712 Digital Group - top

Iowa early News Headlines: Friday, March 17th 2017

News

March 17th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republicans in the Iowa House passed a bill Thursday to overhaul how workers in the state are compensated for on-the-job injuries, though they backed off on some key proposals amid internal concern. The GOP-majority chamber voted 55-38 for the bill, which would revamp standards for hurt workers in Iowa, including reductions to shoulder injury benefits and decreased coverage for injuries tied to a pre-existing condition. The Republican-led Senate will now consider the legislation.

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — Police are looking into who has been targeting a Mason City synagogue with profanity-laced phone messages. The Globe Gazette report that the most recent call came around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday. The call to the Adas Israel synagogue rang through to the home of its president, Alan Steckman. Steckman believes it was the same man who left an anti-Semitic voicemail message on the Steckmans’ answering machine on March 5.

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Newly unsealed court documents in the case of a 16-year-old girl who was starved to death say medics discovered her in an adult diaper lying on a bare floor. A police affidavit says it appeared Natalie Finn had been on the floor of her mother’s home “in her own waste for some time.” Her parents face several felony charges, including first-degree murder levied against her mother. Prosecutors say the girl was starved and tortured by her parents.

OSAGE, Iowa (AP) — An Osage woman accused of stealing about $2,300 from her mother to gamble at a local casino has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge. The Mason City Globe Gazette reports that 58-year-old Marilyn Jo Spartz pleaded guilty Wednesday to misdemeanor third-degree theft. In exchange, prosecutors dropped a charge of felony theft.