DES MOINES, Iowa [KCCI]— A Mississippi man who police say admitted last month to damaging the Satanic Temple’s display at the Iowa Capitol has now been charged with a hate crime. Michael Cassidy, of Lauderdale, Mississippi, was initially charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief on Dec. 15, a day after the damage was reported. He was released after his arrest. Court documents say the cost to replace or repair the property is between $750 and $1,500. They also show that the act was committed “in violation of individual rights” under Iowa’s hate crime statute. Both pieces of evidence bring the charge to 3rd degree-criminal mischief, a class D felony.

Cassidy is set to be arraigned on Feb. 15. The display sat on the east side of the Capitol beside a column and an ornate staircase, about 100 feet from a Christmas tree displayed in the rotunda. It was permitted by rules that govern religious installations inside the Capitol. Lucien Greaves, co-founder of the Satanic Temple, said at the time that the display was a symbol of their right to religious freedom.

The display drew criticism from many conservatives, including Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds. Founded in 2013, the Salem, Massachusetts-based Satanic Temple doesn’t believe in Satan but describes itself as a “non-theistic religious organization” that advocates for secularism. It is separate from the Church of Satan, which was founded in the 1960s.

(Radio Iowa) – An extensive botanical reference library that’s a growing resource for research has been on the Iowa State University campus for more than one-and-a-half centuries. The Ada Hayden Herbarium is home to nearly three-quarters of a million plant samples, according to curator Deb Lewis. She calls the herbarium a one-stop shop for studying Iowa’s native plants, as well as plants from all over the globe. Most of the herbarium’s holdings are plants that have been dried, pressed, labeled, attached to archival paper and stored for reference. Mounted and kept correctly, Lewis says they can last for centuries. The herbarium is housed in a complex of four adjacent interior rooms on the third floor of Bessey Hall. The samples are stored in about 250 large metal cabinets that are spread across the facility’s 43-hundred square feet.

(Defiance, Iowa) – Firefighters from six area departments responded to a residential structure fire in Defiance, Tuesday morning. Our sister station KNOD reports the blaze broke out at around 8:30-a.m.  Crews with the Defiance and Irwin Fire Departments were provided mutual aid from the Earling, Harlan, Panama and the Westphalia Fire Departments.

Reports indicate that the furnace in the house did not work and they were using a portable LP heater to heat the house.  When a person tried to light it a fire erupted.

Photos contributed to KNOD by Jason Anastasi and Chris Thurman.

The occupants were able to get out of the house but lost everything in the fire.  Efforts were being made to find them clothing and housing.

(Sidney, Iowa) – The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office reports one person died during a structure fire early this (Wednesday) morning. Authorities say at around 12:15-a.m., the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office received a report of an occupied structure fire at a detached garage in the 100 block of Clay Street, in Farragut. Witnesses advised an individual had entered the structure and had not been observed exiting.

After extinguishing the fire, responders conducted a search of the structure and human remains were located. The victim’s identity was being withheld pending notification of family.

Farragut Fire, Shenandoah Fire and Rescue, Essex Fire, Riverton Fire, Sidney Fire, Hamburg Fire, Randolph Fire, Tabor Fire, and Thurman Fire all responded to the call with the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office. The Iowa Department of Public Safety Office of the State Fire Marshal is investigating the incident.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County report deputies arrested a 16-year-old male from Stanton, at around 3:45-p.m., Tuesday. The teen was taken into custody in the 100 block of Coolbaugh Street in Red Oak, following an investigation. He was charged with four counts of Harassment in the 1st Degree.

The juvenile was transported to the Juvenile Detention Center in Council Bluffs. Additional information was not released.

(Radio Iowa) – Democrats in the Iowa Senate have released a package of bills to expand birth control access and ensure Medicaid patients who are new moms get regular check-ups covered for a year to try to reduce Iowa’s abnormally high maternal mortality rate. The group is also proposing a constitutional amendment to Iowa’s Constitution that would guarantee the right to an abortion. Senate Minority Leader Pam Jochum of Dubuque says the 16 Democrats currently serving in the state senate and the Democrats who’ll be running for senate seats this fall are united.

