(Radio Iowa) – Fort Dodge police are now releasing the name of the boy who was shot and killed Tuesday night. The victim is identified as 15-year-old Jameel C. Redding Pettrigrew, of Fort Dodge. Pettigrew died of his wounds after being shot in the area of South 15th Street and Fourth Avenue South.

Fort Dodge Police issued an arrest warrant on Wednesday for 18-year-old Jamarrion James Davis also known as J-J from Ankeny. Davis is wanted on a charge of murder in the first degree as a result of the Tuesday night shooting.

The Webster County Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of $500 if anyone has information on the whereabouts of Davis. The incident remains under investigation by Fort Dodge authorities.

(Casey, Iowa) – Emergency personnel from Anita were called to the scene of an accident just west of the I-80 eastbound rest area, near mile marker 80, in Adair County. The call about a semi that went into a cornfield went out at around 11:41-a.m. There was no immediate word on injuries. Cass EMS was also responding. Additional details are currently not available.

(Guthrie Center, Iowa) – A collision with a deer Wednesday night in Guthrie County, resulted in the arrest of a man from Greene County. The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office reports 38-year-old Andrew Ross Reisner, of Jefferson, was traveling north on Highway 4 at around 9:34-p.m., when the 2010 Ford van he was driving, struck a deer on the road. Reisner was subsequently arrested for OWI/2nd Offense. He was transported to the Guthrie County Jail.

Damage to the van was estimated at $10,000. Reisner was not injured in the collision.

(Radio Iowa) – An insurance company in central Iowa is the subject of a high-dollar sale. West Des Moines-based American Equity Investment Life Holding Company is being purchased by Brookfield Reinsurance of Bermuda in a deal that’s reportedly worth four-point-three billion dollars. Brookfield says it will maintain an Iowa presence, but didn’t specify how many of the current staff will be kept on.

American Equity is one of the country’s biggest retirement insurance providers, and reported a total workforce of 840 last year. That includes the headquarters in West Des Moines and offices in Miami, New York, and Charlotte, North Carolina.

DES MOINES – Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, Wednesday, issued a disaster proclamation for Appanoose, Davis, Lucas, and Monroe counties in response to severe weather that occurred on June 29. The governor’s proclamation activates the Iowa Individual Assistance Grant Program and the Disaster Case Advocacy Program.

The proclamation opens up certain state resources for disaster recovery, as well as relief grants of up to $5,000 for households earning up to 200% of the poverty level. More information on applying for disaster relief grants can be found on the state’s website. Victims of the storms have 45 days to apply.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa State University researchers are trying out a machine which could greatly improve capacities for future epidemic-related testing surges. I-S-U’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory received nearly one-million dollars from the U-S Department of Agriculture to study what’s known as Smart Chip q-P-C-R technology. I-S-U researcher Rahul Nelli says it could significantly increase the number of tests the lab could run for things like COVID-19. “Before, we were doing only 1,000 samples per day,” he says. “Now, we can do 9,000 samples per day. That’s the type of volume we are talking about.” The machine can hold thousands of samples on a single, small testing plate.

Nelli says it would better prepare the lab for future disease outbreaks, for both animals and humans.”What if there’s a new influenza outbreak? What if there is a SARS-COVID 2, a mutant SARS-COVID 2, which can again cause a pandemic?” Nelli says. “So, for that reason, I feel like we shouldn’t be complacent and we should be prepared.” He says it’s important to invest in this kind of improved technology now to prepare for future pathogen outbreaks. The tech could be available to use in the I-S-U lab as early as 2025.

(reporting by Natalie Krebs, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) – Neither the governor nor Republican legislative leaders have indicated if new abortion restrictions or an outright ban on the procedure is the goal of next week’s special session, but a few rank and file lawmakers say it will be similar to the so-called heartbeat bill passed in 2018. That law would have banned most abortions after fetal activity can be detected. The Iowa Supreme Court deadlocked last month on the governor’s request to lift a lower court’s injunction that has prevented the law from taking effect. Representative Bob Henderson is a Republican from Sioux City. “It’s an interesting case,” Henderson says. “…I’m not sure exactly what it is that we’re going to do.”

But Henderson expects the bill that will be debated to be similar to the 2018 heartbeat bill that was the toughest abortion law in the country when it was passed. “I’m not exactly sure what the wording has to be because I don’t understand what the ruling says specifically,” Henderson says, “so whether we can pass exactly the same bill or we have to pass a slightly different one, I don’t know, but we’re going to find out.”

As we’ve mentioned, Henderson and other lawmakers are scheduled to return to the Capitol in Des Moines and convene the special legislative session at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.