(Radio Iowa) – Iowa State University researchers are studying an emerging field called agrivoltaics, the practice of farming on land where solar power is being generated. Matt O’Neal, an I-S-U professor of plant pathology, entomology and microbiology, says the team will be planting a variety of fruits and vegetables literally in the shadow of an array of solar panels at a planned site south of Ames. I-S-U has won a four-year, one-point-eight million dollar grant from the U-S Department of Energy to conduct the research in the non-traditional farm setting. Agrivoltaics holds much promise, O’Neal says, as there’s an increasing amount of prime farmland that’s -not- being used for farming because it has solar panels planted instead.

(Radio Iowa) – The Marengo company that was the site of an explosion and fire in December has complied with a judge’s order to give the Iowa Department of Natural Resources a list of chemicals present at the time. The Attorney General’s Office says C-6-Zero attempted to submit the list by the deadline but the company was delayed by technical issues. The A-G’s Office says it has obtained the list Friday and had passed it to the D-N-R.

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department reports five recent arrests. A little after 2-a.m. Sunday, 23-year-old Maria P. Hawthorne, of Nebraska, was arrested in Creston for OWI/1st offense. And, at around 10:25-p.m. Saturday, 50-year-old Matthew David Walden, of Creston, was arrested for OWI/1st Offense. Both subjects were being held in the Union County Jail on a $1,000 cash or surety bond.

At around 6:40-a.m., Saturday, 43-year-old Stacy Marie Jones, of Creston, was arrested at her home on a charge of Domestic Abuse Assault causing injury/1st offense. Jones was transported to the Adams County Jail and held on a $300 bond.

Just before 2-a.m. Saturday, 45-year-old Kerry Lee Starlin, of Creston, was arrested for OWI/1st offense. She was later released on a $1,000 bond.

And, at around 5:14-p.m. on Feb. 23rd, 53-year-old Danny Ray Bird, Jr., of Creston, was arrested at the Creston/Union County Law Enforcement Center. Bird was charged with Assault w/intent to cause pain/injury. He was later released on bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa State University is moving ahead with plans to renovate the Scheman Building after getting approval from the Board of Regents. The I-S-U athletic department oversees its operation as part of the Iowa State Center complex I-S-U’s Shawn Norman says Scheman has gotten a lot of use through the years. “This is a 48 year old building has thousands of people come through for events. And one thing that we want to do in this project is the renovation of the first and the second floor,” Norman says. He says they will upgrade the lobby, restrooms, entrances, lighting and food and beverage amenities.

“But the one big thing is the Benton Auditorium space, we want to make that a flexible event space that we can have these people that come in these visitors that visit our museums in our athletic events,” he says. Norman says they also want to improve the link to other facilities. “We want to elevate the walkway between the Seaman Building and the Hilton Coliseum. But we want that to be evaluated during the process to see if there’s any repairs that are needed. So this would not have anybody having to move out…so everybody, everything would be good in that instance,” Norman says. “…our estimated budget is about ten to 12 million dollars at this point. So funded by athletic operating revenues.”

Norman says they won’t know how long the renovations will take until they get estimates back from the designers.

(Radio Iowa) – The Woodbury County Sheriff released more information Sunday on a shooting in Sergeant Bluff Friday evening. Sheriff Chad Sheehan says it appears 43-year-old Raymond Rogers shot his estranged wife and the man she was living with, and then shot himself. Deputies who responded to a shots fired call looked through a window and saw Rogers on the floor. “Deputies immediately entered the residence. And inside the residence were able to rescue a 12 year old boy who was seeking refuge inside the residence during the time of the attack while removing the boy. Deputies discovered a both a male and a female victim both suffering from what appeared to be serious life threatening gunshot wounds,” he says.

The 50-year-old man, Gerele Jones died, and the woman, 40-year-old Ashley Rogers was taken to the hospital. Raymond Rogers is hospitalized in critical condition. Sheriff Sheehan credited the boy with calling deputies in the midst of the shooting. “I can’t imagine what that young man went through while this was going on he had the courage to make a phone call and give us information that was that was vital to us getting there quickly,” Sheehan says. He says the boy is the son of Jones, who was killed.

“Any chance that anyone would have had to survive this incident is due to the due to the courage that this young this young boy this young man exhibited that evening,” he says. Sheehan says it is fair to term the case as a murder and attempted suicide — though the investigation has not been completed.

(Radio Iowa) – A bill eligible for debate in the Iowa Senate would prohibit judges from requiring a divorcing parent to cover some of the costs of their child’s college education. Senator Scott Webster, a Republican from Bettendorf, says the bill is sponsored by another senator, in response to a specific case.

“A father was weaponizing this particular system against a mother who couldn’t afford the college. She then had the opportunity to go to court and it got dropped, but she still had to pay all the legal fees,” Webster says. An Iowa judge currently has the option of ordering a parent getting a divorce to pay up to one-third of the total cost of their child’s undergraduate education. Webster says it’s an equal protection issue.

“The subsidy does not currently apply to any other parents: married, single or never married,” Webster says. Senator Nate Boulton, a Democrat from Des Moines, says his parents were divorced when he went to college and their divorce decree helped navigate the financial aspect of getting that degree. “There are ways to make this system better,” Boulton says. “There are ways to make it more fair and I think we are all open to that discussion, but simply to pull the rug out from underneath kids from divorced families who want to go to college is the wrong way to do this.”

