 23, 2019
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – The Missouri State Highway Patrol says an elderly couple and another woman were killed when a powerful storm destroyed their homes in southwest Missouri. Patrol spokesman Sgt. John Lueckenhoff said the bodies of 86-year-old Kenneth Harris and his 83-year-old wife, Opal, were found about 200 yards from their home outside Golden City Wednesday night. And 56-year-old Betty Berg died and her husband, Mark, was seriously injured when their mobile home was destroyed just west of Golden City.
CHICAGO (AP) – U.S. Census Bureau estimates say the majority of municipalities in the Chicago region, including the city itself, lost population last year. The yearly estimates released this week show that Chicago remains the nation’s third-largest city with just over 2.7 million residents, down an estimated 7,073 from 2017 to 2018. The new estimates show that most municipalities in northeastern Illinois aren’t adding residents. The newspaper says more than three-fourths lost population in the last year.
ALTON, Ill. (AP) – A southern Illinois middle school teacher has been charged with the sexual abuse of a high school student more than 20 years ago. Fifty-one-year old William C. Ingersoll is accused of having a sexual relationship with a minor from 1998 to 2000. An Alton Police Department spokeswoman said Ingersoll was charged with criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse in Madison County Court. Bail was set at $250,000. He was released after a family member posted a $25,000 cash bond.
CHICAGO (AP) – A Rockford man on trial in the death of a 2-year-old boy and dumping his dismembered remains in a Chicago lagoon took the witness stand and declared his innocence. Prosecutors haven’t said how Kyrian Knox died, but allege 44-year-old Kamel Harris killed the toddler before scattering the boy’s weighted-down remains in the lagoon. Prosecutors earlier presented testimony from jailhouse informants who said they heard Harris admit to the killing. Harris denied their testimony.
Wisconsin News
May 23, 2019
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Republicans who control the Wisconsin Legislature have agreed on a $500 million increase in K-12 school funding over the next two years, including $100 million more for special education. Budget committee member Sen. Luther Olsen tells The Associated Press that Senate and Assembly Republicans reached a deal that will be voted on Thursday. The deal is the same total funding that Assembly Republicans announced on Wednesday, but the amount going toward special education is twice as much.
WINONA, Minn. (AP) – Authorities have identified the Minnesota man who died while rock climbing in Colorado. Twenty-two-year-old Mitchel Halberg of Winona died of a head injury after falling while climbing in Poudre Canyon near Fort Collins, Colorado on Saturday. The death was ruled an accident. Halberg was a student at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.
RACINE, Wis. (AP) – Racine police are investigating a homicide. Officers responded to a report of shots fired about 8 p.m. Wednesday and found a 19-year-old man suffering from a gunshot wound. A man was handcuffed and taken from the scene. But, police have not confirmed if a suspect is in custody.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – Illegal killings and political resistance have undercut the return of two species of endangered wolves despite more than $80 million in government spending. Wildlife officials warn the red wolf of North Carolina could be gone from the wild within a decade. Fewer than three dozen now remain. In the Southwest, Mexican gray wolves continue to struggle despite recent gains bumping their population to 131 animals. Poaching has been a persistent drag on government recovery efforts for both species.
Iowa News
May 22, 2019
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – An armed robbery suspect shot this month by Iowa City police had been released from jail days earlier, despite probation violations that could have kept him locked up. An Associated Press review has found that within hours of bonding out of jail on charges of assaulting a police officer, authorities say Michael Cintron Caceres robbed an Iowa City gas station at knifepoint early May 7. They say he burglarized other businesses two days later before he was shot after fleeing from officers.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has vetoed a measure that Republican lawmakers pushed through in the final days of the legislative session to stop the state’s Democratic attorney general from filing or joining lawsuits challenging President Donald Trump’s policies. The measure Reynolds vetoed Wednesday was targeted at stopping Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller from joining multi-state lawsuits filed against the federal government. Republicans argued Miller had sued Trump too much.
ALLEMAN, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say a worker has died after falling from a tower near Alleman in Polk County. Sheriff’s Sgt. Heath Osberg says the man was working on the tower when he plunged to his death around 11 a.m. Wednesday. The man’s name and other details haven’t been released yet.
WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) – The Black Hawk County Board of Supervisors has added its voice to those calling for a moratorium on new livestock feeding operations. The board voted unanimously Tuesday for a resolution that asks Gov. Kim Reynolds and state legislators to bar construction of new concentrated animal feeding operations until Iowa’s water quality improves. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that supervisors in 25 more of the state’s 99 counties have passed similar measures.
Illinois News
May 22, 2019
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – Gov. J.B. Pritzker is undaunted by the task of convincing taxpayers to swallow $1.8 billion in new and increased taxes to pay for a massive state construction program. The Democrat told reporters Wednesday that increased in motor fuel taxes and vehicle registration fees and new taxes on such things as video streaming and ride-sharing are necessary to fix a crumbling infrastructure. Pritzker has floated a $41.5 billion plan for roads, bridges, schools and more over six years.
CHICAGO (AP) – Chicago police say officers fatally shot an armed man who had barricaded himself in a home on the city’s South Side after he apparently fired a weapon. Police say officers arrived shortly after a man called 911 at about 10:15 a.m.
CHICAGO (AP) – A pregnant woman is seeking asylum in a Chicago church after she says she received a deportation order and must leave the U.S. WBEZ radio reported Tuesday that Adilene Marquina has a high-risk pregnancy and is afraid to travel back to Mexico. She is now staying at the Faith, Life and Hope Mission because U.S. immigration policy is to not make arrests in places of worship. Marquina has until Thursday to leave the U.S. Her baby is due July 23.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – Three nonprofit groups are suing the state to stop a new case management plan for thousands of Illinoisans who receive publicly funded care in group homes. The (Springfield) State Journal-Register reports the groups filed their lawsuit in Springfield federal court, requesting a preliminary injunction against the Illinois Department of Human Services. The groups claim the plan violates federal law. Agency officials say DHS is committed to ensuring a smooth transition.
Wisconsin News
May 22, 2019
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Democrats say they are going to fight to increase funding for K-12 schools after Republicans say they will propose an increase that’s less than half of what Gov. Tony Evers called for. Republicans on Wednesday said they will support a $500 million increase over the next two years. The Democrat Evers proposed a $1.4 billion increase. Democratic state Sen. Jon Erpenbach says Evers did the right thing for K-12 education “and the Republicans have decided to cut it.”
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The state Department of Natural Resources board is tweaking Wisconsin’s bear hunt structure for the first time since 1980. The new framework calls for dividing the state into six bear management zones. Numeric zone kill limits in DNR rules would end. The agency would instead set limits based on agricultural damage, hunter success and nuisance complaints.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The state Department of Natural Resources board has approved a 2019 deer hunt framework that doesn’t include any buck-only counties for the first time in a decade. Buck-only designations are typically imposed to protect does so area herds can grow. No buck-only counties signal the statewide herd’s numbers are healthy, particularly in northwestern and southern Wisconsin.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Kwik Trip has removed some vegetable trays from its convenience stores after several reported illnesses in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Health officials say the Del Monte vegetable trays, which included broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and dill dip, have been linked to salmonella bacteria which has, so far, sickened three people in Wisconsin and one in Minnesota.