A school bus on the way home from classes veered into a ditch following a collision south of Denver yesterday afternoon. It happened shortly around 3:30 p.m. at the intersection of Burton Avenue and Bennington Road. A pickup truck was also damaged. Black Hawk County sheriff’s deputies said no one was taken to the hospital for injuries. Students were on the bus, and they were either picked up by their parents at the scene or loaded onto another bus.
Police are investigating a report of gunfire yesterday afternoon. Police said a motorist reported that someone had fired at him in the area of Ansborough Avenue and Meadow Lane around 5 p.m. No injuries were reported, and officers did not locate any damage.
A shooting in Cedar Rapids Wednesday evening caused a gas leak. It happened on Bever Avenue and 23rd Street SE around 6 p.m. No one was injured, but a house was hit by gunfire. One bullet hit the gas meter on the home and caused a leak. MidAmerican Energy and the Cedar Rapids Fire Department arrived to make sure the meter was safe and stop the leak.
Officials are investigating possible abuse at a troubled state-run institution for people with intellectual disabilities. Iowa Department of Human Services director Kelly Garcia said yesterday there is a “visible marking” on a resident at the Glenwood Resource Center. She said the injury could not have been inflicted by another resident, because everyone who lives in the person’s house is immobile. Garcia said she asked the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation to help determine what happened.
A new report shows that Iowa’s 2020 U.S. senate race is going down as the second most expensive Senate race in United States history. This comes from a report by Advertising Analytics, which compares spending trends for advertising on candidates. Seven U.S. Senate races this election cycle are breaking records. Iowa’s race between incumbent Republican Sen. Joni Ernst and Democrat challenger Theresa Greenfield is raking in $195 million in total advertising money. Greenfield’s campaign itself has spent $37 million while Ernst’s campaign has spent $11 million. The No. 1 spot goes to North Carolina’s Senate race at $242 million. The other record breaking Senate races this year are in Arizona, Montana, South Carolina, Maine and Georgia.
The City of Waterloo has received nearly $3.4 million to protect families and children from lead and other health hazards. The funding is through the federal Housing & Urban Development Lead Based Paint Hazard Reduction Grant Program. The goal is to clear dangerous lead in low-income family homes and apartments. The grant will cover over one hundred housing units and some apartment buildings. The Waterloo Community Development office is now accepting participation requests for the Lead Remediation program.
The University of Iowa is ending its search for the Associate Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion after several candidates either withdrew, or indicated they would likely withdraw, in the wake of President Bruce Harreld’s retirement announcement earlier this month. It is not clear on when or if the campus will restart a search for the position. Interim Executive Vice President and Provost Kevin Kregel says the university has a strong person in the job on an interim basis and that the campus will move forward. The most recent associate vice president was on the job for less than two months. Harreld announced his plans to retire on October 1, once a new president starts and gets up to speed on the job. Harreld’s announcement came three years before his contract expires in 2023.
A Des Moines man was arrested Wednesday night after police say he pulled over a car and claimed to be a police officer. 54-year-old Dewey Moraine has been charged with two counts of assault while displaying a dangerous weapon and one count of impersonating a public official in connection with the incident. Police were dispatched to Hubbell Ave. and Easton Blvd. around 11:00 p.m. about someone impersonating a police officer who had a car pulled over. A witness who saw the exchange told police Moraine made statements about being a police officer, and sparked a stun gun at individuals in a vehicle. Police found two stun guns and a black air soft pistol in Moraine’s vehicle.