“A vast majority of Iowans support safe, legal abortion in this state,” Jochum says. “and we believe we need to stand firm and let people know where we stand as Democrats and what we’re going to fight for in this coming election cycle.” Senator Janet Petersen, a Democrat from Des Moines, says the proposed constitutional amendment to guarantee abortion access in Iowa is similar to amendments in Michigan and Ohio that easily won approval this year.

Senate Minority Leader Pam Jochum (D-Dubuque) speaks at a statehouse news conference on Jan. 30, 2024. (RI photo)

“A constitutional amendment ensures reproductive freedom cannot be infringed upon by extremist politicians hellbent on taking away the ability of Iowans to control their own bodies and lives,” Petersen says. Republicans hold significant majorities in the Iowa Senate and House and passed a law in July to ban most abortions in Iowa after the sixth week of a pregnancy. The Iowa Supreme Court is expected to rule by June on whether the law may take effect.

(Radio Iowa) – The bill Governor Kim Reynolds has proposed to find out if foreigners are using a loophole to acquire Iowa farmland has cleared initial review in the Iowa Senate. Iowa’s secretary of state would be required to review land ownership records, to see if foreigners or foreign governments are involved in U-S based companies or trusts that have purchased or inherited Iowa farmland and prepare a summary.

Republican Senator Dan Zumbach, a farmer from Ryan, says the information would be presented to the governor and the legislature, but the annual report would be confidential and not released to the public.

“I think the information, when it’s all said and done, that the public would have some redated versions of that, of what’s going on,” Zumbach says, “but at this point we’re good where we’re at.” Iowa already prohibits foreigners from buying more than 320 acres of land. The bill would impose higher fines for violations.

(Radio Iowa) – Republicans on a subcommittee in the Iowa House have signed off on a bill that would require instruction about fetal development to start in first grade classes. The bill calls for students in first through sixth grades to be taught about human development in the womb and shown an animated video about what happens during a pregnancy. Amber Williams, a leader in the Polk County chapter of Moms for Liberty, says she got an abortion when she was 18 and would have benefited from this kind of instruction.

“Had I been shown the video ‘Meet Baby Olivia,’ which actually follows the science of the incredible journey of life beginning at conception, I would have chosen life,” she said. “This curriculum is needed and it will be impactful.” The bill refers to the “Meet Baby Olivia” video, which was produced by Live Action, a non-profit dedicated to ending abortion. Opponents of the bill say the video provides inaccurate medical information. Mazie Stilwell is public relations manager for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Iowa.

Representative Anne Osmundson (R-Volga) gestures as she speaks during House subcommittee hearing on Jan. 30, 2024. (RI photo)

“We think it’s dangerous,” Stilwell says, “and frankly this kind of propaganda has no place in our schools or schools of any kind.” Lawmakers in Kentucky have proposed the “Meet Baby Olivia” video be shown to students in sixth through 12th grades. A West Virginia bill would have the video shown to 8th and 10th graders.

PLYMOUTH COUNTY, Iowa  — After an Amber Alert and a standoff in Remsen, a man was charged with kidnapping in the first degree after allegedly kidnapping his biological son.

According to the Iowa Department of Public Safety (DPS), on Tuesday, Jan. 30, the Jefferson Police Department requested assistance with a kidnapping case. Brandon Duong, 34, allegedly took his seven-year-old biological son, Bryson Duong, from Greene Elementary School in Jefferson, Iowa. A court order from Dec. 2023 restricted Brandon Duong from having custody of his son.

The Amber Alert went out at 3:28 p.m. Then, at about 4:53 p.m., the DPS said, law enforcement found Brandon’s vehicle northeast of Remsen, Iowa in Plymouth County. Duong allegedly led officers on a high-speed chase, eventually crashing his vehicle. Duong allegedly left the vehicle on foot with Bryson and a rifle.

Several law enforcement agencies responded to the area, negotiated with Brandon, and eventually placed him under arrest, the DPS said. Bryson is currently in the care of the Department of Human Services.

Brandon Duong was charged with one count of Kidnapping in the First Degree and will be transferred to the Greene County Jail. The Jefferson Police Department and Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation will continue to investigate.