MORE DETAILS HAVE BEEN REVEALED ABOUT THE MURDERS OF TWO PEOPLE FROM ARIZONA WHOSE BODIES WERE DISCOVERED BURRIED IN EVANSDALE. AUTHORITIES SAY 28 YEAR OLD ELISSA LANDRY WAS KILLED WITH A SLEDGE HAMMER, WHILE HER STEPFATHER – 45 YEAR OLD DAVID BATTEN – WAS FATALLY SHOT. LANDRY AND BATTEN WENT MISSING IN APRIL; THEIR BODIES AND LANDRY’S VEHICLE WERE UNCOVERED MORE THAN A MONTH LATER. LANDRY’S BOYFRIEND MITCHELL MINCKS IS ACCUSED OF THE MURDERS AND OTHER RELATED CRIMES. HE IS CURRENTLY IN FEDERAL CUSTODY ON UNRELATED CHARGES.
IOWA SENATOR JONI ERNST SAYS FALSE INFORMATION SHOULDN’T BE PROMOTED BY BAD ACTORS FOR POLITICAL GAIN. SHE MADE THOSE COMMENTS DURING A RECENT EDITION OF KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL. ERNST SPOKE ABOUT CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS INTO ALLEGED WRONG-DOING DURING FEDERAL INVESTIGATIONS OF CONNECTIONS BETWEEN RUSSIA AND THE 2016 TRUMP CAMPAIGN. LAST MONTH, REPUBLICANS ON THE SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE TOOK STEPS TO BROADEN THEIR INVESTIGATION OF THE RUSSIA INVESTIGATION WHICH FACTORED INTO THIS YEAR’S IMPEACHMENT OF DONALD TRUMP.
CORONAVIRUS CONCERNS FOR THE CEDAR RAPIDS JEFFERSON SOFTBALL TEAM MEAN THAT THEIR GAMES AGAINST WATERLOO WEST ARE OFF TODAY. TWO JEFFERSON PLAYERS REPORTEDLY HAD CONTACT WITH SOMEONE WHO HAS TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID-19. CEDAR RAPIDS JEFFERSON IS POSTPONING SOFTBALL ACTIVITIES UNTIL TESTS FOR THEIR PLAYERS ARE RETURNED.
A MAN FROM NIGERIA HAS APPEARED IN COURT ON CHARGES THAT HE ORCHESTRATED AN INTERNATIONAL CYBER SCAM THAT DEFRAUDED U.S. BUSINESSES IN IOWA AND FIVE OTHER STATES OUT OF TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. THE U.S. ATTORNEY PROSECUTING THE CASE SAY THAT 29-YEAR-OLD OLALEKAN PONLE WAS ARRESTED LAST MONTH IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES. HE WAS EXPELLED FROM THE COUNTRY AND PLACED INTO FBI CUSTODY, ARRIVING IN CHICAGO THURSDAY. HE’S CHARGED WITH CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT WIRE FRAUD AGAINST COMPANIES BASED IN IOWA, ILLINOIS, KANSAS, MICHIGAN, NEW YORK AND CALIFORNIA.
SENATOR JONI ERNST SAYS VIOLENCE HAS GONE ON TOO LONG AS PART OF PROTESTS AROUND THE COUNTRY WHICH FOLLOWED THE DEATH OF GEORGE FLOYD IN POLICE CUSTODY. ERNST DIFFERENTIATED BETWEEN THE CONFRONTATIONS BETWEEN DEMONSTRATORS AND POLICE, AND PROTESTS WHICH ARE CONSTITUTIONALLY PROTECTED. HEAR MORE FROM ERNST’S APPEARANCE DURING KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL AT KXEL.COM.
AFTER MONTHS OF ONLINE-ONLY OR CURBSIDE SERVICE, LIBRARIES IN WATERLOO AND CEDAR FALLS ARE OPEN AGAIN, ALBEIT UNDER RESTRICTIONS INTENDED TO LIMIT THE SPREAD OF THE CORONAVIRUS. IN ORDER TO LIMIT THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN THE FACILITIES, YOU WILL NEED TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT. BOTH LIBRARIES ARE ALSO SETTING ASIDE ADDITIONAL TIME FOR DEEP CLEANING.
AT A TIME WHEN A VARIETY OF STATUES AND MONUMENTS HAVE COME DOWN ACROSS THE COUNTRY, THERE HAVE BEEN CALLS TO RENAME SOME MILITARY BASES. IOWA SENATOR JONI ERNST SAYS SHE IS OK WITH MAKING CHANGES AT INSTALLATIONS NAMED FOR THOSE WITH TIES TO RACIAL OR SOCIAL INJUSTICE. FORT BRAGG IN NORTH CAROLINA IS NAMED FOR CONFEDERATE CIVIL WAR GENERAL BRAXTON BRAGG. ERNST’S COMMENTS WERE MADE DURING A RECENT EDITION OF KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL. THE FULL INTERVIEW IS AVAILABLE AT KXEL.COM.
A GARAGE FIRE SPREAD TO AN ATTACHED HOME IN NORTHWEST CEDAR RAPIDS JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT ON SUNDAY MORNING. HOSPITALIZATION WAS NOT REQUIRED FOR ANY OF THE FAMILY MEMBERS IN THE HOUSE AT THE TIME, AND RESPONDING FIREFIGHTERS WERE EVEN ABLE TO SAFELY PULL THE FAMILY DOG OUT OF A BASEMENT WINDOW. DAMAGE TO THE HOME WAS CHARACTERIZED AS HEAVY. FIRE OFFICIALS ARE INVESTIGATING THE CAUSE.
A FAMILIAR PART OF THE IOWA CITY LANDSCAPE IS MISSING TEMPORARILY. THE MARQUEE ABOVE THE ENTRANCE AT THE ENGLERT THEATER HAD BEEN IN PLACE FOR MORE THAN 60 YEARS. ONGOING RENOVATIONS LED TO THE REMOVAL OF NEON LIGHTED SIGN. IT HAS BEEN SENT OUT OF STATE FOR RESTORATION AND WILL BE OUTFITTED WITH NEW WIRING AND ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS. THAT PROJECT AND OTHER WORK ON THE BUILDING IS HAPPENING AT A TIME WHEN MANY EVENTS HAVE BEEN CANCELED. ENGLERT THEATER OFFICIALS SAY APPROXIMATELY 20 PERCENT OF THEIR INCOME HAS DRIED UP DURING THE CORONAVIRUS SHUTDOWN.
