A Waterloo man has been arrested and charged with holding up a motel worker at knifepoint early yesterday. It happened at the Motel 6 on Logan Avenue just before 5:30 yesterday morning. Police say 27-year-old Joshua Ostdahl threatened the motel clerk with a knife and tried to take her phone, before leaving with a computer tablet. Officers found him in the area of Gates Park a short time later. Ostdahl has been charged with first-degree robbery.
A Charles City bicyclist has died after being struck by a vehicle Sunday. 28-year-old Ellen Bengston was airlifted to MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center after a truck driven by 43-year-old Colby Elliott of Clarksville hit her on her bicycle while traveling southbound on Shadow Avenue. The Iowa State Patrol says it happened just after 7:30 p.m. Sunday in Floyd County. A hospital spokesperson said Monday morning that Bengston died. The accident remains under investigation.
The U.S. Senate Finance Committee spent part of last week holding part two of a hearing on protecting the reliability of the medical supply chain during the coronavirus pandemic. Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa, the committee chair, talked about what Homeland Security investigations found. The critical issue at hand is counterfeit personal protective equipment (P-P-E) and concerns about a “grey market” that ends up exploiting health care providers, patients, and the government with massively expensive medical supplies along with false and misleading information on medical supply availability.
Major League Baseball says this year’s Field of Dreams game set for August 13 has been postponed until next year. The game will become part of the MLB 2021 schedule and will be played in August featuring the Chicago White Sox, which was one of the teams scheduled to play this year.
Iowa’s Republican governor has rejected two-thirds of the Democrat state attorney general’s requests to join multistate lawsuits. Gov. Kim Reynolds’ actions were made possible by an unusual compromise with Attorney General Tom Miller; the two agreed in May 2019 that Miller would seek Reynolds’ approval before he would join multistate lawsuits, and Reynolds in turn vetoed a Republican-backed bill that would have prevented the state’s top lawyer from joining any multistate suit unless the governor or Legislature requested it. Miller says the compromise is still important because it is temporary and will not limit future Iowa attorneys general.
Authorities say one woman died in an apartment fire in downtown Fort Dodge Sunday afternoon, after firefighters were summoned to Central Avenue for reports of smoke coming from an apartment. Fire crews found heavy smoke in the apartment and then found an unresponsive woman inside. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Police have arrested a suspect accused of shooting a man in the parking lot of an eastern Iowa funeral home where he was attending the funeral of his 8-year-old son, who died of cancer. 26-year-old Jeramie Shorter of Davenport, was shot Saturday morning outside Weerts Funeral Home in Davenport and later died. Shorter was there to attend the funeral of his son, Jermier Shorter. A possible motive for the shooting was not immediately known. Police later arrested 24-year-old Nuemonei Tre Vonne Laster of Davenport on charges of first-degree murder, eluding and weapons counts. He was being held on a $300,000 cash bond.
A new survey of business leaders released yesterday suggests the economy continues to recover in Iowa and eight other Midwest and Plains states, but businesses are still cutting jobs as the ongoing impact of the coronavirus outbreak is being felt. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says the economy still remains weaker than before the virus outbreak began. The overall index for the region did improve to 57.4 in July from June’s 50.3. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests growth.
Brent Oleson, who has served on the Linn County Board of Supervisors since 2008, announced yesterday he will not seek re-election in November and will instead serve out the remainder of his current term which expires on December 31st. Oleson said he plans to focus on other career opportunities and on raising his two high school aged children. A Democrat convention will be called this month to select a candidate for the November 3 ballot. In a news release, Oleson mentioned former Center Point mayor and current council member John Stuelke will seek the nomination. Louis Zumbach, a current state representative from Coggon, is running for the position as a Republican.
Gov. Kim Reynolds yesterday announced the appointment of Melissa Anderson-Seeber as a district court judge in Judicial Election District 1B, filling the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge George Stigler. Anderson-Seeber, of Hudson, currently serves as the Chief Local Public Defender in the Waterloo Juvenile Office of the State Public Defender.
A union has issued a no-confidence resolution against Delaware County Sheriff John LeClere, outlining concerns relating to the leadership and management of the Sheriff’s Department. The resolution was passed with 100 percent support by members of AFSCME Local 1835 with the sheriff’s office. The union says Sheriff LeClere failed to provide annual required training to employees, compromising their ability to practice de-escalation tactics. Sheriff LeClere says he will work to improve upon the concerns that were brought forward. AFSCME Council 61 president Danny Homan sent the resolution as a request to Delaware County Supervisors to help reestablish labor management relations with the Sheriff.
