DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Supreme Court Justice Bruce Zager has announced his plans to retire later this year. Zager has served on the state’s high court since 2011, when he was appointed by then-Gov. Terry Branstad. Zager was one of three appointments made to fill vacancies created when three other justices were voted off the bench for their role in a unanimous 2009 decision that legalized same-sex marriage in Iowa.

Today (Friday), Zager announced his plan to retire effective Sept. 3. Zager did not give a reason for stepping down in his written remarks announcing his retirement. Under Iowa law, the governor appoints justices to fill vacancies on the high court. The governor will choose from three nominees submitted by the State Judicial Nominating Commission.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Investigators have determined that kitchen rags self-ignited to start a fire that engulfed the Plaza Lanes bowling alley in Des Moines. The Des Moines Fire Department said in a news release Friday that more than two dozen people from various agencies were involved in the investigation, which concluded the Dec. 18 fire was accidental.

Fire experts say spontaneous combustion can occur when heat generated through rapid oxidation causes various materials to catch fire. A Consumer Product Safety Commission study found that oil residue as low as 3 percent in fabrics can lead to ignition.

Plans for a new alley complex include a larger arcade, laser tag and a sports restaurant and bar.

CLINTON, Iowa (AP) — A Clinton woman accused of shaking her infant daughter and tossing her into a bassinet has taken a plea deal. The Clinton Herald reports that a judge accepted 22-year-old Naelynn Trude’s plea of not guilty on Thursday. The charge of child endangerment resulting in injury had been reduced in return for Trude’s plea. Clinton County District Court records say prosecutors agreed to recommend a suspended sentence as part of the agreement, but the agreement is not binding on the judge. Trude’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 14.

Investigators say Trude acknowledged shaking the little girl in July and tossing her into the bassinet while she continued to cry. A doctor says the baby’s injuries included a skull fracture and retinal bleeding.

The Iowa Supreme Court has upheld the conviction of a man who had sex with a woman after pretending to be someone else on Facebook. Michael Kelso-Christy created a fake Facebook profile in 2015 for a man who went to high school with a woman and began talking with the woman through the fake account. She eventually agreed that he would come to her house and have sex with her while she wore handcuffs and a blindfold. The woman later found out that Kelso-Christy was not the former classmate. Kelso-Christy was charged with first-degree burglary and third-degree sexual abuse, but was offered an agreement for a plea to second-degree burglary. Kelso-Christy sought to have the burglary charge dismissed — saying he had not entered the home to commit sexual abuse as the woman has agreed to have sex with him and his crime was fraud in hiding his real identity.

The Iowa Supreme Court upheld Kelso-Christy’s conviction, saying he knew the woman had not consented to have sex with him. It says it has long been the law in Iowa that consent to sex with one man cannot imply consent to sex with another, so Kelso-Christy could not have believed the woman consented to a sexual encounter with him. And the court says having the woman wear a blindfold indicated Kelso-Christy anticipated the woman might try to flee if she discovered it was him and not the man she agreed to have sex with.

(Radio Iowa)

Pack up the tent and sleeping bags, as Iowa’s state parks are hosting Camping Kickoff Weekend this Friday through Sunday. Todd Coffelt, the state parks director at the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says everything is ready for Iowans to enjoy. “We’ve got all of the facilities hooked up, the water and utilities, and we want people to get out and enjoy the outdoors,” Coffelt says. “Our state parks system is nearing 100 years old so it’s an opportunity for people to take a look at it with a different lens.”

Iowans can use either of two websites to make reservations for camping spots. “They can do a search on the DNR webpage, www.iowadnr.gov, to find a place to visit,” Coffelt says, “or they can go to iowastateparks.reserveamerica.com, and that will be the direct line where they can set a reservation at their favorite park.” Iowa has more than 47-hundred state park campsites and 75-percent of them can be reserved in advance. Coffelt said there are two parks that have temporarily closed their camping facilities for renovation — Ledges and Marble Beach at Gull Point — but Iowans will notice plenty of improvements elsewhere.

