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Iowa early News Headlines: Wed., 2/21/18

News

February 21st, 2018 by Ric Hanson

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

MISSOURI VALLEY, Iowa (AP) — Investigators say they can’t be certain what caused a fire in downtown Missouri Valley that killed two people. The Daily Nonpareil reports that the investigation into the Thanksgiving Day blaze has ended. The bodies of 44-year-old Stacy Larsen and 44-year-old Chad Stevens were found in the CTI Electronics building. The State Fire Marshal Division says the damage where the fire started and the lack of witnesses kept investigators from concluding what sparked the blaze.

GLENVILLE, Minn. (AP) — Opponents of wind power are successfully stalling or shooting down wind-farm projects across the country. Criticism of wind turbines is nothing new, but this latest rebellion has given fresh momentum to anti-wind ideas. The movement’s success also shows that when residents put up organized opposition, they often win. When a developer sought to build dozens of turbines in southern Minnesota, hundreds of people went door-to-door, circulated petitions and packed government meetings.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Authorities blame discarded smoking materials for an apartment fire that killed a Cedar Rapids man. Cedar Rapids Fire Department investigators on Tuesday said the smoking materials ignited a chair inside the apartment, causing the Saturday morning fire. When firefighters entered the apartment, they found 57-year-old Thomas Jones inside, near the chair. Jones was taken to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, where he died Saturday afternoon.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — A Chicago Bears defensive back has pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors stemming from a bar fracas in northeast Iowa. Deiondre’ Hall and Green Bay Packers defensive back Makinton Dorleant were arrested last March in Cedar Falls. Court records say Hall was sentenced to six months’ probation. The records say Dorleant was given a year of probation at his sentencing last May on the same two charges. The Packers cut him in April after he failed a physical.