Ames Police have identified a person of interest, in connection with a homicide. Authorities Sunday afternoon said 33-year old Richard G. Fleck (AKA Rashaud Sims) is believed to be in the Kansas City, MO., area, but he also has ties to communities in Texas and Mississippi. Fleck is about 5-feet 8-inches tall, and weighs 165 pounds. He is a black male with brown eyes and black hair. Fleck has tattoos on his hands and neck.

Officials said at around 7:02-p.m. Saturday, Police conducted a welfare check at an apartment in the 400 block of S. 5th Street, in Ames. Officers entered the apartment and found a deceased female inside. After processing the scene, investigators concluded the woman was the victim of a homicide. Her name was being withheld, pending notification of family. Investigators were canvassing the area and processing the crime scene as of the latest report.

The crime is under investigation by the Ames Police Department and Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Ames Police at 515-239-5133, or the anonymous tip line at 515-239-5533. Online anonymous tips may also be submitted, at www.crimestoppersofcentraliowa.com.

The Iowa Department of Public Health today (10-a.m., Sunday), reports 423 new COVID-19 positive test results came back from the labs over the past 24-hours, for a pandemic total of 359,380. There were no additional deaths reported. The pandemic total is currently 5,336 deaths, with 4,803 the result of underlying causes and 533 where COVID was a contributing factor. Pre-existing conditions make up 4,910 of the total number of death, while deaths at Long-Term Care (LTC) facilities account for 2,139 COVID deaths.

Beginning Saturday, the State implemented changes to the coronavirus.iowa.gov website, changing how it reports positive COVID-19 cases. The health department now reports total positive cases instead of individuals positive. That has a caused a sharp increase in total positive cases overnight Friday into Saturday.

Additionally, the health department is no longer reporting 14-day positivity rates by county. This is a metric that schools used to determine if they could apply for a waiver to provide 100% online learning. A page that previously reported this data has been taken offline.

The State data show hospitalizations declined from 238 on Saturday to 229 Sunday. COVID patients in an ICU were up slightly, to 58. There are also 38 COVID-symptom patients admitted to hospitals over the previous 24-hours, compared to 34 on Saturday, and 27 patients were on a ventilator (compared to 24 Saturday). In RMCC Region 4 (Hospitals in western/southwest Iowa), 15 people are hospitalized with COVID symptoms (four more than previously reported), five people are in an ICU, one person was admitted over the past 24-hours, and two people are on a ventilator.

Iowa’s 14-day positivity rate is up a bit, to 4.4%, and the 7-day average is now 4.0%.

In the KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases by County; The # of new cases since yesterday {+} – if any; and the total number of deaths in each county to date:

• Cass, 1,312 cases; {+2}; 48 deaths
• Adair, 907; {+3}; 26
• Adams, 325 {+0}; 3
• Audubon, 482 {+1}; 9
• Guthrie, 1,154 {+2}; 28
• Harrison County, 1,775; {+0}; 68
• Madison County, 1,516; {+4}; 17
• Mills County, 1,613; {+2}; 20
• Montgomery, 1,035; {+2}; 36
• Pottawattamie County, 10,647; {+13}; 140
• Shelby County, 1,190; {+54}; 32
• Union County,  1,254; {+0}; 31

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 4:20 a.m. CST

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — One woman is dead and another is injured after being stabbed at an Iowa motel, and a man suspected in the altercation is hospitalized after being shot by a police officer. Cedar Rapids officers were called at 1:46 a.m. Saturday to a disturbance at a Rodeway Inn. An officer was met by two women with apparent knife wounds, who directed the officer to a man running from the motel. The officer gave chance and shot the man. Police say the man is hospitalized but had no details about his injuries. The officer was not hurt. One of the women later died.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — An inmate has been found dead inside an eastern Iowa jail. The Quad City Times reports that 27-year-old Mark Timothy Hudson Sr. was found unresponsive in his general population cell at 10:59 a.m. Friday in the Scott County jail. Attempt to revive him failed. Scott County Sheriff’s Major Bryce Schmidt said the death does not appear suspicious.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Department of Public Health reported 560 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, and no new deaths. The state has cited 332,182 confirmed coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, and 5,336 deaths. State data also shows that 278,568 people in the state have received a first vaccine dose, and 137,385 have received a second dose. Hospitalizations continue to fall. State data shows hospitalizations for the virus now at 238 after a mid-November peak of more than 1,500.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A teenager’s drowning death last year is prompting lawmakers in Iowa to consider making it a crime to fail to call emergency responders to report when someone appears to be in serious danger. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reported that the family of Noah Herring supports the bill. Herring was 15 when he drowned in April in Coralville Reservoir. The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office said three teens and an adult were present, but none placed a call to get help. Democratic State Sen. Kevin Kinney says the bill would make failing to call emergency responders an aggravated misdemeanor.

