Another pedestrian was hit by a bus this morning in Des Moines. It’s the seventh time in two years that a Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART) bus has struck a pedestrian. The latest incident happened just after 6:30 this morning at the corner of 9th and High Streets in downtown Des Moines. Police Sergeant Lori Lavorato says the driver of the bus, 56-year-old Leonidas Flores, told officers he did not see the pedestrian as he was turning left onto 9th Street. Two witnesses also told police that the pedestrian had the right-of-way. Flores has been charged with failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk. The woman that was injured is identified as 61-year-old Melissa Dunagan. She was taken to Iowa Methodist Medical Center, where officials said she would be treated and released. DART officials have put in place a variety of safety measures to curb such accidents. Lavorato says pedestrians also need to be cautious and look both ways before crossing streets. "Just understand that a lot of people who are driving may not see you," Lavorato said. "You may have the right-of-way, but I would use extra caution…as a pedestrian, it’s always in your best interest to assume that the car is not stopping for you."
Another Des Moines bus hits pedestrian
Men accused of stealing water for water slide
Two men face theft and public intoxication charges after allegedly stealing water from a fire hydrant for an outdoor water slide.
Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Sgt. Dwayne Ritchie says 36-year-old’s Michael Wheeler, of Omaha, and Shane Benedict, of Neola, were taken into custody at around 4:15 P.M. Saturday, after a trailer pulled behind the pickup they were driving blew a tire, sending the pickup and trailer into a ditch.
The trailer was hauling a 1,500 gallon tank filled with water allegedly stolen from a fire hydrant at 1st Avenue and North Street, in Underwood. Sergeant Ritchie says a witness saw the men with a large hose attached to the hydrant, filling the tank. Realizing the men were taking the water, one of the witnesses took a photo of the crime in progress before reporting it to the sheriff’s office.
An unidentified teenager was also involved in the incident, but no charges were filed against that person. Wheeler and Benedict each face charges of Theft in the 5th Degree, Interference with Officials Acts and Public Intoxication. Both men were being held over the weekend in the Pottawattamie County jail.
Ritchie says the men told authorities they had hoped to use the water for a "Slip-N-Slide." (photo courtesy Kristan Gray, KMA)
Report of naked man leads DM police to fight
A naked man beating on cars with his fists was the subject of a 9-1-1 call on Sunday afternoon that brought police to a residential area near downtown Des Moines. When the first officers arrived, a large scuffle was underway involving perhaps 40 people. The naked man, identified as 32-year-old Lindsay Harris, allegedly rushed at officers.
One used a Tazer to subdue Harris, but officers say they were threatened by others, so backup was called, and at least 20 police officers quickly responded, some of whom used mace to contain the crowd. Three people were arrested, including Harris.
It was similar to another street fight in a nearby Des Moines neighborhood July 4th that involved nearly a hundred people after two women were run over and killed by an SUV. A Chicago man is charged in their murders. In that case, too, police had to call for reinforcements because of the unruly crowd.
Japanese beetles spreading across Iowa
A pest that feeds on a number of plants, including roses, grapes and certain trees has been spreading slowly across Iowa. Iowa State University Extension Entomologist Donald Lewis says the good news is the beetle population has peaked for this summer. Lewis says if you draw a triangle from Davenport to Boone back to Dubuque, that includes most of the counties that have Japanese beetle infestations. He says there have been reports farther southeast and southwest, and Council Bluffs and Mills and Woodbury County have reported infestations. Lewis says if you’re contemplating a trap to help control the green and copper colored beetles — save your money. Lewis says research in other states have shown that the Japanese beetle traps attract more beetles than they catch, so the damage near the traps is worse than if the traps has not been there. Thirty-eight of Iowa’s 99 counties report infestations of Japanese beetles. Lewis says the beetles, which can eat all the leaves off a plant, have been plaguing Iowans since 1994. He says the beetle populations will slowly taper off until mid-August.
