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Visiting clergyman from Ghana suspended by Catholic Diocese of Des Moines

News

August 24th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — Allegations of unwanted sexual advances has led to the suspension of a Catholic priest in southern Iowa. Catholic Diocese of Des Moines Bishop Richard Pates says he took the action immediately after hearing the allegations on Wednesday and he notified police in Chariton.

A statement from the Diocese identifies the suspended priest as Francis Aning Amoah, a visiting clergyman from the West African nation of Ghana, who has ministered in the Diocese of Des Moines since December 2017. Aning Amoah has been serving parishes in Chariton, Corydon, Leon, and Indianola.

Midwest Sports Headlines: 8/24/18

Sports

August 24th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals are on a remarkable run during the dog days of August. They swept the Dodgers to win their eighth consecutive series and have gone 17-4 so far this month to pull within 2 ½ games of the NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs. St. Louis visits Colorado on Friday.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs will remain without three defensive starters, including star safety Eric Berry, when they visit the Chicago Bears for their third preseason game this weekend. Berry is dealing with a heel injury, while defensive end Allen Bailey is out with a knee injury and cornerback Steven Nelson with a concussion.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A throwing error on Kevin Kiermaier’s bases-loaded grounder in the ninth inning helped the Tampa Bay Rays complete a four-game sweep by beating the Kansas City Royals 4-3. Tampa Bay improved to a season-high six games over .500 with its fifth consecutive victory. Kansas City, which has lost 17 of 21, fell 52 games under .500 and was eliminated from the playoff race.

ANKENY, Iowa (AP) — Forward Cameron Lard is back with Iowa State’s basketball team. Lard enrolled at a wellness center in early June instead of joining his teammates for summer workouts. Coach Steve Prohm says Lard rejoined the Cyclones earlier this month after some off-court problems.

UNDATED (AP) — IndyCar drivers have been waiting patiently for updates on Canadian Robert Wickens since he suffered a spinal injury in a crash at Pocono Raceway. Wickens remains hospitalized in Pennsylvania and the series moves on to race Saturday night at Gateway Motorsports Park near St. Louis. The drivers will push Wickens’ crash out of their minds as they focus on the racing.

Iowa early News Headlines: Friday, 8/24/18

News

August 24th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

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

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The arrest of a Mexican farmworker in the death of an Iowa college student renewed calls to change immigration laws, but it also focused attention on the immigrant workers whose labor is essential to agriculture. Hours after authorities found the body of Mollie Tibbetts, some Republican politicians expressed outrage that the suspect had been able to live illegally in the U.S. for years. Farm groups were more muted, reflecting the difficulty in hiring for dairies and slaughterhouses.

BROOKLYN, Iowa (AP) — A medical examiner says the Iowa college student who was allegedly abducted by a stranger last month died from stab wounds. Authorities say preliminary autopsy results show 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts was the victim of a homicide who died from “multiple sharp force injuries.” State medical examiner Dennis Klein says that finding means a sharp-edged or pointed object such as a knife was used to attack Tibbetts.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Cindy Axne, the Democratic candidate for Iowa’s 3rd District congressional seat, is calling on Rep. David Young to reject a telephone poll that includes a statement about the death of University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts and misstates Axne’s position on immigration. The 15-minute poll asks voters whether the statement would affect their vote.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — An eastern Iowa woman wanted in connection with the death of her 5-year-old son has been arrested on a charge of first-degree murder and her former boyfriend is still at large. The Quad-City Times reports that 24-year-old Jacqueline Majanise Rambert, of Davenport, was taken into custody Tuesday in Chicago. Murder warrants were issued for Rambert and 26-year-old Tre DeSean Henderson for the death of 5-year-old Ja’Shawn Bussell.

New playoff formula debuts for Iowa high school football

Sports

August 23rd, 2018 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — College basketball may no longer be using a Ratings Percentage Index to help determine which teams make the NCAA Tournament but the R-P-I is coming to high school football and for the first time since district football was installed all nine games will count toward the playoffs. Todd Tharp of the Iowa High School Athletic Association says three factors will be considered. (Click on on the left side of the audio bar to listen to his comments)

Tharp says the R-P-I will be posted on the association’s website the week of September 10 and will be updated weekly.

