(Radio Iowa) — Authorities say two women were seriously injured in an attempted robbery at the Le Mars Hy-Vee gas station early Sunday morning and the male suspect shot himself to death in Nebraska. Le Mars Police Chief Kevin Vande Vegte  says at about 6 a.m. Sunday, a man with a gun demanded cash from the store clerks in Le Mars.

“In the process of the robbery, the suspect shot both victims in the stomach area and then fled driving a beige Buick four-door with an Iowa plate,” Vande Vegte says. The names and the ages of the two Hy-Vee clerks are not being released. Both were taken to a Sioux City hospital and the police chief says the women are in serious but stable condition.

Vande Vegte says the male suspect was located at around 8 a.m. Sunday by police in South Sioux City, Nebraska, which is about 35 miles away from Le Mars.  “They did locate the suspect with an apparent, lethal, self-inflicted gunshot wound,” Vande Vegte says.

The police chief says the suspect has ties with Le Mars and it does not appear the public is in any danger. “Le Mars Police Department continues to investigate this crime and will release details after the investigation is complete. We do ask for the public’s patience, the media’s patience. We have some families that are going through a traumatic event, emergency response individuals that went through a traumatic event and we’re not going to rush into anything,” He said. “We’ll release the information, but it may be a day or so.”

Counselors were sent to meet with Hy-Vee employees. The Hy-Vee convenience store remains closed. A Hy-Vee vice president said like the rest of the Le Mars community, company officials are “shocked and saddened” by the shooting and she said the two employees who were injured were in “our thoughts and prayers.”

Police in Red Oak, Sunday night, arrested a woman on a drug charge. 35-year old Nicole Leann Barker, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 9-p.m. in the 2400 block of N. 8th Street, for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Barker was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 bond.

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

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — In Iowa, one of the whitest states in the nation, black Democrats are more energized than they’ve been since Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign and poised to make a mark on 2020. Driven by dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump, they could make a difference in a state that chooses its primary candidate via a caucus, which, unlike an open primary, attracts only the most motivated voters.

GLENWOOD, Iowa (AP) — A former western Iowa art teacher and track coach accused of groping and having other sexual contact with a female student has been convicted of two counts. Prosecutors in Mills County say a jury convicted 40-year-old Christopher Lee Irvin, of Pacific Junction, on Friday of third-degree sexual abuse and sexual exploitation by a school employee. Irvin is being held without bond until his sentencing at a later date, when he faces up to 12 years in prison.

NEBRASKA CITY, Neb. (AP) — Only weeks after reopening in the wake of historic flooding along the Missouri River in March, Interstate 29 on and off ramps for Highway 2 in southwest Iowa have again closed due to flooding. Highway 2 connects southwest Iowa to Nebraska City, Nebraska, over the Missouri River. The Omaha World-Herald reports that as of Saturday morning, floodwater was covering the ramps to the highway from I-29.

SALIX, Iowa – DNR Conservation Officers responded to a boating incident that left two people with serious injuries on Saturday, May 25 at Brown’s Lake just before 4:00pm.

Two tubers, 17-year old Adreanna Hamman, of Sioux City, and 39-year old Bernard Jon Baker (B.J. Baker), of Lawton, were being pulled behind a boat driven by 29-year old Nicole Baker, when the tube struck a stationary boat causing serious injury to both tubers.

Both Hamman and Baker were taken to a Sioux City hospital. Hamman has since been transferred to an Omaha hospital and has undergone surgery and is in stable condition.  Baker is still at a Sioux City Hospital and is currently stabilized.

Alcohol and drugs were not a factor in the crash. All safety equipment was in place on the boat during the crash and the tubers were wearing personal flotation devices when the crash occurred. Charges are pending.

Woodbury County Conservation, Woodbury County Sheriff’s Department, and the Iowa State Patrol assisted the Iowa DNR with the investigation.

CORALVILLE, Iowa – Iowa DNR Conservation Officers responded to a diving rock on the Coralville Reservoir Saturday, around 4:30-p.m., where a group of approximately 15 teenagers were gathered and one had been rescued after jumping into the water and nearly drowning.

A passerby boat noticed a male that could not swim and was struggling to stay above the water and stopped to rescue the male. The male was transported to a local hospital once the DNR and Johnson County Sheriff’s Office arrived.

A DNR Conservation Officer charged a 14 year old female after the officer found drug paraphernalia. It is against Army Corps of Engineers rules to jump off the rock into the water.