DES MOINES, Iowa — Officials with the Iowa Department of Public Safety report an Iowa State (ISP) Trooper responded to a motorist assist call Sunday, in the 2300 block of Carter Avenue, in rural Moorland, Iowa, just west of Fort Dodge, Iowa.  Upon arrival, the Trooper encountered a male and female involved in a dispute and the male subject pointed and fired a handgun at the Trooper.   The male subject and the ISP Trooper exchanged several rounds at each other and the male subject was subsequently shot and killed.  The Trooper was not injured.  An initial investigation revealed the male suspect had fired several shots into his own vehicle prior to the Trooper arriving.

The name of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of relatives and the name of the Trooper is being withheld at his time.  The Webster County Sheriff’s Office and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation are investigating this incident and results of the investigation will be forwarded to the Webster County Attorney’s Office for review.

Firefighters from Cumberland, Massena and Wiota, were called to a fully involved house fire, Sunday, west of Cumberland. The blaze occurred at 67746 Quincy Road. The home was not occupied at the time..

Courtesy Cass County Sheriff’s Office

No other details currently available. The call was dispatched at around 3:08-p.m.  Atlantic and Griswold Fire tanker trucks were requested at around 3:25-p.m. The State Fire Marshal’s Office was called to assist in the investigation.

Photos courtesy Mike Kennon, Cass County EMA

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Des Moines Police have identified the victim in the city’s latest fatal shooting. Police said in a news release that 20-year-old Des Moines resident Josue D. Alonzo Jr. died after Friday night’s shooting on the city’s east side.
Officers found Alonzo dead at the scene of the shooting after they were called to the area around 10:30 p.m. Friday.

No arrests had been reported as of Sunday morning. This shooting was Des Moines’ third homicide this year.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa man has pleaded guilty to killing his mother by shoving chunks of an apple down her throat as part of a deal with prosecutors. Thirty-three-year-old Joseph Hubbard pleaded guilty to manslaughter on Friday in connection with the December 2016 death. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors dropped several other charges against Hubbard who had shared a mobile home with his mother, 56-year-old Deborah Roman, in Hiawatha.

Prosecutors say officers found Hubbard wandering naked on a Hiawatha street Dec. 2 after he broke into a church, poured gasoline inside and punched a man. Police say officers found Roman’s body when they checked their home.

Hubbard could spend up to 10 years in prison for the crime. He was also ordered to pay $150,000 to Roman’s estate.

A report finds deadly hit-and-run crashes are on the rise across the country and in Iowa. Rose White, spokeswoman for Triple-A-Iowa, says their research finds there’s another hit-and-run crash every minute nationwide. “Between 2006 through 2016, there were 93 hit-and-run crashes reported in Iowa that involved at least one fatality,” White says.

She urges motorists to be cautious — and courteous to other drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists. “If you drive a large pickup truck or SUV, those with the extended mirrors, use extra caution when sharing the road with bicyclists or when driving near pedestrians,” White says. “Some of these mirrors extend a foot-and-a-half from the side of the vehicle and can pose a deadly threat to any of those sharing the roadway.”

The Triple-A study finds nearly 65-percent of people killed in hit-and-run crashes are pedestrians or bicyclists. For those on foot or on bikes, White urges them to avoid distractions and stay alert. “Be aware of your surroundings and be aware of those extra dangers that can pose a threat, especially for vehicles that might be turning right on a red light,” White says. “Use caution whenever you’re near the roadway. This means staying off your cell phone if you’re a pedestrian.”

Since 2009, the number of deaths resulting from hit-and-run crashes has risen more than seven-percent each year. Florida and New Mexico are among the worst states for hit-and-run crashes and they also have some of the highest numbers of uninsured motorists. Iowa’s uninsured motorist rate is one of the lowest in the country at almost nine-percent, compared to Florida at nearly 27-percent.

(Radio Iowa)

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa Department of Education audit has found the Davenport school district’s special education programs include a disproportionate number of minority students and that many of them are subjected to disciplinary actions.

The audit found the district was in “systemic non-compliance” with multiple parts of the federal law that oversees the education of students with disabilities, the Quad-City Times reported . The department visited the district in January and February.

Violations included not providing adequate prior written notice for placement changes as well as insufficient functional behavior assessments and intervention plans. The audit also found that students special education students were being placed in educational settings not included in their individualized education plans.

The department ordered the district work with an adviser selected by the state to address the issues. Many of the identified problems were related to documentation issues, said Patti Pace-Tracy, the district’s director of special education services. The audit did find challenges the district needs to address, Pace-Tracy said. The district needs to examine its process of identifying students who need special education services, which done in partnership with the Area Education Agency, she said.

African American students on individualized education plans were more likely to be suspended for the 2015-16 than other students, the report found. The district plans to investigate what might be causing the disparity, Pace-Tracy said. “As a district we don’t take suspensions lightly and we don’t take expulsions lightly,” she said. “If you get suspended or expelled, it’s for a very serious infraction.”