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Iowa early News Headlines: Tuesday, 12/19/17

News

December 19th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:20 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The superintendent of Iowa’s largest school district and his wife are opening their home to a 17-year-old Guatemalan immigrant whose parents were forced to leave the U.S. because they weren’t in the country legally. Jennifer Galdames applied for legal residency before her stepfather and mother were detained in October. The high school junior didn’t want to move to New Jersey to live with a relative she hadn’t met, so Des Moines Schools Superintendent Tom Ahart and Jami Bassman Ahart took her in.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Fire has destroyed a popular Des Moines bowling alley that dates to the 1950s. A fire department spokesman says firefighters were called to Plaza Lanes just after 5 a.m. Monday after a passerby reported smoke and small flames. Firefighters opened up the roof in an effort to douse the flames but the fire moved quickly through the structure, with the roof collapsing about a half hour later. In a message on the business website, the owners promised to rebuild the bowling alley.

BURLINGTON, Iowa (AP) — A judge has sentenced a Chicago man to life in prison for the 2015 shooting death of a man during an argument in Burlington, Iowa. The Hawk Eye newspaper reports 24-year-old Earl Booth-Harris was sentenced Monday following his November conviction of first-degree murder in the death of 24-year-old Deonte Carter. Police say Booth-Harris shot Carter three times on Feb. 16, 2015, after arguing over stolen shoes. Later, Booth-Harris was charged with attempted murder in an attack on a jail officer.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The funeral service for former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad’s brother has been held in northern Iowa. Monroe “Monte” Branstad, who was 67, died last Wednesday at a Mason City hospital after a recent illness. Terry Branstad, now ambassador to China, returned to Iowa for the Monday funeral.