Iowa State has started a new road streak this time on the plus side. Curtis Stinson poured in 25-points as the Cyclones won at Nebraska 65-60, their second straight away from home after snapping a 28-game conference losing streak over the weekend at Texas. Coach Wayne Morgan on the post-game show on the Cyclone Network says every Cyclone fan should be proud of the way the team has bounced back and played through everything. The Cyclones posted 16-steals in winning their fourth straight Big-12 win after starting 0-5. Morgan says they’re getting good defensively and could’ve been even better. ISU is 12-8 overall and will host Texas Tech on Saturday.The 14th ranked ISU women fell at Texas Tech last night 89-62 to drop into a tie for first place in the Big 12 conference.
One pleads, one charged in Northeast Iowa theft cases
One northeast Iowa resident has pled guilty, while another’s been charged in two separate theft cases. A former Independence school custodian has pled guilty to stealing money that was collected in a benefit for a student who has Leukemia. 43-year-old Robert Ferres pleaded guilty to second-degree theft after admitting to taking a money back out of a vault. He was given a deferred judgment, five years probation, and was ordered to pay back 500 dollars. A former Dubuque postal union official has been charged in federal court with embezzling union funds. 47-year-old Deborah Herrig of Dubuque is charged with one count of embezzlement and theft of labor union assets. Herrig is the former secretary of the Postal Workers Local 23-39, and is accused of stealing union funds over a six-year period.
Court rejects appeal of casino crasher
The Iowa Court of Appeals has rejected a Clarinda man’s bid to overturn his conviction on charges filed after he drove his S-U-V through the front doors of a casino. According to the Appeals Court opinion, Douglas Kinney spent a day “gambling and drinking at Prairie Meadows” then he walked out, got in his S-U-V and drove it through the south entrance to the casino. Two people were injured; one of them was in a coma for seven days. A sort of “black box” in Kinney’s S-U-V was retrieved, and it showed he was driving 45 miles an hour and did not have his foot on the brake when he hit the casino. Kinney was convicted of two counts of willful injury and one count of first-degree criminal mischief. Kinney appealed, complaining his trial lawyer was ineffective and there wasn’t enough evidence to support the conviction. The Appeals Court disagreed and upheld his conviction.
Transportation Commission approves grants for special projects
The Iowa Transportation Commission has approved spending six-and-a-half million for projects designed to enhance transportation in the state. Stuart Anderson, a planner with the Iowa Department of Transportation, says the commission awards grants in three categories. One in the scenic and environmental category was for 252-thousand dollars. He says that’s for a project to acquire 152 acres for the Iowa River Greenbelt in Hardin county to preserve the area. Another grant of 500-thousand was awarded in the historical category. He says the funding will help restore a building at the Spaulding manufacturing site in Grinnell for the Iowa Transportation Museum. Anderson says other grants were awarded trail and bike projects. He says one of significance in that category is the Waukee to Dawson trail right-of-way. It’s an old Union Pacific rail corridor and the grant will help them acquire the 28-mile stretch. Anderson says there’s usually only one chance to acquire rail right-of-way before it’s split up into pieces. He says the state gets about 12-million federal transportation dollars each year to award to these “enhancement” projects. This is the first round of grants.
Southwest Iowa man dies in accident
A southwest Iowa man was killed early this morning when his vehicle rolled several times off Interstate 29, south of Council Bluffs. The Iowa State Patrol says 49-year old Danny Mark Malone, of Tabor, was northbound on the interstate when he lost control of the vehicle he was driving. The vehicle slid sideways into the east ditch and rolled several times, coming to rest upright on a fence line. Malone — who was not wearing a seatbelt — was partially ejected from the vehicle as it rolled. Rescue workers transported him to Mercy Hospital in Council Bluffs, where he was pronounced dead. Troopers say his 2005 Chevy Colorado was totalled in the wreck, that occurred just north of mile marker 45 on I-29, at 4:51-a.m.
Storm Lake voters approve bond issue for waterpark
Voters in Storm Lake have okayed a three-and-a-half million dollar bond issue for an outdoor waterpark — part of Project Awaysis. Voters gave a 74-percent approval for the bond issue. Sixty-percent was needed for passage. Two-thousand, 81 votes were cast which auditor Karen Strawn says was well over expectations. Two precincts ran out of printed ballots and had to use photocopied ballots, which had to be counted by hand. Yesterday’s vote is the only public vote in connection with the 30-million dollar Awaysis project. The rest of the project will be funded through a variety of other sources including state funds, donations, and bonds to be paid back through revenues from the planned 80-room lodge. However, receiving an eight-million dollar state Vision Iowa grant was contingent on the passage of Tuesday’s bond issue.
Fire may’ve been arson/suicide
Investigators say a fatal house fire early this morning in west-central Iowa may have been intentionally set. Officials in the northern Calhoun County town of Manson say the State Fire Marshal’s office is on the scene of a fire that started shortly before 3 am. The fire happened at a home in Manson. Already police are speculating that the incident may have been arson. A death related to the fire that may have been a suicide is leading them to that conclusion. Investigators are not releasing the names of anyone involved while trying to notify family members. They say the investigation into the incident could last several weeks.
