A man authorities are looking for after he fell into the water at Lake Panorama Thursday evening, has been identified as 22-year old Kenton Greaves, of Brooklyn, New York. Multiple sources say Grand View University in Des Moines sent out a letter on Friday, indicating Greaves had died after he disappeared while tubing on the lake with a group of friends.

Greaves had just completed his junior year at GVU, where he was a member of the wrestling team, and a Senior Criminal Justice major. Crisis counselors were being made available to Grand View University students and staff to help them deal with the loss.

The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office and dive teams are working to recover Greaves’ body.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A former Des Moines school district art teacher has been arrested and charged with having a sexual relationship with a female student. Television station KCCI reports that 50-year-old Jason Soliday was arrested Friday and booked into the Polk County Jail on a charge of sexual exploitation by a school employee.

Soliday remained jailed Friday afternoon on $5,000 cash-only bail. A spokeswoman for the district says Soliday resigned Thursday to avoid being fired.

World champion and #4-ranked, Geoffrey Esper will compete with other top competitive eaters at the second annual Tivoli Fest World Æbleskiver-Eating Championship sanctioned by Major League Eating on Saturday, May 26th at 2 P.M at Tivoli Fest, held in downtown Elk Horn, Iowa — the largest rural Danish Settlement in the United States.

Last year, Matt Stonie  ate an incredible 87 Æbleskiver in eight minutes, setting a world record. Some believe that  Gideon Oji could break this record this year, and possibly approach the 90 mark.

Æbleskiver are a type of round pancake cooked in a special stove-top pan with half-spherical molds. The center is soft and fluffy and the crust is crisp and browned. Originating in the country of Denmark, they can be served with powdered sugar, topped or filled with jam or maple syrup or rolled in sugar. Competitive eaters will seek to set a new world record in the æbleskiver discipline.

Other top eating talent will include the #6-ranked Gideon Oji Morrow, GA, the #8-ranked Darron Breeden from Orange, VA, the #40-ranked Matthew Raible from Edwards, IL.

About Tivoli Fest:
Tivoli Fest is the annual Danish American festival in the Danish Village of Elk Horn, Iowa, the largest Danish rural settlement in the USA. It is a celebration of Danish American culture, traditions and foods. Tivoli Fest is a wonderful experience which includes a parade, folk dancing, live bands, 5k run, vikings, exhibits, fireworks, beer garden, Scandinavian entertainment, the World Æbleskiver Eating Championship, plus you can enjoy Danish food such as Æbleskiver, Smørrebrød, and Medisterpølse. Be sure to tour the only working Danish Windmill in the United States along with the Museum of Danish America. This unique celebration provides a variety of fun opportunities for the whole family.

About Major League Eating:

Major League Eating (MLE), the world governing body of all stomach-centric sports, conducts more than 80 events annually, including the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog-Eating Contest in Coney Island, N.Y. The competitive eating community is made up of more than 8,000 veteran and rookie gurgitators who travel the nation in search of top titles and the glory that they provide.For more information, visit www.IFOCE.com, www.facebook.com/eatfast or twitter @eatingcontest.

(DES MOINES) – Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds ordered all state flags in Iowa to be lowered to half-staff effective immediately until sunset on Tuesday, May 22, 2018, to honor the murdered and injured in Friday’s tragedy at Santa Fe High School in Texas. The governor’s order is issued in conjunction with President Donald Trump’s order to lower all United States flags to half-staff for the same length of time.

Flags will be at half-staff on the State Capitol Building and on flag displays in the Capitol Complex. Flags will also be half-staff on all public buildings, grounds and facilities throughout the state.

Individuals, businesses, schools, municipalities, counties and other government subdivisions are encouraged to fly the flag at half-staff for the same length of time as a sign of respect.

A U-S District Court Judge in Council Bluffs, Thursday, sentenced 49-year old Glen S. Davis, of Las Vegas, Nevada, to one year and one day in prison for interstate communication of a threat. United States Attorney Marc Krickbaum says following his prison term, Davis will serve three years of supervised release.

