SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A 23-year-old Sioux City man has been given 75 years in prison for murder and attempted murder. James Kroll Jr. had pleaded guilty to the charges last month. Kroll was sentenced on Thursday in Woodbury County District Court.  Authorities say Kroll used a crowbar to beat 54-year-old Jeffrey Moravek to death and seriously injure 54-year-old Mary Tope after breaking into Tope’s home in June.

Police say Tope’s daughter, Emily, was in the house at the time and identified Kroll, her former boyfriend. Court papers say Kroll was distraught that their relationship had ended. She was not injured.

The community of Guthrie Center, with a population of just over 1,560 people (according to the latest numbers), will swell by about 32-percent at the end of July, when two events converge upon the city. According to the Guthrie Center Times, officials learned late last month, that RAGBRAI, with its estimated 10-thousand riders, will be rolling through the town situated half-way between Harlan and Perry, on July 22nd. Less than 4 days later, Guthrie Center will host the annual two-day River Ruckus country music festival, which will bring more than 30,000 people to the community.Last year’s Ruckus brought more than 20,000 people to town.

The paper reports Ruckus promoter Grant Sheeder had originally scheduled to have his 60-foot concert stage trucked into town to begin construction on Monday of the concert week. However, learning RAGBRAI would clog all roads through town, he recently rescheduled the trucks’ arrival time for Sunday, July 21st, instead.

The acts for the River Ruckus, which features some of the biggest names in country music include:
Friday, July 26: Casey Donahew Band, Chris Cagle, and Big and Rich.
Saturday, July 27: Granger Smith, Josh Thompson, Gretchen Wilson, and Hank Williams, Jr.

A threat from G-O-P strategist Karl Rove makes it more likely rather than less likely that Republican Congressman Steve King will run for the U.S. Senate. Rove has vowed to spend millions in primaries to defeat ultra-conservative candidates, as Rove contends candidates like King cannot win a General Election. King says no one is going to bully him out of running for the U.S. Senate. “This is a decision for Iowans, not someone who happens to have a checkbook,” King told Radio Iowa. King sent an email to supporters on Thursday, saying he was “under attack” from a “crusade” led by “Karl Rove and his army.”

King asked his own supporters to make a campaign donation, to “show Rove he cannot decide (King’s) political future.”  “We’re going to have to have a battle in the court of public opinion until it’s clear that Iowans will make the decision on their nominee for the United States Senate and that will set a precedent for the rest of the country,” King said. “It’s that important.” King isn’t yet ready to officially declare himself a candidate for the Senate, however.

“It’s gotten closer each day, but I wouldn’t want to imply that the decision is made. It’s not,” King said. “It will be made by a thorough analysis of county-by-county, and all of the resources necessary to run a race of this magnitude.” King spoke with Radio Iowa by phone late Thursday afternoon. He was at Camden Yard in Baltimore, attending a Heritage Foundation retreat. Steve Forbes, the two-time presidential candidate, was the keynote speaker.

(Radio Iowa)