CLIVE, Iowa (AP) — Authorities in central Iowa say a massage therapist charged with sexually assaulting two women in April now faces an additional charge. The Des Moines Register reports that 26-year-old Gage Sheldon Bauer, of Altoona, was arrested Friday on suspicion of assault with intent to commit sex abuse. He was arrested April 16 on similar charges after reports of incidents at a Clive business called Mr. Massage.
The most recent charge stems from a Nov. 27 incident filed by a woman after she heard about his earlier arrest.

Bauer was initially arrested after a woman told police that Bauer attempted to perform a sex act on her and a 17-year-old girl reported that Bauer sexually assaulted her during a massage. Bauer is being held in Polk County Jail without bond.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Officials say it will likely take days to retrieve several barges that broke free on the Mississippi River and hit a dam at Dubuque. The Telegraph Herald reports that the barges struck Mississippi River Lock and Dam No. 11 shortly after 3 p.m. Friday. Multiple barges could be seen up against the structure on the upstream side.

Dubuque Fire Department Lt. Charles Blasen says officials were considering closing bridges for fear one of the barges could get through the dam and hit a bridge support. Both the Dubuque-Wisconsin Bridge and the Julien Dubuque Bridge are downriver from the dam.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Sioux City hot dog shop is closing because the building’s landlord intends to demolish the structure, just months after the closure of another longtime hot dog shop. George and Mary Demetroulis were informed earlier this month that their lease for will be terminated May 31, the Sioux City Journal reported . The couple has operated George’s Hot Dog Shoppe since 1975. They began the business five years after moving to the U.S. from Greece.

The shop will stay open until the end of the month, but plans to move to another location are uncertain, Mary Demetroulis said. “In 30 days, what are you going to do?” she said. The restaurant uses all-beef hot dogs served with toppings such as mustard, chili, chopped onions, relish, sauerkraut and jalapenos. The menu also features Mary Demetroulis’ homemade potato salad and baklava.

Landlord Wayne Bradley of Fargo, North Dakota, said he plans to demolish the entire complex once all the tenants have vacated and wants to eventually redevelop the property. “The building is tired, old, worn out; I can’t justify continuing to put money into it,” Bradley said. “I don’t have any plans yet, just aspirations to develop the property.”

The strip mall was built in 1960, according to records from the Sioux City Assessor’s Office. Another well-known Greek hot dog restaurant in the downtown area recently closed. Coney Island closed in November after owner Steve Margeas’s death.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Berkshire Hathaway Inc. reported a $1.1 billion first-quarter loss as new accounting rules forced it to change the way it accounts for the value of its investments.
Warren Buffett’s conglomerate reported the loss of 46 cents per Class B share on Saturday shortly before its annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska. A year ago, Berkshire reported $4.06 billion in net income, or $1.65 per Class B share.

Buffett has long said Berkshire’s operating earnings offer a better view of quarterly performance because they exclude investments and derivatives, which can vary widely.
By that measure, Berkshire reported operating earnings of $5.3 billion, or about $2.14 per Class B share. That’s up from $3.6 billion, or about $1.78 per B share, a year ago.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected operating earnings of $2.08.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa lawmakers are working through the weekend in an effort to adjourn the legislative session. Legislators scheduled floor votes Saturday to finalize spending on the roughly $7.4 billion state budget that goes into effect July 1. They’re also set to begin debate on an expansive tax cut bill.

The nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency estimates the tax legislation will cost roughly $362 million over the next two years. If other economic conditions are met, that total would climb to more than $2.1 billion by 2024.

Republicans with control of the Statehouse claim they’ve accounted for that money. Democrats argue the tax bill is irresponsible at a time when lawmakers have reduced spending in other areas of government.

The Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs will host the 11th Annual Vietnam Veterans Recognition Day Ceremony on Monday, May 7, 2018. The ceremony will begin at 11:00 a.m. at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial located south of the Iowa State Capitol building in Des Moines. This year’s 50th Commemorative Ceremony will honor all those who have served in the Vietnam War Era, and especially those who have died as a result of their service. This includes the “hidden casualties of Vietnam” whose names are not eligible for inscription upon the Wall: these casualties are honored by the Memory Plaque, dedicated on the Vietnam Wall grounds.

Vietnam Vets Memorial, IA

Dan Gannon, Chair of the Iowa Commission of Veterans Affairs, will officiate, and John Rowan, Vietnam Veterans of America National President, will be the Honored Keynote Speaker. Governor Kim Reynolds and Lt. Governor Adam Gregg will also be speaking. Disabled American Veterans (DAV) will host a free luncheon following the ceremony at the Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center (Veterans Memorial Auditorium) located at 833 5th Ave, Des Moines 50309. All are welcome to attend. Present and available at this lunch will be Secretary of State Paul Pate’s staff, the VA Regional Office, Central Iowa VA Health Care System – Eligibility and My Healthy Vet, as well as the Daughters of the American Revolution and DAV.

Gannon says “Today, we welcome them all home with honor and gratitude. So now it is critical that we not let this 50th Commemoration slip by without trying to right that wrong of 50 years ago when America neglected to welcome home our millions of warriors.”

A man from Pottawattamie County was arrested late Friday night in Red Oak, following an accident investigation. Red Oak Police says 20-year old Tanner Douglas Mertz, of Council Bluffs, was taken into custody at around 10:55-p.m. for OWI/1st offense. Officials say a 2012 Chevy Malibu driven by Mertz, was traveling north on Sunnyslope Drive, when the vehicle hit a legally parked and unoccupied 2006 Chrysler Town and Country van owned by Allison Ruhl. The collision resulted in about $6,000 damage to each vehicle. No injuries were reported.

Mertz was transported to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center and held on a $1,000 bond.