The new system means non district games will be part of the equation and Tharp says teams will not be penalized for playing teams from smaller classes.

Tharp says the R-P-I will be used to determine at-large bids and winning or sharing a district title will get a team into the playoffs automatically.

Owner of auto dealership donates $1 million to DMACC

News

August 23rd, 2018 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — A big donation is helping Des Moines Area Community college expand its Automotive Technology program. DMACC’s Rob Denson says the current auto facility on the Ankeny campus was built in 1980 and is outdated. A gift presented to the school Wednesday will help double the size of DMACC’s Auto Tech Center.

Carl Moyer, owner of Karl Chevrolet, announced his family is donating $1 million to the $12 million project. Denson said construction will be started later this year and be completed in fall 2020. The project will involve the addition of 22 vehicle bays, a new classroom and student lounge, conference room and showroom. Nine classrooms in the existing facility will be renovated.

The facility will be called the Karl Chevrolet Automotive Technology Center at DMACC.

Psychologist: Blackouts after trauma are real, but rare

News

August 23rd, 2018 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — The man charged in the murder of Mollie Tibbetts near her Brooklyn, Iowa, home reportedly told investigators all about the incident — but claims he blacked out during the actual attack. Some question that part of the suspect’s story. Psychologist Dr. Jonathan Sikorski, in Omaha, says amnesia does happen in those circumstances, but it’s unlikely.

“They’re in the realm of possibility but they’re pretty rare, about 0.2% of the population,” Dr. Skiorski says. “It’s a pretty common claim after there’s been a murder or a big tragedy.” Twenty-four-year-old Cristhian Rivera is charged in the killing of Tibbetts, a University of Iowa student who was reported missing more than a month ago. Agents say Rivera confessed to following and confronting Tibbetts as she jogged, but then says he got angry and blacked out, coming to later in his car — with her bloody body in the trunk.

Authorities say Rivera led them to the hidden body in a Poweshiek County cornfield. After providing that much detail, why won’t he discuss the alleged murder? Sikorski says forensic psychologists may be able to jar Rivera’s memory. “They’ll have techniques through interviews and they can do some types of psychological testing, but mostly through interviews that they can get to the bottom of that,” Sikorski says. “It’s sometimes a common claim after activities like this or events like this. They have ways of parsing it out.” Sikorski says true amnesia is exceptionally rare and it’s unclear what may be going on in Rivera’s mind.

“A lot of people will claim amnesia or they blacked out,” Sikorski says. “Some people will drink heavily and then say they can’t remember what happened, impaired judgment, things like that. It’s hard to know.” Rivera’s bond is set at five-million dollars. Sikorski is a professor in the Psychiatry Department at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.

Cam Lard rejoins Iowa State hoops team after wellness center

Sports

August 23rd, 2018 by Ric Hanson

ANKENY, Iowa (AP) — Forward Cameron Lard is back in Iowa State’s good graces and coach Steve Prohm is hopeful things will stay that way. Prohm said Thursday that Lard, who enrolled at a wellness center in early June instead of joining his teammates for summer workouts, rejoined the Cyclones earlier this month.

Lard, who will be a sophomore this season, had a drug paraphernalia charge dismissed during a pretrial hearing in April. He was stopped by Ames police on Feb. 4 for speeding, and an officer smelled marijuana coming from the car. Lard pleaded guilty to speeding.

Lard, 20, was also cited for being underage at an Ames bar this offseason. Prohm said all the issues pushed Lard to spend time at a wellness center and away from Ames in an effort to make better decisions. Prohm met with Lard on Wednesday and said he was in “really good spirits.”

“He’s done some things that he doesn’t need to be doing. We handled that internally,” said Prohm, who met with reporters before a charity golf event outside of Des Moines. “My goal, and my prayer, is that he continues to grow and get better.”

