CLINTON, Iowa (AP) — Police in the eastern Iowa town of Clinton are searching for the driver who fled after a vehicle fatally struck a pedestrian. Clinton police say 42-year-old Emiliano D. Barrios was killed Friday night while crossing a neighborhood street. Authorities say the fleeing vehicle crashed into a tree but the driver has not been identified.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Des Moines man is charged with first-degree murder in what police say was the city’s 10th homicide of 2019. Police responded to a call about a shooting Saturday afternoon and found the body of 45-year-old John Lee Belcher of Des Moines inside a home.

Charges were announced Sunday against 47-year-old Stanley Paul Wofford of Des Moines. Witnesses told police they heard four to six gunshots. Police have not disclosed a potential motive for the shooting.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa sailor killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 will finally be laid to rest in his home state. The Des Moines Register reports that William James Shanahan Jr. of Cedar Rapids was killed in the Dec. 7, 1941, attack that pushed the U.S. into World War II, but his remains went unidentified for 78 years.

Shanahan’s sister, Mary Lou Shanahan Pierce, donated DNA almost 20 years ago. Finally, in May, that DNA sample found a match and William’s remains were positively identified. A burial with full military honors is planned for Tuesday at the family plot in Cedar Rapids. Gov. Kim Reynolds has ordered all flags in Iowa to fly half-staff from sunrise to sunset to honor Shanahan.

Pierce was just 5 when her brother enlisted in the Navy on Oct. 5, 1940. She said one of her last memories of him was that he would miss her birthday a week later. Pierce received her brother’s remains Friday. She is the only sibling left out of six. “My mom is very honored to welcome her brother home and have him buried with the rest of our family,” said Pierce’s daughter, Cheryl Schemmel. “It’s what her parents would have wanted.”

The Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor destroyed the USS Oklahoma, the battleship Shanahan was on. The ship capsized from multiple torpedo hits, killing 429 crewmen. Only 35 remains were identified and the rest were buried as “unknown,” according to the Department of POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

Scientists identified Shanahan’s remains by using anthropological analysis, circumstantial and material evidence, mitochondrial DNA and autosomal DNA analysis, according to the agency. Shanahan was born on July 22, 1918. He graduated from high school in 1936 and is remembered as a well-liked man who was proud of his Catholic religion and Irish heritage.

“We just want to honor him. Yes he died a hero, but first and foremost he was my mother’s big brother,” Schemmel said.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — The city of Ames has been awarded a $1.66 million U.S. Department of Transportation grant to put more electric buses into the city’s public transportation fleet. The city recently announced that CyRide will use the money to replace several diesel buses that have exceeded their useful life. The public transportation entity will also buy battery chargers/dispensers and complete facility modifications to support the technology.

Interim Transit Director Barbara Neal says the grant is good news for Ames. She says supporting public transportation is “a great way to reduce your own carbon footprint, while moving to electric buses will help CyRide reduce its emissions.”

The Transportation Department’s Federal Transit Administration Low- or No-Emission Grant program has funded over $300 million in new buses, infrastructure and training since its establishment.

ATLANTIC, IA- September is National Suicide Prevention and Awareness month and Cass County Health System’s Senior Life Solutions team is working to raise awareness. On August 30, 2019, the Cass County Board of Supervisors proclaimed September to be Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month for all of Cass County. Karmen Roland, RN, Program Director of Senior Life Solutions, says “We are very fortunate to have the support of the supervisors on this proclamation. Mental health is a vital part of everyone’s overall health. The more that we can talk about it, the more we can encourage loved ones to seek help, then the healthier our communities and families can be. This proclamation recognizes that mental health conditions are real and prevalent in our communities, and that all of us have a role to play in promoting mental wellness and preventing suicide.”

Senior Life Solutions provides life-changing care through an intensive outpatient group counseling program designed to meet the unique needs of older adults typically age 65 and older struggling with depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions often related to aging. Anyone can make a referral to Senior Life Solutions. Call 712-250-8100 for more information.