“Pleasant Creek will have more water in it and it’s a park that’s been closed with our Lakes Restoration Program and people will now be able to get access there,” Coffelt says. “You’re going to see Lake MacBride is back up and moving, Lake Wapello is back open, and Waubonsie, down in southwest Iowa. We’ve made a lot of effort to get these parks up and running.”  More than 30 state parks are hosting special activities this weekend (May 4-6), including kayaking clinics, fun runs, night sky hikes, volunteer projects and more.

(Radio Iowa)

A traffic stop at around 2:40-a.m. Thursday in Treynor, resulted in the arrest of two men on drug charges. Deputy Zach Norman initiated the traffic stop on a Gray Ford Fusion in the area of Eyeberg St and Main St in Treynor, for a speed violation. A search of the vehicle resulted in the recovery of 11.4-grams of marijuana, a bong, grinder and vape device. Taken into custody for possession of a controlled substance and possession of paraphernalia, was the driver of the vehicle, 20-year old Noah Tyler Seyboth, of Council Bluffs, and his passenger, 18-year old Avery Lane Dozier, of Omaha. Seyboth was additionally charged with OWI/1st offense.

And, at around 2:10-a.m. today (Friday), 53-year old Terry Lee Shriver, of Carson, was arrested for OWI/1st offense, following an investigation into an unknown injury accident, in the area of 440th and Elmtree in Pottawattamie County.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Tens of thousands of investors will fill an Omaha arena this weekend to spend hours listening to Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger talk about business and life. Watching the questioning at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting each spring has become an annual tradition for many in the crowd.

Thousands continue to make the trip even with the event now broadcast online by Yahoo Finance. Berkshire officials say this year’s attendance could top the record of 42,000 set a few years ago, but the figures are only an estimate based on the number of meeting pass requests.

There are likely to be questions about who will eventually replace Buffett, what the company will invests over $116 billion cash in and maybe questions about career advice.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Mercy Medical Center wants to build a $31 million psychiatric hospital in the Des Moines area to respond to an extreme shortage of mental health services. The Des Moines Register reports that the new hospital would have 100 beds. Mercy currently has 34 psychiatric beds in its downtown facility. Mercy spokeswoman Laura Vanden Bosch says the facility would be in Polk County, but the specific location hasn’t been determined.

Vanden Bosch says officials hope to have their project proposal before the state Health Facilities Council in July. The council decides whether health care projects are needed or if they’d inflate costs and duplicate available services. Gov. Kim Reynolds recently signed a mental health bill that hopes to address the lack of mental health resources in the area.

Republican legislators are setting aside two-and-a-quarter million dollars to finance new internships and apprenticeships associated with the “Future Ready Iowa” program. Governor Kim Reynolds launched the initiative in 2016 when she was lieutenant governor, to encourage enrollment in science, technology, engineering and math or “STEM” courses. Democrats complain the Reynolds Administration plans to spend 425-thousand dollars to advertise the program. Senator Bill Dotzler, a Democrat from Waterloo, says “We don’t need to do this. You know it isn’t right. This stinks.”

That’s . Dotzler says says the money would be better spent helping students pay for college or technical training. And Dotzler objects to the already-signed contract that calls for airing ads touting the governor’s signature “Future Ready” program in September, October and November — during the height of campaign season. “It smells like there’s something in the governor’s wood pile,” Dotzler says, “and it smells like inappropriate use of public dollars for political purposes.”

Brenna Smith, a spokeswoman for Governor Reynolds, says the Future Ready program is a top priority of the governor and Reynolds will continue to make sure Iowans know they may apply for so-called “last dollar scholarships and grants” that can help students land “high-demand jobs.” Reynolds plans to ask legislators to provide the MONEY for the “last dollar scholarships” next year.

(Radio Iowa)