DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — A man sentenced last year to 25 years for attempting to kill his wife in Dubuque now is seeking a competency evaluation, saying he should not have been allowed to  enter a plea in the case. The Telegraph Herald reports that 52-year-old Clifford Smiley has filed a petition seeking the exam, saying he was bipolar, off his medication and addicted to heroin when he entered an Alford plea to attempted murder last August. In an Alford plea, a person doesn’t admit guilt but acknowledges there is enough evidence to convict.

A judge recently granted Smiley’s request, but prosecutors are objecting, saying state rules don’t allow mental evaluations after a case has been adjudicated. Prosecutors say Smiley stabbed his estranged wife in a Dubuque parking lot on April 1, 2018.

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — A man convicted of second-degree murder for a crash that killed two people has been sentenced to 70 years in prison. The Coloradoan reports 20-year-old Marcos Orozco was sentenced Friday in the deaths of Nicole Nees of Fort Collins and her father, John Nees of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The crash occurred last Thanksgiving Day. Authorities say the victims had been shopping for Thanksgiving dinner and were stopped at a red light when Orozco, driving a stolen pickup, crashed into the rear of their vehicle at 90 mph. Earlier that day, prosecutors said, Orozco had used the stolen pickup to crash into a pawn shop and steal firearms. Most of the weapons were found in the pickup after the fatal crash.

The sentence includes 10 years for firearms burglary.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — A sinkhole will continue interfering with traffic in downtown Dubuque for about another month. The Dubuque Telegraph-Herald reports city officials estimate that it will take that long to figure out what is causing the hole under a lane of White Street downtown and fix the problem. A lane of traffic has already been closed for several weeks because of the issue.

City Engineer Gus Psihoyos says fixing the sinkhole will be a big ordeal. City officials are also evaluating another sinkhole on private property to make sure it won’t threaten city infrastructure. But ultimately the homeowners are responsible for filling that sinkhole.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — The city of Davenport is considering changes in its landscaping near the Mississippi river to ensure that it has room for bigger barriers in future floods. The Quad-City Times reports city officials are considering spending $180,000 to remove two road dividers filled with dirt and plants to make way for the bigger barriers.

After this summer’s record flooding that breached the city’s barrier, officials adjusted Davenport’s flood protection plan to build higher and heavier temporary flood walls whenever severe flooding is expected. The road dividers that were installed in 2010 would be in the way of those plans. City officials hope the dividers will be removed by next spring.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — MidAmerican Energy has announced its plans to erect fast-charging stations for electric vehicles in more than a dozen Iowa cities.

The Des Moines-based energy company says it plans to build the publicly-accessible stations, with two charging plugs per station, in 15 urban and rural communities. A DC fast-charger, also called a “Level 3” charger, can generally charge an electric vehicle in 20 to 45 minutes.

MidAmerican seeks to install the stations in Altoona, Avoca, Carroll, Clarinda, Davenport, Dexter, Early, Emmetsburg and Iowa City, as well as Fort Dodge, Little Sioux, Oskaloosa, Sheldon, Sioux City and Waterloo.

Once MidAmerican Energy selects site hosts, the company plans to begin building the stations by the end of the year.

Charging station hosts will set their own usage fees.

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest of a Corning woman on Friday. At 9:30pm Deputies arrested 33-year-old April Maeder of Corning on two warrants out of Osceola. The first warrant for Unauthorized Use of a Credit Card, a Class D Felony. The second warrant for Identity Theft, a Class D Felony. Maeder was taken to the Clarke County Jail and held on $10,000 bond.