According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, 129 deaths by suicide occur per day on average, and there are an estimated 1,400,000 attempted suicides per year.  Talk of suicide should never be dismissed. If you or someone you know is thinking of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. You can also connect with the Crisis Text Line, a global not-for-profit organization providing free crisis intervention via SMS message, by texting 741741.

DES MOINES – The Iowa Department of Corrections reports 27-year old Dakota Ray Nordstrom, who was convicted of Domestic Abuse Assault 3rd or Subsequent Offense, and other crimes in Polk County, failed to report back to the Fort Des Moines Residential Facility as required, Saturday night.

Dakota Ray Nordstrom

Nordstrom is a white male, height 6’2″, and weighs 200 pounds. He was admitted to the work release facility on July 12, 2019. Persons with information on Nordstrom’s whereabouts should contact local police.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 4:55 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Des Moines police responding to a report of gunshots found the body of a man. Police responded to the report at 3.46 p.m. Saturday and found a dead man. Police didn’t release his name but say he’s a 45-year-old Des Moines resident. Police say it’s the city’s 10th homicide of the year.

HOLLAND, Iowa (AP) — Businesses partnering with the state to provide real-world student learning opportunities are expected to boost career education for rural Iowa school districts. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that the state is using the recently unveiled Iowa Clearinghouse for Work-Based Learning to help students build job skills. Iowa Department of Education Director Ryan Wise says it’s designed as a virtual workspace.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s Morningside College has announced its first doctoral program, a doctor of nursing practice. The Sioux City Journal reports that the 30-credit program will be launched this fall. It will be delivered online and is designed for working nurses seeking advancement in their field. Jackie Barber, dean of the Morningside College Nylen School of Nursing, says the program is designed for nurses who want to take their career to the next level.

WAUKEE, Iowa (AP) — Developers are pitching the idea of creating a $100 million entertainment district in the Des Moines suburb of Waukee. Television station KCCI reports that developers have scouted an area of 27 acres in Waukee for a concert venue, bars and restaurants. The developers hope to have a site plan approved this year, as early as October.

Police in Red Oak, Saturday afternoon, arrested 25-year old Trent Thomas Brammer, of Shenandoah. He was taken into custody at around 3-p.m. in the 300 block of E. Elm Street, on a charge of Public Intoxication. Brammer was transported to the Montgomery County Jail, where he was being held on a $300 bond Saturday afternoon.

HOLLAND, Iowa (AP) — Businesses partnering with the state to provide real-world student learning opportunities are expected to boost career education for rural Iowa school districts. The state is using the recently unveiled Iowa Clearinghouse for Work-Based Learning to help students build job skills, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reported.
Businesses, nonprofits and governmental organizations can post real-world tasks on a project board that students can then complete under the supervision of teachers. Teachers can also use it to connect students to job shadow, internship and apprenticeship opportunities.

“Really, it’s designed as a virtual space,” said Iowa Department of Education Director Ryan Wise. Wise said the program will broaden access to learning that hasn’t been available for some students, especially those in rural areas. Stacy Ascher, who coordinates credit course offerings at the outreach center, said it’s a huge resource that will help students in northeastern Iowa. Credit course offerings are in manufacturing, health care and agricultural fields as well as the liberal arts.

Ascher is already organizing some work-based learning for students at the center. Freshmen in all participating districts do manufacturing work site tours, where they learn about a variety of jobs at the business on and off the factory floor. Ascher said students in the area do between 250 and 300 job shadows each year and an average of 100 internships.

Wise said such learning opportunities can spark interest among young people in a way classroom lessons do not. “One of the biggest challenges I see in too many places is a lack of student engagement,” he said.

WAUKEE, Iowa (AP) — Developers are pitching the idea of creating a $100 million entertainment district in the Des Moines suburb of Waukee. Television station KCCI reports that developers have scouted an area of 27 acres in Waukee for a concert venue, bars and restaurants. The developers hope to have a site plan approved this year, as early as October.

Waukee resident Caleb Short says people who live west of Des Moines “don’t want to drive all the way downtown” for entertainment.