(Radio Iowa) – A Dallas, Texas resident who is a Nigerian national will spend 87 months in federal prison on wire fraud charges involving Iowa businesses. Court documents showed 28-year-old Emmanuel Ogbeide (Ogg-be-eyed) created a fraudulent business email scheme with his father and his girlfriend in the Southern District of Iowa.

The information says the three knowingly falsified bank accounts and got employees at businesses to move money into them. It says Ogbeide actively participated in moving large sums of money between fraudulent accounts to avoid detection.

His father and girlfriend were each sentenced to 121 months in prison in September. The three were ordered to pay restitution of nearly one-point-six million dollars to the business.

(Radio Iowa) – Forecasters say tomorrow (Tuesday) morning’s commute could be a mess, as a mix or rain, snow and ice is expected tonight across much of eastern and central Iowa. A Winter Weather Advisory is posted for cities including Ames, Waterloo and Dubuque and all points south.

AAA-Iowa spokesman Brian Ortner says the three snowstorms that hit Iowa in the past two weeks dumped more than two feet of snow in many places, which created serious challenges.

“The folks who work for AAA who are out there responding to calls for Roadside Service, they were busy but the good thing was that people adhered to staying home, which was good,” Ortner says. “It freed up the roadways for them to do their work and it freed up the roadways for the road crews to get their work done as well.”

Some Iowans are still trying to navigate with a deep pile of snow on the hood and roof of their vehicle, which Ortner says can pose a dangerous hazard for themselves and others.

If your car looks like this, AAA says to clean all the snow off before trying to drive. (Radio Iowa photo)

“Take time to remove the snow from your entire car,” Ortner says. “If you’re out driving around, you want to do that so it doesn’t blow onto your windshield or the windshield of other drivers. Make sure your mirrors and lights are clean because that’s going to help other drivers see you. And having your windows clean will make sure that you have full vision of what’s going on around you when you hit the road.”

Also, slow down. Ortner says posted speed limits are only for ideal conditions, and Iowa’s road conditions haven’t been ideal in quite a while.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s governor and attorney general say nothing is more important than the pro-life cause. Governor Kim Reynolds signed bills in 2018 and again last summer to ban nearly all abortions after the sixth week of a pregnancy, but the Iowa Supreme Court is reviewing a legal challenge to the law, which would ban nearly all abortions in Iowa. “I will never back down from protecting the innocent and unborn,” Reynolds said, to cheers.

Reynolds addressed the crowd gathered in the capitol rotunda today (Monday) for the annual Iowa Rally for Life. “Go out there and continue to fight for the unborn. Thank you for what you do. Thank you for being here and thank you for never, ever ever backing down,” Reynolds said, as the crowd applauded and cheered.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird said “all life has value and must be protected. “…We know that we’re going to be successful. We just have to keep working and never give up. We’re never going to give up when it comes to doing the right thing.” Bird told the crowd all the legal briefs from supporters and opponents of Iowa’s fetal heartbeat law are due to be filed with the Iowa Supreme Court by the end of this month and a ruling is “likely” by the end of June.

Governor Kim Reynolds speaks at 2024 Iowa Rally for Life in capitol rotunda. (RI photo)

More than a dozen people spoke at today’s rally. Republican Representative Shannon Lundgren of Peosta guided the policy through the Iowa House in 2018 and again in 2023. “We’ve made a difference and never in my lifetime as a legislator did I ever think we’d see Roe v Wade overturned, but we have and what a joyous day that was,” Lundgren said, “so we’re going to continue to move the needle and do what we can to defend lives and support the moms that have tough decisions to make.” For example, Republicans are considering a bill that would ban city ordinances that prevent organizations from operating homes for pregnant women in residential neighborhoods.

Iowa Democratic Party chair Rita Hart said the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that overturned Roe v Wade is “a stark reminder of just how important it is to vote in every election.” Hart said Iowa Democrats “stand with the vast majority of Iowans” who oppose the six week abortion ban.

(Carroll, Iowa) – A single vehicle accident north of Carroll this (Monday) morning claimed the life of an adult and a female juvenile. The Iowa State Patrol says the accident happened a little before 8-a.m. on Highway 71, south of 150th Street. A 2005 Ford F-150 pickup driven by 41-year-old Joshua Shelton, of Carroll, was traveling south on Highway 71. When the pickup passed another southbound vehicle, it went out of control as it returned to the southbound lane.

The pickup entered the west ditch and struck a Mid-American Energy power pole before coming to rest. Shelton and his unidentified juvenile passenger died at the scene. Both were wearing their seat belts.

Carroll Community School District Superintendent Casey Berlau sent a letter to families Monday announcing that a ninth-grade student at Carroll High School and the student’s father died in a crash, according to the Carroll Times-Herald. “The district has taken immediate steps to provide support by coordinating with Heartland AEA to make additional grief counselors available. They will be onsite in the coming days to offer assistance to both students and staff” Berlau said in the letter.

The Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office and Carroll County EMS. According to the latest data from the Iowa Department of Transportation, four people have died so far this year on Iowa roads. That number is 11 fewer than at the same point in 2023. Over the last five years, an average of 350 people have been killed in statewide crashes annually.