(Radio Iowa) — A Fort Dodge police officer may have been exposed to fentanyl while making an arrest during a traffic stop on Sunday afternoon. During the traffic stop, the responding officer handled an unknown substance and began feeling lightheaded. Medics were summoned to the Webster County Law Enforcement Center to examine him. Upon arrival, the medics and police officer discovered the officer to be lethargic and unresponsive in his patrol vehicle. The officer was transported to Unity Point Hospital and was given at least two doses of Narcan, an opioid overdose reversal drug.Additional doses were administered after arriving in the hospital emergency room. The officer quickly recovered and was released from the hospital on Monday.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A reward has been offered for information about whoever spray-painted Bible verses, racist language and swastikas on an Iowa City church. Police say the Greater Iowa City Church of the Nazarene building was defaced between 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 8:15 a.m. Sunday. Iowa City Area CrimeStoppers is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information about the crime.

Two men were arrested on separate charges in Red Oak. At around 3:55-a.m. today (Tuesday), 47-year old Michael Vaughn Cox, of Red Oak, was arrested in the 600 block of N. 6th Street, after Red Oak Police were called to look for a man knocking on houses. Officers located a man later identified as Cox, and arrested him for Public Intoxication. Cox was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 bond. And, at around 7:15-p.m. Monday, Red Oak Police conducted  at traffic stop, and upon further investigation, arrested 25-year old Shilo J. Major, of Red Oak, for Driving Under Suspension with three withdrawals in effect. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $566 bond.

(Radio Iowa) — A proposal to make it more difficult to create new public parks and recreation areas in Iowa drew a big crowd of opponents to the state Capitol Monday. It would prevent state dollars from being used to acquire land for public use. Alicia Vasto of the Iowa Environmental Council says the legislation is tone-deaf to what many Iowans – especially younger people – want.

“Access to public space and recreation is important to me and my generation,” Vasto said. “It’s a quality of life issue that cannot be understated and is an ongoing part of the conversation around workforce recruitment and brain drain.”

Marc Beltrame spoke on behalf of Ducks Unlimited. “This legislation doesn’t create another job,” Beltrame said. “It doesn’t make it easier to bring people to the state. It doesn’t make it easier to retain people that are already here.”

The bill has the backing of the Iowa Farm Burea. The group argues it could make it easier for beginning farmers to buy land and ensure state money is used to maintain and enhance existing public land. A three-member House subcommittee did not take a position on the bill Monday. A Senate committee MAY consider a similar bill later today (Tuesday).

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CST

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Defense lawyers for a man jailed in the 1990 death of a 9-year-old girl are accusing Iowa prosecutors of letting a key witness give false testimony at three trials in the case. An attorney for Stanley Liggins says he has discovered records showing that prosecution witness Antonio Holmes was given a favorable plea agreement in exchange for his testimony against Liggins. Liggins is preparing to stand trial a fourth time in the death of 9-year-old Jennifer Lewis.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is on a mission to discuss trade but it’s not to foreign customers it’s with Iowa farmers who are struggling to survive low commodity prices and tariffs that have hurt sales. Pompeo, flanked by U.S. Ambassador to China and former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad spoke to a group of young suburban Des Moines Future Farmers of America members Monday at a school. Pompeo also is touring a DowDuPont agricultural research facility and addressing Iowa Farm Bureau members.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Des Moines police say a suspect in a carjacking shot at officers who fired back and killed him. Police say the carjacking victim called 911 early Monday to report he’d been shot when two people stole his vehicle. Police say they spotted the vehicle occupied by two men and a woman. A man and woman were detained, and another man was found later. Three officers ordered him to show his hands, and he fired several shots at them. They returned fire, killing a man identified as Luke Anthony Swann.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A utility is demanding that a Des Moines zoo start paying its water and sewer bill but the foundation that runs the zoo says that could jeopardize a free ticket program. The Des Moines Register reports that Des Moines Water Works is willing to forgive most of the $5 million that Blank Park Zoo hasn’t paid since 2003, but that it wants $74,000 for water used last year. Zoo president Mark Vukovich says the Blank Park Zoo Foundation was told it wouldn’t have to pay utilities.

(Radio Iowa) — July will mark the 50th anniversary of what’s considered humankind’s greatest scientific achievement, landing a man on the Moon. To honor the landmark, Des Moines Area Community College is bringing in three Apollo astronauts to speak in a single panel this week. DMACC Provost Anthony Paustian says it’s an exceptionally rare treat to see these pioneers share one stage.

“We have three Apollo astronauts, Walt Cunningham from Apollo 7, we have Al Worden from Apollo 15, and Fred Haise from Apollo 13,” Paustian says, “and we have Gerry Griffin, who was one of the three flight directors for Mission Control coming in.” The astronauts are among 15 speakers who will be on DMACC’s West Des Moines campus as part of the 10th annual Celebrate Innovation Week. Among the entrepreneurs on the list is Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream.

Paustian says, “Jerry and his friend and partner, Ben Cohen, took a $5 correspondence course through Penn State University many years ago on how to make ice cream and turned that small step into a giant leap when they sold Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream to Unilever for $350-million.” Other speakers include Roy Choi, a celebrity chef and the founder of the gourmet food truck movement; Danielle Feinberg, the director of photography and lighting at Pixar Animation Studios; and Randi Zuckerberg, a former Facebook executive and CEO of Zuckerberg Media.

