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Iowa early News Headlines: Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2019

News

September 17th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:30 a.m. CDT

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Board members of an obscure but influential Iowa government insurance program have spent tens of thousands of dollars in public money to travel to out-of-state resorts for meetings. A review by The Associated Press finds that directors of the Iowa Communities Assurance Pool for years have held two of their six annual meetings in other states, usually at posh locations in Florida in February and Michigan in August.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities suspect that two cybersecurity workers charged with breaking into an Iowa courthouse were responsible for a late-night entry into the courthouse in Des Moines. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said Monday that based on surveillance footage, investigators believe 43-year-old Gary Demercurio, of Seattle, and 29-year-old Justin Wynn, of Naples, Florida, entered the Polk County Courthouse on Sept. 9. The men were charged with burglary after being found in the Dallas County Courthouse.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — A Dubuque woman who authorities say stole more than $48,000 from her elderly aunt has been given two to five years of probation. Dubuque County District Court records say 54-year-old Kathryn Billmeyer was sentenced last week and was ordered to pay back the money to her aunt’s estate. Prosecutors say Billmeyer’s daughter, Anna, used the woman’s credit card to buy nearly $1,600 worth of items. She, too, was sentenced to probation.

LAKE OF THE OZARKS, Mo. (AP) — A 43-year-old St. Joseph man could face up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty in a Lake of the Ozarks boating accident that killed a man. Cletus Barsch pleaded guilty on Sept. 10 to one count of boating while intoxicated resulting in a homicide and two counts of boating while intoxicated resulting in serious physical injury. Sentencing will be March 11. The accident in May 2018 killed an Iowa man.