(Des Moines, Iowa) – Officials with the Iowa Department of Public Safety (DPS) announced late this (Friday) afternoon, that the suspect in the fatal shooting Thursday of two people in Glenwood, has died. 71-year-old Dennis Burnell, of Glenwood, was being treated for extensive burn injuries he sustained during a fire at his residence, Thursday. Law enforcement was informed today (Friday) that Burnell died at the Kansas University Medical Center’s Burn Unit. A forensic autopsy will be forthcoming.

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GLENWOOD, Iowa – On August 6, 2025, at approximately 7:30 p.m., the Mills County Emergency Communication Center received multiple calls referencing a shooting in the 400 block of North Grove Street in Glenwood, Iowa. Officers from the Glenwood Police Department, Mills County Sheriff’s Office, and Iowa State Patrol responded. Upon arrival, law enforcement found the residence at 405 Grove Street on fire and two adult victims with gunshot wounds outside the residence.

The shooting victims have been identified as 38-year-old Brandon Oman, who died at the scene, and his wife, 35-year-old Stevie Oman. Stevie Oman was transported to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, where she later died from her injuries.

Dennis Burnell, 71, who resided at 405 North Grove Street, has been identified as the person responsible for the Omans’ deaths. Officers took Burnell into custody as he exited his burning home. Burnell was critically injured during the incident, was transported to a medical facility for treatment, and remains in critical condition.

Preliminary investigation suggests the shooting stemmed from an interpersonal dispute between the parties.

This is an ongoing investigation by the Glenwood Police Department, Mills County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, and State Fire Marshal Division. No further details will be released at this time.

(by Clark Kauffman, Iowa Capital Dispatch) – Fifteen current and former firefighters are suing the City of West Des Moines for wages they claim they are owed. The firefighters, 14 of whom still work for the city, allege that over a period of several years, the city misclassified them as exempt from the federal Fair Labor Standards Act’s provisions on overtime pay due to their status as lieutenants or captains.

The FLSA provides that some employees with managerial duties are exempt from overtime pay due to their role as salaried personnel — but also says first responders generally do not meet the requirements for that particular exemption.

According to the lawsuit, the city “was put on notice” of the misclassification sometime prior to September 2023 — after which it implemented a 14-day work period for some firefighters.

WDSM FD Facebook photo

The firefighters allegedly worked more than 106 hours during those 14-day work periods and, according to the lawsuit, the city failed to compensate them for those additional hours at the legally required rate of overtime pay. The lawsuit does not specify the total number of uncompensated hours, or the total dollar cost associated with the work.

All of the plaintiffs are currently employed by the fire department except for Bingham, who was employed by the city from January 2006 through March 2024. Each of the plaintiffs are seeking compensation for unpaid overtime, plus interest and attorneys’ fees.

The City of West Des Moines has yet to file a response to the lawsuit, which was initially filed in Polk County District Court before being transferred to federal court. City Attorney Greta Truman did not return a call seeking comment Friday.

(An article by Clark Kauffman, Iowa Capital Dispatch) – A convicted child-killer serving a life sentence in an Iowa prison is suing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, insisting that he be deported to Mexico for having come to the United States illegally in the 1990s. The lawsuit, filed Thursday by prison inmate Juan Ledesma, seeks a court order that will force Homeland Security agents “to come to Anamosa State Penitentiary and take custody” of Ledesma and send him back to Mexico, his country of origin.

Anamosa State Penitentiary

In August 1997, Ledesma was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Karen Jasmen Orozco, an infant who lived with her mother, Mirta Medina, and Ledesma in their western Iowa home. Court testimony indicated Ledesma was home alone with the child on Jan. 28, 1997, while Medina was out looking for a job. When Medina arrived home, she found the child vomiting and having seizures in her crib.

Ledesma, who worked a night shift at a meatpacking plant, allegedly told authorities he didn’t intend to hurt the child, but she kept waking him as he tried to sleep. Iowa’s state medical examiner at the time, Thomas Bennett, attributed the child’s subsequent death to shaken baby syndrome, although the defense’s medical expert, Dr. John Plunkett, testified at Ledesma’s criminal trial that the death could have been caused by a 3-foot fall that may have occurred several days prior to the child’s death.

Ledesma was convicted of first-degree murder, child endangerment, neglect of a dependent individual and assault causing serious and willful injury. He was later sentenced to life in prison. Court records indicate that over the past 28 years, Ledesma has filed at least five applications for post-conviction relief, most recently in 2023, and that all of the applications have been denied.

Ledesma, 52, is now suing the U.S. Department of Justice, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa. The lawsuit argues that ICE and Homeland Security have a “duty” to deport him in compliance with directives from President Donald Trump to deport all “illegal aliens.”

Ledesma also argues that he has been declared a “burden to the American taxpayers by the Trump administration,” and that his ongoing health problems are only going to increase the financial burden associated with his continued incarceration. “By returning the petitioner back to his country of origin, costs to American taxpayers can be focused on lawful citizens,” the lawsuit alleges, adding that Ledesma “has the right to be deported from the United States under federal law and not be further detained without due process.”

Ledesma is representing himself in the case. The federal government has yet to file a response to the lawsuit.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Community School District’s Board of Education will hold a Special Meeting beginning at 6-p.m. on Monday, August 11th in the Achievement Center Conference Room, for the purpose of discussing General Obligation (G-O) Bond and Sales Tax matters. The discussion will be facilitated by Piper Sandler’s Managing Director for Public Finance, Travis Squires.

Afterward, the Board will act on approving: General Obligation Bond and Sales tax Bond Projects, and setting the date of a Public Hearing as Wednesday, Aug. 27th, for the High School Roof Replacement Project – Phase 1.  According to instantmarkets.com, the roofing replacement project Request For Proposal (RFP) includes the removal of existing roof membrane and ballast installation of new 60 mil EPDM roof membrane.

EPDM is an extremely durable synthetic rubber roofing membrane (ethylene propylene diene terpolymer) widely used in low-slope buildings in the United States and worldwide. Its two primary ingredients, ethylene and propylene, are derived from oil and natural gas. EPDM is available in black, gray, and white and is sold a broad variety of widths, ranging from 7.5 feet to fifty feet, and in three thicknesses, 45, 60, and 90 mils.  It’s known for its flexibility, weather resistance, and long lifespan. 

In June (2025), Atlantic School District Superintendent Dr. Beth Johnsen said District Maintenance Director Russell Peck received a cost estimate for the High School whole Roof Replacement project, which was $1.3-million dollars. That amount was in-line with the Engineer’s estimate. The roof replacement is part of a larger, $40 million facilities master plan.

The current roof is close to 30-years old and has “Lived past its life expectancy,” Johnson said during the June meeting.