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Iowa early News Headlines: 1/12/2019

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January 12th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:35 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police in Des Moines say they’ve arrested a suspect in the death of a man at a homeless camp on the city’s north side. Police said in a news release Friday that 21-year-old Donterius Jamar Bomar, of Des Moines, was arrested Tuesday afternoon on suspicion of assaulting a business employee and stealing the employee’s car within hours of being released from jail on a separate attempted murder charge. Police believe Bomar was driving the stolen car when he hit 69-year-old Charles Michael Childs.

SIOUX CENTER, Iowa (AP) — A former Sioux Center teacher already serving a federal prison sentence for having sexual contact with young boys has been sentenced to additional time in state prison on similar convictions. The Sioux County Attorney’s office says 37-year-old Curtis Van Dam was sentenced Friday to 60 years in state prison. The sentence will be served after his 15-year federal prison term. Van Dam was implicated in dozens of incidents involving boys under age 12 or 13.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Iowa Republican congressman Steve King is under new criticism for remarks on white nationalism and white supremacy. They’re coming from South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott, who penned a Washington Post op-ed saying King’s remarks in The New York Times questioning how those terms became offensive damage the GOP and the nation. King on Friday said he is not a racist but rather an advocate of Western civilization and American values. House GOP leaders condemned King’s remarks to the Times.

MUSCATINE, Iowa (AP) — An arrest has been made in the death of a woman whose body was found earlier this week on the side of an eastern Iowa highway. The Muscatine Journal reports that police arrested 35-year-old Douglas Foster, of Marion, Thursday night in the death of 20-year-old Lea Renae Ponce, of Fairfield. Investigators say Ponce was last seen alive early Tuesday getting into a pickup truck Foster was believed to have been driving.