The 6-foot-9, 225-pound Lard didn’t arrive at Iowa State until midway through his freshman season, but he was considered so talented that there was talk that Lard might immediately join a team that went on to win the Big 12 Tournament. Prohm instead redshirted him. Last year, Lard showed in his first season that he has the potential to be one of the better big men in America.

Lard averaged 12.6 points and was fourth in the Big 12 with 8.1 rebounds per game in 2017-18, even though he made just 16 starts. Lard also ranked second in the Big 12 in field-goal percentage at .601 and third in blocks per game at 2.2.

Lard was inconsistent as a freshman, but he also took games over more than once. He scored 22 points against Texas Tech on 10 of 11 shooting, had 21 points and 16 rebounds against Texas and scored 19 points with 17 boards in a win over Oklahoma. Lard has not spoken to the media since last season.

“If we can get (his habits) lined up with his abilities, I think he’s got a chance to be a terrific frontcourt player in (the Big 12),” Prohm said. “He really runs the floor well, really chases down on the offensive glass…and hopefully we can continue to develop his offensive, low-post game. But it’s about habits for him. And he knows that, and I think he took a big step this summer.”

Mills County Sheriff’s report (8/23)

News

August 23rd, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Two people were arrested Thursday, in Mills County. The Sheriff’s Office reports 37-year old Daniel Edward Miller, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for OWI/1st offense, and on a Montgomery County warrant for Assault. His bond was set at $2,000. And, 33-year old Lynnette Tara Grothe, of Lincoln, NE., was arrested on a warrant for Failure To Appear in court on an original citation. Her bond was set at $300.

Former Student Sentenced for Causing Damage to University of Iowa Computer Network

News

August 23rd, 2018 by Ric Hanson

DAVENPORT, IA– A former University of Iowa Student Wrestler was sentenced Thursday, to four months in prison, after pleading guilty to unauthorized access and damage to the University of Iowa college computer network. 23-year old Trevor J. Graves was also ordered to serve two years of supervised release, pay $67,900 in restitution, and pay $100 to the Crime Victims’ Fund. Graves pleaded guilty in April 2018.

Graves admitted he knew from May 2015 to November 15, 2016, the University of Iowa Iowa Courses Online (ICON) computer network was a protected computer. During this time period, Graves knowingly and intentionally placed a key logger on University of Iowa computers and fraudulently obtained professors’ user names and passwords, accessed the ICON computer network, and deleted and changed student grades.

Specifically, Graves accessed the ICON system and, without authorization, changed course grades for himself and five other students. The University of Iowa’s information technology costs associated with their internal investigation, response to the discovery of the network breach, and remedial steps taken to update the University of Iowa information technology security was approximately $67,900.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, University of Iowa Department of Public Safety, and University of Iowa, Information Services Technology division. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

Preliminary autopsy findings show that Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts was killed by ‘sharp force injuries’

News

August 23rd, 2018 by Ric Hanson

BROOKLYN, Iowa (AP) — Preliminary autopsy findings show that Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts was killed by ‘sharp force injuries.’ The Iowa State Medical Examiner conducted an autopsy yesterday (Wednesday, August 22, 2018), on the body confirmed to be Mollie Tibbetts, and drew some preliminary conclusions.

The State Medical Examiner determined that the manner of death was homicide resulting from multiple sharp force injuries. Further examination may result in additional findings. Autopsy reports are confidential under Iowa law, except for the cause and manner of death.

Cristhian Bahena Rivera has been charged in the Iowa District Court for Poweshiek County with Murder in the First Degree. Iowa courts have established rules limiting the release of information regarding an individual who has been criminally charged in a state court. The rules are designed to protect a defendant’s interests in a fair trial that could be affected by media attention to the facts in the case. Court proceedings are open to the public, in almost all circumstances, and those formal proceedings are the primary method for communicating information about the case.

Given that criminal charges have been filed in state court, the Division of Criminal Investigation does not intend to grant individual interviews with members of the media, and will conduct a limited number of press conferences while the case is pending in the Iowa District Court.