(Cedar Rapids, Iowa) Officials with Alliant Energy tell KJAN News, “Due to the extensive tornado damage to homes in Greenfield, Alliant Energy safely shut off the gas to the town at 5:35 p.m. today. Gas will remain off until the system is deemed safe and assessments are complete.”

Alliant says when it is safe to do so, their crews “will work door-to door to relight all customers.”

Alliant Energy serves approximately 1,054 customers in town. As always, customers can check the Outage Center for the latest restoration estimates for their area.  

(Radio Iowa) – The man accused of killing an Algona Policeman last fall will stand trial in Dickinson County, after a judge granted his request for a change of venue. Attorneys for Kyle Lou Ricke filed a motion to move the trial out of Kossuth County in late April, saying pretrial publicity would make it impossible to find an impartial jury. Prosecutors did not dispute the request and simply asked that if the trial were moved, it be held in a county with similar demographics and not be too far, as to make travel difficult for witnesses and family members.

On Tuesday, Judge Nancy Whittenburg filed the order sending the trial to Dickinson County. In her ruling, Whittenburg said a review of Census Bureau statistics shows Dickinson County has similar demographics to Kossuth County, is not contiguous to Kossuth County, and is at a reasonable travel distance from Kossuth County.

Ricke is charged with first degree murder for the shooting death of Algona Police Officer Kevin Cram in September of 2023. His trial is currently scheduled to begin on June 25th.

(Radio Iowa) – A Missouri murder suspect was tracked to southern Iowa overnight, according to the Appanoose Sheriff’s Office. Appanoose County Sheriff Gary Anderson says his office was notified by the Kansas City Career Criminal Task Force that a Missouri man wanted in a recent homicide in Kansas City was tracked to Centerville. Authorities from Iowa and Missouri converged in a Walmart parking lot at 2:30 a.m.

Officials were unsuccessful in getting the suspect to surrender and while giving orders to him, a single gunshot was heard from the vehicle. The suspect was transported to the hospital and pronounced dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The identity of the suspect has been withheld, pending family notification.

sioux City– Officials with the Iowa Department of Corrections report 33-year-old Dacota Stabler, who was convicted of 2nd Degree Robbery in Woodbury County, failed to report back to the Sioux City Residential Treatment Facility as required, Sunday.

Stabler is a 5’8″-tall, and weighs 206 pounds. He’s an American Indian or Alaska Native. Stabler was admitted to the work release facility on 02/22/2024.

Dacota Stabler

Persons with information on Stabler’s whereabouts should contact local police.

(Radio Iowa) – Some of the fastest growing communities in Iowa are conducting a special census to capture population growth that wasn’t included in 2020 Census figures. Waukee city manager Brad Deets says the census four years ago found 24-thousand residents in the Des Moines suburb, but Waukee officials think the current population is closer to 30-thousand. “We say we grow by six new people a day and that’s been tracking fairly consistently over the last probably two to three years,” Deets says, “so roughly it’s about 2,000 people per year.”

Waukee is spending around 600-thousand dollars to hold the special census, but Deets expects it to more than pay for itself just in state funding for road maintenance. “When you’re talking perhaps looking at anywhere from 6000 to 7000 additional people that turns out to be about $1 million a year,” Deets says.

Waukee residents started getting cards in the mail last month about the count and the deadline for completing a Census form online is this Thursday, May 23rd. Census workers are also going door to door to to reach — and count — Waukee residents. Ankeny, Norwalk and Pleasant Hill are also conducting population counts. Bondurant intends to conduct a special census this fall. Johnston, Altoona and Grimes plan to do one next year.
(Grant Gerlock, Iowa Public Radio)