MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) – A man accused of tossing a cat into the Winnebago River in northern Iowa’s Mason City has been fined $100. Sixty-nine-year-old William Hill was sentenced on Tuesday. He’d pleaded guilty to abandonment of an animal in a deal with prosecutors who lowered the charge from animal torture.

Authorities say the cat was inside a duffel bag tossed by Hill into the river near a Mason City bridge on March 21. A couple witnessed what happened and soon retrieved the bag. Inside was the adult calico. Hill turned himself in to authorities a few days later.

A new home for the cat, since named Winnie, has been found with St. Paul, Minnesota, resident.

The 7:06-a.m. report w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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Two valuable, but unclaimed Powerball tickets purchased in Iowa are about to expire. Iowa Lottery spokesperson Mary Neubauer says the tickets were bought on opposite sides of the state a little less than a year ago. “The first ticket won a $10,000 prize back in the drawing on June 18, 2014. It was purchased at a Casey’s in Council Bluffs,” Neubauer says. “The other ticket won a $20,000 prize. It was purchased at Quillin’s Food Ranch in Waukon and it won a prize in the drawing on June 28, 2014.”

The ticket bought in Council Bluffs will expire at 4 p.m. on June 18, while the ticket purchased in Waukon will expire at 4 p.m. on June 29. The businesses where the tickets were purchased have put up signs reminding customers to check their old tickets. “Somebody won these prizes and we want to see them claimed,” Neubauer says. “That’s why we work so hard to get the word out and hope that we can maybe reach that person at the last minute, jog their memory, and they’ll go home and find that winning ticket.”

In fiscal year 2014, nearly $1.4 million in Iowa Lottery prizes went unclaimed.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a sprinkler helped contain an overnight fire at a Des Moines high school. The Des Moines Fire Department says it responded to a fire at East High School shortly before midnight Monday. Authorities discovered a pressure washer that had been on fire but was extinguished by a single sprinkler head. The device was part of an automatic sprinkler system that activates at a certain temperature. No injuries were reported.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — State officials say there are two probable cases of bird flu in Adair and Webster counties in Iowa. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship says initial testing at two commercial laying operations were positive for bird flu. The operations have a combined total of about 1.1 million birds. The agency says if the disease is confirmed, all birds on the properties will be euthanized. It would also mean there are now 66 cases of the disease in Iowa.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Thousands have attended funeral services for Omaha Police Officer Kerrie Orozco. They heard a priest say she loved helping others in times of need and serving as a peacemaker. The Iowa native who was fatally shot last week while serving a warrant is being buried at a cemetery in Council Bluffs, where she lived.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Some lawmakers are back at the Iowa Capitol to continue budget talks. The Republican-led House and Democratic-majority Senate must determine an overall spending level and how much new money to provide to K-12 education.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Students at schools in Nebraska and Iowa are joining others around the nation in planting milkweed plants to help attract monarch butterflies.
About 30 students and 10 adults last week planted milkweed, a plant that provides the only food for newly emerged butterfly larvae, behind St. Margaret Mary School in Omaha, Nebraska.

The Omaha World-Herald reports that another group of students and volunteers also recently dug and planted milkweed at St. Albert School in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The two schools were among 10 Catholic schools in the Midwest that received grants to start butterfly-friendly gardens from the National Catholic Education Association.

A traffic stop early this (Wednesday) morning north of Stanton in Montgomery County, resulted in the arrest of a woman from Union County. Sheriff’s officials say at around 12:10-a.m., a vehicle driven by 46-year old Susan Rae Lemon, of Creston, was pulled over in the 2500 block of 210th Street. Lemon was subsequently charged with Driving While Barred and Open Container. She was brought to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $2,000 bond.

Two people were arrested recently in Mills County. The Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday, 28-year old Konner Matthew Tourek, of Arlington, NE., was arrested just after 2-a.m. Saturday on Interstate 29. Tourek was charged with OWI/1st offense. His bond was set at $1,000. And, at around 1:25-a.m. Tuesday, 27-year old Myles Dustin Longcor, of Malvern, was arrested for Disorderly Conduct. His bond was set at $300.

Two people were injured during a chain-reaction crash Friday afternoon, in Mills County. The Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday, at around 4:10-p.m., a 2002 Oldsmobile driven by Marilyn Krisinger, of Griswold, was turning right into the Emerson Cemetery from Highway 59, when her car was hit from behind by a 2006 Chevy, driven by Alexandra Sherman, of Shenandoah.Following the collision, Sherman’s car crossed into the opposite lane, forcing a 2014 Dodge driven by Dale Lauver, of Council Bluffs, to swerve right. When the Dodge made contact with Sherman’s vehicle, the impact caused the Lauver’s vehicle to spin around and end up in the north ditch. Sherman, and a passenger in the Krisinger vehicle, Judy Korytowski, of Omaha, were transported to Red Oak by Red Oak Rescue.

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is responding to the PROBABLE CASE of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Adair County at the Rose Acres Stuart Egg Farm. According to Adair-Guthrie County Emergency Management Coordinator Bob Kempf, the Department has quarantined the premises and once the presence of the disease is confirmed, all birds on the property will be humanely euthanized to prevent the spread of the disease.

The Stuart Egg Farm is a commercial laying operation with an estimated 975,000 birds. Initial testing showed it positive for H5 avian influenza. Additional confirmatory testing is pending from the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames.

Because of the possible economic impact if the disease is confirmed both the Adair & Guthrie County Board of Supervisors have approved Emergency Disaster Declarations as of May 26th. Kempf asks residents to “Please avoid this area to help eliminate the spread of any potential HPAI Virus and to allow work to be done.”

350th Street from Pinewood Road (P20) to Riverside Avenue is closed to Thru Traffic and Riverside Avenue from 350th Street to 110th Street is closed to all traffic to help with this situation. If you have question about HPAI you can contact the Iowa Concern Hotline at 800-447-1985 or go  to www.iowaagriculture.gov/avianinfluenza.asp