The bill cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee last week. Senator Herman Quirmbach, a Democrat from Ames who voted against the bill, says parents have an obligation to provide for their children and college is a big step forward in life. “It’s certainly possible for people to get good jobs without a college degree and have a perfectly happy life,” Quirmbach says, “but on average college graduates earn significantly higher over a lifetime. They have a greater degree of marriage stability. They have a longer life span, on average.”

Webster says that kind of criticism is a little bit disrespectful. “It’s been said, maybe discussed that college is the way to go,” Webster says. “I didn’t go to college. My wife didn’t go to college. We turned out good.” Iowa is one of 17 states that allow judges to order a divorcing parent to pay at least part of a child’s college tuition and fees.

(Atlantic, Iowa) — In an update to our preliminary report Saturday afternoon, officials with the Atlantic Police Department, Sunday, said a woman was transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital after she was struck by an SUV. The accident happened at around 5:13-p.m., at 7th and Mulberry Streets.

The incident occurred when a woman identified Jennifer Vinci, was struck by a a 2025 Chevy Equinox. The vehicle, driven by Misty Rhodes, was traveling westbound on 7th Street when Vinci ran across the street and was struck by the vehicle.

Vinci was treated at CCMH for minor injuries. The Cass County Sheriff’s Office, Atlantic Fire Department, and Atlantic EMS assisted the police department at the scene.

The Red Oak Police Department reports the arrest on Saturday evening of 52-year-old Richard Bryan Jenkins of Red Oak on multiple charges. Jenkins was arrested at approximately 6:58 p.m. at 103 West Prospect Street in Red Oak for Burglary 3rd Degree and Assault with Intent to Inflict Serious Injury. Jenkins was taken to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $5,000 bond.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Rescue personnel and law enforcement were dispatched to the scene of a vehicle versus pedestrian accident Saturday evening, in Atlantic. The incident was reported at around 5:15-p.m. at 7th and Mulberry Streets. Additional details are not available.

Des Moines, IA – A West Des Moines man was sentenced today to 60 years in prison for multiple child exploitation offenses.
For the last twelve years, Jonathan Francis Speidel, age 31, of West Des Moines, used social media platforms, including Snapchat, Kik, TikTok, and MeetMe, to communicate with minor females. During the conversations, Speidel directed numerous children to take explicit photos or videos of themselves. To persuade children to produce and send him child pornography, Speidel used various tactics. Among other things, Speidel misrepresented facts about himself, such as his name, employment information, and age; he paid children in exchange for sexually explicit content; he claimed to be looking for models; and he sent children child pornography or depictions of him masturbating. The minor victims ranged in age from 8 to 17 years old and were located across the United States, including several victims who lived in or near Des Moines.
Over the same period, Speidel collected and exchanged child pornography using various internet sites. On or about March 30, 2022, Speidel knowingly possessed visual depictions of child pornography, including over 800 images and over 200 videos, some of which included minors younger than twelve years old.
Speidel also traveled over state lines with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a child. While living in Oregon from October 2018 to August 2019, Speidel engaged in a sexual relationship with a child, who was between 14 and 15 years old. Speidel was charged in Oregon with several counts of sexual abuse. Those charges remain pending. After being charged, Speidel returned to the Des Moines area some time in 2020. In September 2020, Speidel flew to Oregon, picked up the child, who by that time had turned 16 years old, and drove the child to Washington. Speidel took the child to Washington, where the age of consent is 16, younger than the age of consent in Oregon. The purpose of Speidel’s trip was to engage in sexually explicit conduct with the child and to produce child pornography. In Washington, Speidel did both of those things with the child.
Following his prison term, Speidel will be on supervised release for life and required to register as a sex offender. There is no parole in the federal system.
After the sentencing, FBI Omaha Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowel said, “We are proud of the work of our FBI Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force in Des Moines. This joint investigation brought an end to Jonathan Speidel’s appalling and heinous crimes. Today’s sentence ensures Speidel will no longer be allowed to victimize children. It also sends a message to predators, the FBI and our federal, state, and local partners will remain relentless to ensure children are protected.”
Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Cyber Crime Bureau Special Agent in Charge, and Iowa Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Commander Nathaniel McLaren said “This case highlights the collaboration of information between ICAC Task Force agencies combating this type of child sexual exploitation. The DCI Cyber Crime Bureau – Iowa ICAC Task Force worked closely alongside Ohio Law Enforcement, and Oregon (State) Law Enforcement to arrest the suspect. This collaboration ultimately led to the identification of numerous victims nationwide and multiple victims locally in the Des Moines area.”
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa said “Speidel is a dangerous child predator, pure and simple. Today’s sentence provides some degree of justice for Speidel’s actions to the victims, who in the face of indescribable trauma, have courageously contributed to help prevent Speidel from harming any other minors. For over a decade, he targeted, manipulated and enticed minors, exchanging thousands of electronic messages, with the goal to produce child pornography and engage in illegal sex acts. Our thanks to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI)’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force and their continued dedication to protecting children and bringing individuals like Speidel to justice.”