Des Moines considers red light cameras
Motorists speeding through Des Moines may be caught on camera in the coming months. Des Moines police Sergeant Lori Lavorato says they’re considering the installation of four to five traffic cameras to catch speeders, red-light runners and other unsafe drivers. One of those cameras could be located on a busy freeway.
"We are possibly thinking about putting one on Interstate 235 in a spot where it’s very dangerous for officers to do traffic stops," Lavorato said. The camera proposal will be presented to the Des Moines City Council today. The police department’s still investigating possible vendors, but most traffic camera systems snap photos of lawbreakers, allowing officers to send the owners of the vehicles tickets in the mail. But, Lavorato insists that’s not the number one purpose.
"The goal of this is to change people’s behaviors," Lavorato said. Officials in other cities that have traffic cameras in place says they’re experiencing fewer traffic accidents. Lavorato says the cameras would be clearly marked in Des Moines. "With those cameras, we would like to put up signs saying what that camera is and what it’s for," Lavorato said. "We want to make people aware that they’re out there, it’s nothing secretive." If approved, the cameras would likely be installed sometime next year.
"There’s no rush on this, but it if were to go forward, maybe six months to a year," Lavorato said. The Iowa Supreme Court last year rejected arguments in a Davenport case that the cameras violate state law. In addition to Davenport, traffic cameras are being used in Sioux City, Council Bluffs and Clive.
South Dakotans might counter an IA casino with one of their own
The president of an economic development group in Sioux Falls, South Dakota says it’s clear a new casino just across the border in Lyon County, Iowa would prompt South Dakotans to consider countering with a casino of their own.
Earlier this month the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission said it would accept applications for new casinos and a Lyon County group plans to ask for an operating license. Slater Barr of the Sioux Falls Development Foundation says his community would be "galvanized" by a Lyon County casino.
"The proposed Lyon County casino…is very good for the state of Iowa," Barr says. "The problem is for South Dakota that it transfers wealth just directly across the state line."
A study commissioned by a South Dakota tribe that runs a casino suggests South Dakotans will spend $55 million a year at a casino near Larchwood, Iowa. In addition, the study suggests the state of South Dakota would lose $18 million a year in revenue from its video lottery.
"And I think the Iowa Gaming Commission studies very clearly (say) that the market is Sioux Falls, so essentially the implication is that if Sioux Falls is the market and is the majority of the revenues for the Iowa casino, then essentially you’re transferring those taxing dollars from our own video lottery machines over to the state of Iowa," Barr says. "So that’s a concern to us from an economic standpoint."
According to Barr, South Dakota and his city of Sioux Falls have few options if a casino is built in Larchwood.
"We have no control over what Iowa does. We have no control over what Lyon County does or what they permit. All we have control over is what we do," he says, "so I think our options are more limited to allowing a countering facility or just saying, you know, ‘We’ll make the best of it.’"
A 2004 study found residents in the Sioux Falls area spend more at casinos in Iowa and Minnesota than they spend in two nearby South Dakota casinos. The tribe the operates a casino about 40 miles north of Sioux Falls is embroiled in a legal dispute with the state over adding more slot machines on its gaming floor.
Champions crowned in softball
Four champions were crowned during the final night of the state softball tournament in Fort dodge. Johnston entered the post season unranked but the Dragons end the season with their first state title.
They opened the scoring with a run in the third, added one more in the fourth and put the game away with three more in the fifth in a 5-0 win over fourth rated Waukee.
In 3A top ranked Clear Creek Amana finished the season unbeaten as the Clippers blanked number three Carlisle 3-0 in the title game. Clear Creek took advantage of five Carlisle errors to finish the season 45-0.
In the 2A championship Allison sharp drove in the lone run of the game with a two out single in the top of the third as fifth ranked Conrad BCLUW edged number two Emmetsburg 1-0.
And in the 1A title game Amber Logmann tossed a three hitter and struck out 14 as Earlham edged Newell Fonda 2-1 and spoiled the Mustangs bid for a second straight title. Shelby storm and Rachel Gilmore both had rbis as Earlham claimed its first state title.
