SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Moville man has been sentenced to five years in prison for kicking a child in the mouth. The Sioux City Journal reports that 28-year-old Benjamin Fuqua pleaded guilty Thursday in Woodbury County District Court to one count of child endangerment resulting in injury.

Court documents say Fuqua and his fiancee, 32-year-old Jennifer Foote Krieger, repeatedly locked the child in a bedroom for up to 12 hours a day, often without food or water, during the past three months. Fuqua was accused of kicking the child in the mouth and knocking out two of the child’s teeth. Foote Krieger pleaded guilty last month to a misdemeanor charge of child endangerment and was placed on probation.

Using federal money to extend passenger rail service from the Quad Cities to Iowa City is less likely due to votes taken in the Iowa House and Senate Friday. Senator Matt McCoy, a Democrat from Des Moines, has been an advocate of expanding passenger rail service in Iowa. “It’s a set back,” McCoy says, “but not a fatal set back.” Senate Democrats wanted to set aside some of the state’s gambling taxes to fulfill the obligation to provide state matching funds for the project, but House Republicans rejected that proposal and a bill that passed both the House and Senate Friday did not include any money for passenger rail. McCoy says tens of millions in potential federal support is slipping away because the state’s not coming up with five-and-a-half million dollars in matching funds. “It is a set back for those folks who believe the $87 million is a missed opportunity if we don’t step up in some way,” McCoy says.

In October of 2010, Iowa and Illinois won a 230-million dollar federal grant to expand passenger rail service, with the ultimate goal of a 110-mile-per-hour train running between Chicago and Omaha. However, when Republican Governor Terry Branstad took office in 2011, he raised concerns the state would have to sink too much money into the rail line and the top Republican in the Iowa House has said it doesn’t make sense, financially, since there’s already a passenger train that runs through southern Iowa cities like Mount Pleasant, Ottumwa and Creston. Senator McCoy is still holding out hope of a last minute reprieve for the project. “We’re looking for the governor to exert leadership with this legislature and say that we’re still committed to passenger rail,” McCoy says. “…We think that there’s other options and available sources of funding if we decide to fully fund passenger rail…There’s still time.”

The 2013 legislature hasn’t adjourned for the year. All legislators are due back in the state capitol Tuesday. Republican Governor Terry Branstad submitted a budget proposal to legislators back in January which called for setting aside five-and-a-half million dollars in the Iowa D-O-T’s budget that would have met the state match for that federal funding of a Chicago to Omaha passenger rail line,.

(Radio Iowa)

Two southwest Iowa men were injured during a single vehicle accident Friday night, in Taylor County. The Iowa State Patrol says an SUV driven by 23-year old Levi Baker, of Clarinda, was traveling south on Colt Avenue, about 3-miles south of New Market at around 9:45-p.m., when the 1992 Chevy Blazer went out of control and rolled. Baker, and his passenger, 25-year old Brock Fister, of New Market, were injured and transported by Clarinda and New Market Rescue squads to the Clarinda Hospital. The accident remains under investigation.

The Council Bluffs Police Department reports that an accident occurred on one of the carnival rides Friday in Bayliss Park which is part of Celebrate Council Bluffs Week. Five-year old Trace Harman along with his four-year old brother Van Harman and eight-year old friend Opal Sund all of Council Bluffs were on the “Monster Truck Ride” which is a carousel owned by a private company. For unknown reasons at this time, the car flipped upside down as it was going up the incline of the track, striking the car in front of them. The car did come loose from its hoist. All the boys were belted into the car.

Trace was transported to University of Nebraska Medical Center by Council Bluffs Rescue Squad with head injuries. At this time, Trace is in stable condition with non-life threatening injuries. He was held overnight for observation. Van and Opal received minor injuries and were treated and released.

A representative from the State of Iowa Department of Elevator and Amusement Park Rides was notified for inspection of this incident. At this time the investigation is ongoing.