CENTERVILLE, Iowa (AP) — State and local officers are investigating the death of man whose body was found by firefighters in southern Iowa’s Appanoose County. A Centerville Police Department news release sent Tuesday night says the body of 51-year-old Timothy Pasa was found Saturday in a fire-damaged Centerville house. One firefighter was injured battling the blaze but was released from a hospital Sunday morning.
The cause of Pasa’s death hasn’t been released. Investigators also are trying to determine how the fire started.

The Scott County Sheriff’s Office is releasing the name of a motorcyclist who died Monday in a traffic accident. The accident happened a little after 5 o’clock Monday evening on Highway 61 near Blue Grass. Deputies say 66-year-old James Stowe of Davenport collided with a turning SUV. He was thrown from his motorcycle and died at the scene. The other driver, a 73-year-old woman from Blue Grass, was not hurt. The accident remains under investigation.

(Radio Iowa)

MOUNT PLEASANT, Iowa (AP) — A June 25 hearing is scheduled for a judge to rule on whether a man killed his wife, who disappeared nearly 18 years ago in southeast Iowa. Closing arguments were held Monday in Henry County District Court in the nonjury trial of 58-year-old Michael Syperda. He was charged in December with first-degree murder in the disappearance of Elizabeth Syperda.

She was 22 when she disappeared in July 2000 in Mount Pleasant. Her body was never found. Court records say the couple had been estranged before her disappearance, because she was leaving him for a woman.
Prosecutors say Michael Syperda threatened and stalked his wife. His attorney says there is no evidence linking him to her disappearance or death, if indeed she’s been killed.

Michael Syperda didn’t testify at the trial.

Republicans in Iowa’s congressional delegation are praising President Trump for withdrawing the United States from the Iran Nuclear Deal. Iowa Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst have opposed the agreement since it was negotiated and approved by the Obama Administration. Ernst says Iran remains a threat in the Middle East and loopholes in the deal meant Iran would eventually be able to restart its nuclear program. Grassley says the deal got “worthless commitments from a deceitful and repressive regime” and Grassley says the U.S. is showing “global leadership” by pulling out of the deal.

Congressman David Young, a Republican from Van Meter, says it’s time to hold Iran accountable for its support of Syria’s dictator and terror networks in the region. Reinstating economic sanctions against Iran is the right move, according to Young.

(Radio Iowa)