(Radio Iowa) — The man accused of killing an Algona woman outside a bank in the Kossuth County town of LuVerne late last year changed his plea from not guilty to guilty during a hearing, Friday. Thirty-five-year-old Valentino Williams of Coralville, Iowa changed his plea during a hearing in Kossuth County District Court. Williams admitted in court to killing 43-year-old Jessica Weishaar outside the bank in LuVerne on the morning of December 4th, 2019. Williams was arrested following a traffic stop along Interstate 35 in rural Franklin County little more than an hour after the shooting. Law enforcement was able to track down Williams vehicle after he was recorded driving more than 80 miles-an-hour by a D-O-T Enforcement officer south of Belmond. As a part of the plea deal, prosecutors dropped the first-degree Robbery charges against Williams. Judge Nancy L. Whittenburg accepted the plea and handed out the mandatory sentence of life without parole.

Police in Red Oak report the arrest at around 6:25-p.m. Friday, of 42-year old Richard Allen Straw, from Red Oak. Straw was taken into custody for Driving While Suspended. His bond at the Montgomery County Jail was set at $566.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:35-a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Des Moines man has pleaded guilty to killing a homeless man last year with a stolen car. The Des Moines Register reports that 22-year-old Donterius Bomar pleaded guilty Friday to second-degree murder and first-degree robbery in the January 2019 death of 69-year-old Charles Childs. Police say Bomar was driving the stolen car when he hit Childs and kept going. Childs was found dead two days later inside a tent at a homeless camp. As part of his plea deal, Bomar could face up to 75 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for April 1.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Troy Price says an independent review will determine what went wrong in the state caucus process that led to a dayslong delay in reporting the results, inconsistencies in the numbers and no clear winner. Price said Friday that the independent forensic investigation will determine what went wrong. Almost nothing went right Monday, first when an app used to report the results failed and then when a massive backlog of phone reports and inquiries followed. Pete Buttigieg narrowly leads Bernie Sanders in Iowa’s released results, but The Associated Press has been unable to declare a winner based on the available information.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Will the Iowa caucuses ever wrap up? Now the chairman of the Democratic National Committee is calling for a “recanvass” of the results. Party leader Tom Perez tweeted Thursday that “enough is enough” after three days of technical issues and delays. Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders are nearly tied for the lead after the delays. Both candidates have declared themselves victorious in Monday’s contest. The Associated Press said Thursday that it is unable to declare a winner in the contest. The Iowa Democratic Party suggested it may not comply with Perez’s request, issuing a statement that said it would conduct a recanvass if one was requested by one of the candidates.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Democrats are recovering from a number of disappointments after Monday’s Iowa caucuses, though one has received less attention than the others. About 176,000 Iowans attended their precinct caucuses. That’s fewer than expected, and 62,000 less than the party’s high-water mark of 2008. The parade of candidates and marquee events that drew thousands of activists and a Democratic base seething to unseat President Donald Trump had given some party insiders the impression turnout could match or top 2008.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Troy Price says an independent review will determine what went wrong in the state caucus process that led to a dayslong delay in reporting the results, inconsistencies in the numbers and no clear winner. Price said Friday that the independent forensic investigation will determine what went wrong.

Almost nothing went right Monday, first when an app used to report the results failed and then when a massive backlog of phone reports and inquiries followed. Pete Buttigieg narrowly leads Bernie Sanders in Iowa’s released results, but The Associated Press has been unable to declare a winner based on the available information.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Pete Buttigieg says he raised $4 million since the Iowa caucuses, an impressive haul for a candidate looking to capitalize on his strong showing to continue building a national political brand. The campaign of the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, announced Friday that it had collected $4 million since Tuesday.

The results from Monday’s caucuses are too close for The Associated Press to call. In figures released by the state party, Buttigieg leads Bernie Sanders by 0.09 percentage points. Both have declared victory. Buttigieg’s fundraising numbers are another sign of strength for a candidate who was unknown in national politics a year ago.

(By BILL BARROW Associated Press) – Joe Biden is reorganizing his top presidential campaign leadership after a fourth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses. He’s elevating Anita Dunn to a role that effectively puts her in charge of his third White House bid, just days before the New Hampshire primary.

Biden had spent months leading national polls of Democratic primary voters. But he’s faced persistent doubts about the quality of his campaign operation in Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states in the presidential nominating process. And his campaign fundraising has lagged behind other leading contenders.

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — President Donald Trump has tweeted reassurances to Iowa and New Hampshire that the two states will be first in the presidential primary schedule “as long as I am President.” He called it a “Great tradition!”

The Iowa Democratic Party has spent the week trying to verify results from Monday’s caucuses, adding fuel to complaints that the earliest voting states should be more representative of the U.S. demographically. Trump’s tweet today (Friday) will appeal to many voters in the two states leading up to the general election because they want to preserve their states’ special role in the presidential race.

“I agree — thank you, Mr. President!,” tweeted New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican. The head of New Hampshire’s Democratic Party, Ray Buckley, wouldn’t say Friday if he has confidence in Tom Perez’s leadership at the Democratic National Committee.
Perez has called for a recanvass of the Iowa caucuses and sought to shift blame onto the Iowa Democratic Party.

New Hampshire’s primary is next Tuesday.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Democratic Party has extended until Monday a deadline originally set for midday Friday for presidential candidates to request a review of the results of this week’s Iowa presidential caucuses. That’s in light of the reporting debacle that forced a days-long delay in final numbers from the contest and left inconsistencies in the final count. After a breakdown in tallying the results caucus night, it took until Thursday for the state party, which operates the series of roughly 1,700 local meetings statewide, to issue final numbers.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A house fire in Sioux City has left two people dead and one critically injured. Firefighters were called to the fire Thursday morning in the rental home and found residents of the main floor outside. The Sioux City Journal reports that while extinguishing the fire and searching the basement, firefighters found three people and rushed them to a hospital, where two died. Those killed were identified Friday as 57-year-old Andrew Godberson and 24-year-old Jessica Fischer, both of Sioux City. The injured man is 26-year-old Juan Galarza, of Sioux City. Fire Marshal Mark Aesoph said fire investigators didn’t find any working smoke alarms in the house.

A U-S District Court judge in Davenport, Tuesday, sentenced 57-year old Jeffrey Scott Walter, of Burlington, to 104 months (slightly more than  8 1/2 years) in prison, for receiving and
distributing child pornography. Walter was ordered to serve five years of supervised release following his imprisonment, pay $100 to the Crime Victims’ Fund, and comply with the sex offender registry requirements upon release.

On September 24, 2019, Walter pleaded guilty. The investigation began between September 2016 and February 2018, when a Homeland Security Investigations agent identified an IP address
advertising child pornography files. On March 5, 2018, a search warrant was executed at Walters’ residence, which was tied to the IP address. A forensic examination of the electronic devices seized  revealed multiple images and videos containing child pornography. Walter admitted that he did  receive, distribute, and possess child pornography.

The matter was investigated by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). This case was prosecuted
by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.