There will also be an appearance by Lynne Cox, a world record-setting endurance swimmer and best-selling author. “She has swam more difficult swims in the world than anybody else has, over 60 of them,” Paustian says. “She swam the Bering Strait from Alaska to Russia, she swam the English Channel twice, broke world records twice, faster than men swim it. She has swam around part of Antarctica just in a swimsuit and goggles. This is an amazing feat.”

The events run through Friday. All are free and open to the public. See the full list of speakers and the schedule at: https://www.dmacc.edu/ciweek/Pages/schedule.aspx

(Radio Iowa) — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spent Monday in Iowa, assuring farmers there’s been “real progress” in trade negotiations with China. “I’m very, very hopeful we’ll be able to wrap up and get a truly successful outcome for the United States and for American ag,” Pompeo said.

Pompeo spoke late Monday afternoon at a forum in Des Moines organized by the Iowa Farm Bureau. John Maxwell, an eastern Iowa dairy farmer, was among those who asked Pompeo a question about the deal. “Would you comment on any kind of time frame because every day that marches on it’s getting tougher and tougher?” Maxwell asked. Pompeo responded: “No,” and both Pompeo and the audience laughed. “You remember I said I’d answer almost anything…I’m not trying to be short or not take your question seriously. I do. I am and the president is, too, enormously sympathetic to what you all are going through.”

A man who identified himself as a fifth generation farmer from northwest Iowa said he harvested a “really good crop” last fall and hasn’t sold all of it on contract yet. “Do you have a plan B or whatever to peddle these things someplace other than China?” the farmer asked. Pompeo said: “…I don’t know that there’s a concrete solution to the question that you raise. I wish I could tell you: ‘Yes, we’ve got the markets identified. We know the price at which we can clear,’ but there are lots of ideas about how we might do that, ways that we might assist.”

Pompeo made the stop in Iowa at the urging of former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, who’s now the U.S. Ambassador to China. “I think it’s important to be able to share with the people of Iowa what’s being done on these very delicate, important issues,” Branstad told reporters. Pompeo suggested while it’s been hard to get China to agree to buy more American agricultural goods, the most difficult part of the negotiations has been about China’s theft of intellectual property.

Pompeo says that includes stealing the secrets of hybrid seeds developed in the United States. Pompeo also told the crowd he expects the U.S. Mexico Trade Agreement to ratified by all three countries by the end of this year — hopefully bringing an end to the tariffs Mexico placed on U.S. pork. “We’re trying to make sure we don’t fall down the same trap that American trade negotiators have done so many times,” Pompeo said. “We’re deeply aware of these retaliatory trade tariff issues and we know how much they affect you…Know they’re in the front of our mind.”

Pompeo told the crowd it’s an “enormous privilege” to serve in the Trump Administration and try to deliver on the promises Trump made during the 2016 campaign. “It’s a wonderful thing to have this opportunity and then you all get to read his Twitter account, too,” Pompeo said, with a laugh. Pompeo is a former Kansas congressman.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Defense lawyers for a man jailed in the 1990 death of a 9-year-old girl are accusing Iowa prosecutors of letting a key witness give false testimony at three trials in the case.

An attorney for Stanley Liggins says he has discovered new records showing that prosecution witness Antonio Holmes was given a favorable plea agreement in exchange for his testimony against Liggins.

Liggins has twice been convicted of killing Lewis, who was kidnapped, raped, strangled and left dead behind an elementary school in Davenport, Iowa. Those convictions have been overturned. A jury deadlocked on whether he was guilty last year at a third trial. A fourth trial is scheduled next week.

Holmes had said he didn’t receive any benefit from prosecutors for his testimony.

ATLANTIC – Officials with the Cass County Health System (CCHS) have announced that Darci Young, BSN, RN, was among the honorees named in the 100 Great Iowa Nurses for the 2019 award class. Patients, colleagues, and nursing leaders nominated more than 500 nurses from across the state for this prestigious award. Honorees are recognized for their outstanding courage, competence, and commitment to patients and the nursing profession.

Young has been the Manager of the Cass County Health System Emergency Department since August of 2010 and also serves as a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner and a County Medical Examiner for Cass County. Before beginning with Cass County Health System, she was an Emergency Department nurse at Jennie Edmondson hospital for five years and Creighton University Hospital for seven. She received her RN from Iowa Western Community College in 1998 and completed her Bachelors of Science in Nursing in 2016 from Aspen University.

Amanda Birline, Chief Nursing Officer for CCHS said “Darci is a wonderful asset to CCHS and Cass County. She demonstrates excellent clinical care, compassion and leadership every day. We are thrilled to see her receive such a great honor.”

Each year, the 100 Great Iowa Nurses are honored at a ceremony. This year’s 100 Great Iowa Nurses will be honored on May 5, 2019 – the beginning of Nurses Week – at the 15th annual celebration in Des Moines.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Des Moines police say a suspect in a carjacking shot at officers who fired back and killed him. Police say the carjacking victim called 911 around 3:50 a.m. Monday to report that he’d been shot in a leg when two people stole his sport utility vehicle. Police say the SUV was occupied by two men and a woman when it was spotted around 10 minutes later.

It went up a dead-end street and parked in a driveway. The three got out and walked away, and the woman and one of the men were soon detained. Police say three officers then found the last suspect hiding near a garage. Police say the officers told him to show his hands, and he responded by firing several shots at them. They returned his fire and killed him. He’s been identified as 36-year-old Luke Anthony Swann, of Des Moines.

The other man in the car, 21-year-old William Lee Weaver, was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. He also had a warrant from Warren County for a probation violation. He’s being held in the Polk County Jail. The three officers were identified as Brian Buck, Brian Minnehan and Ryan Steinkamp.