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Ames doubles fine for illegal parking on football game days

News, Sports

September 13th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Football fans intending to drive to Jack Trice Stadium in Ames for Saturday’s game between Iowa State University and the University of Iowa face a bigger parking challenge than usual: Fines for illegal parking have been doubled. The city passed an ordinance earlier this year to raise the fine to $40 from $20 for illegal parking from 6 a.m. to midnight on game days.

Geoff Huff with the Ames Police Department says most lots near the stadium charge $20 to park, so people were paying the same in fines to park illegally and closer to the stadium than paying to park legally elsewhere.

Huff says police project around 150,000 people will be in and around the stadium Saturday, compared with an estimated 80,000 in the area for the game two years ago. He says the increase will come in part because ESPN’s College GameDay production and crew have come to town.

(Podcast) KJAN Morning News & Funeral report, 9/13/2019

News, Podcasts

September 13th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Red Oak man arrested early Friday morning

News

September 13th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Police in Red Oak arrested a man just before 4-a.m. today (Friday), following a traffic stop. 38-year old Gary O. Smith, of Red Oak, was taken into custody for Driving while license revoked, and failure to have SR-22 (High risk) insurance. Smith was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $1,000 bond.

Enrollment drops at Iowa’s 3 public universities

News

September 13th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

By The Associated Press – Total enrollment has dropped at Iowa’s public universities. The University of Iowa on Thursday reported enrollment of more than 31,200 students this fall, compared with nearly 31,700 last year. The University of Northern Iowa reported enrollment of nearly 10,500, down from more than 11,200 last fall.

Iowa State University reported nearly 33,400 students this fall, down from nearly 35,000 last year. The number of students enrolled from other countries dropped this year at all three universities.

Police: Explosion destroyed Des Moines house, damaged others

News

September 13th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say an explosion destroyed a house in Des Moines and damaged others. The blast occurred around 3:15 a.m. Friday, a few blocks northeast of Birdland Park. Police say no injuries have been reported. Natural gas is suspected of being the source of the explosion. An investigation is underway.

Iowa early News Headlines: Friday, Sept. 13, 2019

News

September 13th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

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

NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — Public defenders are seeking to stop representing an Iowa man charged with murder after revelations that their boss moonlights for a police department involved in the case. Lawyers with the special defense unit of the State Public Defender’s office said in a filing Wednesday that they now believe their representation of Jeffrey Stendrup is a conflict of interest. They have asked a judge for permission to withdraw from the case

ADEL, Iowa (AP) — Two men arrested on suspicion of breaking into an Iowa courthouse say they were hired to test the building’s alarm system. The Des Moines Register reports that the men were found in the Dallas County Courthouse early Wednesday after an alarm was tripped. The men told deputies they worked for the cybersecurity firm Coalfire and had been hired to test the courthouse alarm system, but court officials say they sought only to test the security of electronic records.

BURLINGTON, Iowa (AP) — Police in southeastern Iowa have identified a man killed in a shootout with law enforcement officers. The Division of Criminal Investigation says 20-year-old Caleb Daniel Peterson, of Burlington, was the suspect killed in the exchange just before 1 a.m. Wednesday. No officers were injured. An autopsy has been ordered.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Drake men’s basketball player has been charged with an off-campus shooting that he says was accidental. Des Moines police say Tremell Murphy was charged Thursday with discharging a firearm inside city limits and making false reports to law enforcement. Court records don’t list the name of an attorney who could comment for him. A university spokesman says Murphy has been removed from basketball activities. Murphy was a starting forward for the Bulldogs as a junior last year.

Two companies to sell short-term, high-deductible insurance plans in Iowa

News

September 12th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — State regulators have approved two short-term health insurance plans for sale in Iowa. Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen says these are 364-day plans — and they are an option for healthy Iowans who cannot afford the premiums for individual policies being sold in the Affordable Care Act marketplace.

“It’s a policy that will fit a niche in the market for people that have been priced out under the ACA plans,” Ommen says. The approved plans are sold by Golden Rule Insurance Company and United States Fire Insurance Company. “These two companies were the first two companies to submit those plans for our approval and we’ve reviewed them,” Ommen says, “and they do comply with Iowa law.”

In-hospital services will be covered, including surgeries and emergency room visits, as well as out-of-hospital care like going to the doctor — even if its via a video “tele-medicine” link. Customers will be able to renew policies for three years. The plans do have higher deductibles, however. “But for people that were priced out of the (Affordable Care Act) that have incomes over 400 percent of the federal poverty level, this coverage is affordable in terms of premium, where some of those ACA plans have simply skyrocketed out of reach for a lot of middle class Iowans,” Ommen says.

A family of four with an annual income of more than 99-thousand dollars do not qualify for the federal subsidies to buy health insurance. These short-term plans will be attractive to younger, healthy Iowans, but Ommen says Iowans with pre-existing conditions will not be able to buy these policies.

Ommen says until congress makes significant changes, the health insurance market will not function properly as younger, healthy adults will continue to balk at buying a health insurance policy at a price that’s equal to one offered to a 60 year old.

Cassell files nomination papers to run for Anita City Council

News

September 12th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Cass County Deputy Auditor Sheri Karns reports Pat Cassell has filed nomination papers to run for Anita City Council. There are now three people running for two seats on the Anita City Council: Cassell, Mark Harris and Kevin Littleton.

The City/School elections are Nov. 5th. The last day to file nomination papers is Sept. 19th.

Drake basketball player charged after off-campus shooting

News, Sports

September 12th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Drake men’s basketball player has been charged with an off-campus shooting that he says was accidental. Des Moines police say Tremell Murphy was charged Thursday with discharging a firearm inside city limits and making false reports to law enforcement.

A university spokesman says Murphy has been removed from basketball activities. Murphy was a starting forward for the Bulldogs as a junior last year.

Police say the shooting occurred the night of Aug. 31 during a party at a home near campus. Officers found a 19-year-old man bleeding from his head and noticed a bullet hole in a nearby wall, leading them to believe the shot had come from Murphy’s adjacent room. Police say Murphy first insisted the man had fallen but later acknowledged he’d accidentally fired the .22-caliber bullet.

Police ID man killed in shootout with Iowa officers

News

September 12th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

BURLINGTON, Iowa (AP) — Police in southeastern Iowa have identified a man killed in a shootout with law enforcement officers. The Division of Criminal Investigation says 20-year-old Caleb Daniel Peterson, of Burlington, was the suspect killed in the exchange. An autopsy has been ordered.

Police say Burlington police officers and a Des Moines County deputy responded to a call of shots fired at 12:50 a.m. Wednesday, spotted Peterson’s truck minutes later and initiated a traffic stop. Investigators say initial reports indicate Peterson got out pointing a gun at officers and fled on foot.

The agency says both Peterson and officers fired multiple rounds during the subsequent chase. The officers weren’t injured, but Peterson was mortally wounded and pronounced dead at a hospital.