Police in Red Oak say there were no injuries reported following a single-vehicle accident Saturday morning in the 1900 block of N. Broadway. Authorities say 44-year old Michael Lee LaFollette, of Red Oak, was traveling northbound at around 8:07-a.m., when his 2003 Jaguar S-Type sedan went out of control just before Legion Park Drive. The car skidded sideways for about 80 yards until it came to rest on the north side of the Fire Department apron, after striking the stoplight pole.

There was no damage to the pole. The Jag sustained about $8,000 damage. LaFollette was issued a written warning for Failure to Maintain Control.

(Radio Iowa) – Two professors from Iowa State University and the University of Iowa recently served on a panel that determines the future of NASA satellite missions. ISU agronomy professor, Brian Hornbuckle, says these are satellites that are experimental. “When you watch the news or look at the radar on the web you might see some satellite images. We would call those operational satellites that have been launched by the weather service or something like that. We know how they work,” Hornbuckle says. “But the things that NASA does, they launch new types of satellites — kind of like discovery things — because we don’t know for sure how they are going to work and what they are going to see.”

Hornbuckle says the panel he served on helps determine how long missions last on these discovery satellites. He says they usually have a prime mission of three to five years where they collect information — but every satellite is built to last longer — and they often find out that the information collected is really important.

Hornbuckle says they usually have one or more new satellites proposed each year as the older ones are taken out of service. That depends on the budget for NASA, and he says that is why the review panel is important, because there is a finite amount of money. Hornbuckle says the satellites go through all types of testing — including flying on planes — to see if they work before rocketing into space. But even that testing sometimes fails to find flaws and the satellite mission doesn’t pan out.

“That’s the thing about research is that no one has done it before, so you don’t know what is going to happen,” according to Hornbuckle. “There is some amount of risk that you take.” Hornbuckle was chosen to be on the panel because of his work with NASA using a satellite that determines how much water is stored in the soil.

“That’s a really important component of weather and weather prediction, and something that we aren’t able to measure very well right now,” Hornbuckle says. “And it’s especially important here in Iowa, because we have these big crops that pull a lot of water out of the ground during the summer and put it back in the atmosphere.”

Hornbuckle has worked on other NASA satellite projects as well, and says they provide lots of information on a variety of issues that help researchers. He says these discovery type satellites don’t get all the attention that things like trips to the space station get.
“It’s a really important aspect of NASA that I am excited to highlight because it’s going to enable us to make good decisions about what we do in the future — which is important — because this is the only planet that we can live on,” Hornbuckle says.

University of Iowa Chemical and Biochemical Engineering professor Jun Wang served on the panel with Hornbuckle.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — An inmate has been found dead inside an eastern Iowa jail. The Quad City Times reports that 27-year-old Mark Timothy Hudson Sr. was found unresponsive in his general population cell at 10:59 a.m. Friday in the Scott County jail.

Attempt to revive him failed. Scott County Sheriff’s Major Bryce Schmidt said the death does not appear suspicious.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — One woman is dead and another is injured after being stabbed at an Iowa motel, and a man suspected in the altercation is hospitalized after being shot by a police officer. Cedar Rapids officers were called at 1:46 a.m. Saturday to a disturbance at a Rodeway Inn. An officer was met by two women with apparent knife wounds, who directed the officer to a man running from the motel.

The officer gave chance and shot the man. Police say the man is hospitalized but had no details about his injuries. The officer was not hurt. One of the women later died.

Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers, Saturday warned area residents ” Unscrupulous individuals are posing as law enforcement officers and making calls to area residents soliciting donations. This is a scam. Hang up immediately. Do not provide any personal or financial information.”

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A teenager’s drowning death last year is prompting lawmakers in Iowa to consider making it a crime to fail to call emergency responders to report when someone appears to be in serious danger. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reported that the family of Noah Herring supports the bill. Herring was 15 when he drowned in April in Coralville Reservoir.

The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office said three teens and an adult were present, but none placed a call to get help. Democratic State Sen. Kevin Kinney says the bill would make failing to call emergency responders an aggravated misdemeanor.