Davis pleaded guilty for sending emails that contained threats to injure another person. Davis sent the threatening e-mails to an individual who ordered the repossession of a vehicle leased by Davis, due to non-payment.

The matter was investigated by the Carter Lake Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa said Friday (today), 51-year old Robert W. Bennett, of Council Bluffs, was sentenced to prison, May 11th, on a child pornography charge. United States District Court Judge Stephanie M. Rose  sentenced Bennett to 121 months (a little more than 10-years) in prison, for receipt of child pornography. Bennett was ordered to serve five years of supervised release to follow his prison term.

Bennett pleaded guilty to the charge on January 2, 2018. The plea was the result of an investigation that began with a tip received by the Council Bluffs Police Department from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that Bennett’s cloud storage system contained child pornography. A search warrant served on Bennett’s residence located a computer, cell phones, tablets and numerous storage devices that contained images of child pornography.

The investigation was conducted by the Council Bluffs Police Department and was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

A fight among House Republicans led to defeat of the Farm Bill when the legislation came up for a vote today (Friday). Democrats had criticized the proposed Farm Bill because it includes new work requirement for food stamp recipients who are in their 50s or the parents of school-aged children, but it was conservative Republicans in the U.S. House who defeated the bill for another reason. They were demanding an immediate vote on an immigration crack-down. Enough of them then voted against the Farm Bill crafted by some of their fellow Republicans that the bill fell 15 votes short of passing. The current Farm Bill expires September 30th.

Senator Chuck Grassley is urging his fellow Republicans in the U.S. HOUSE to go back to the drawing board and fix the Farm Bill they’ve crafted. Senator Grassley says his fellow Republicans in the House now need to come up with “better” Farm Bill.

Grassley says the bill should deny federal farm subsidies to people who are not farmers, but people who’ve merely invested in farmland. Democrat Dave Loebsack of Iowa City was the first member of Iowa’s U.S. House delegation to release a statement about the Farm Bill’s failure.

Loebsack says House Republicans have shown “they care more about being partisan than passing a farm bill to support Iowa’s farmers.” Loebsack, who says the bill didn’t provide enough of a financial safety net for farmers, suggests the debate over federal farm policy “has devolved into a partisan food fight.”

(Radio Iowa)

BELLEVUE, Iowa (AP) — Police in northeastern Iowa have announced an arrest in the Christmas Day 2016 stabbing death of a Bellevue man. Bellevue police say an arrest warrant was issued Thursday for 23-year-old Drew Alan Mangler, of Dubuque, in the death of 59-year-old James Remakel. Police say Mangler was arrested Friday and has been charged with first-degree murder.

Police found Remakel’s body after being called to a house in Bellevue on Dec. 25, 2016. An autopsy showed Remakel had been stabbed multiple times.

Police declined to release other details about Remakel’s death and Mangler’s suspected involvement. Mangler was being held in the Jackson County Jail.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office said Friday (Today), a woman riding a motorcycle was injured during an accident Wednesday afternoon. 60-year old Dana Johnston, of Glenwood, was driving a 2013 KYMCO Motorcycle westbound on Ellington Avenue at around 4:20-p.m., when she lost control on loose gravel near 221st Street.

Johnston laid the cycle on its side. She was transported to Jennie Ed Hospital by Glenwood Rescue. The extent of her injuries was not released.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration is encouraging businesses not to use an Iowa company’s service or any other that promises to hide information about safety violations. The FDA said this week that it’s aware of Tin Moon., a Dubuque marketing company founded by U.S. Rep. Rod Blum and his business partner in 2016.

Tin Moon has solicited business from companies who have received FDA letters warning them to correct safety violations. Tin Moon says FDA letters are derogatory and hurt business, and that its “reputation management service” can remove them from page one of online search results.

FDA says companies should focus on correcting violations rather than “on ways to hide these warnings from the public.” The FDA says it’s important for citizens to have access to accurate information when searching for a product or company.

Tin Moon has been under scrutiny since February, when The Associated Press reported that Blum failed to disclose it on his annual financial disclosure.
Tin Moon’s Monty Alexander declined comment Friday.