DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Storms rolling across the Upper Midwest are bringing strong winds and the threat of tornadoes to northern Iowa. The National Weather Service says a funnel cloud was reported yesterday afternoon about 3 miles west of Algona. A severe thunderstorm watch was in effect until this morning for northern and central Iowa.
 
     CHICAGO (AP) – Federal authorities say the conviction of a former Iowa letter carrier for sending dud pipe bombs to investment advisers shows they can successfully track down such attackers. A Chicago official at the U.S. Postal Inspection Service says John Tomkins of Dubuque, Iowa carried out “a reign of terror.” Jurors in Chicago convicted Tomkins after just two hours of deliberations yesterday.
 
     MUSCATINE, Iowa (AP) – A 41-year-old Bettendorf man has been charged with stealing money from a customer. Shawn Mask faces two counts of felony theft. Prosecutors say he was working for a Muscatine insurance broker in 2010 when he misappropriated more than $88,000 from a customer by falsifying bookkeeping entries. Mask is free on $10,000 bond and didn’t return messages from the Associated Press seeking comment yesterday.
 
     KEOKUK, Iowa (AP) – A Keokuk man faces trial in July on a charge that he killed his mother in August 2011. Twenty-three-year-old Adam Pitman is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 46-year-old Rosa Pitman. He has pleaded not guilty. His trial is set for July 10th.