ELECTION 2022-IOWA-GOVERNOR
Iowa’s political swing makes Obama’s wins harder to repeat
NEVADA, Iowa (AP) — The state of Iowa was Barack Obama’s unlikely launching pad in 2008 to become the nation’s first Black president. Today, voters in the overwhelmingly white state aren’t showing a similar embrace for the woman running to become its first Black governor. Democrat Deirdre DeJear is finding Iowa a much changed place, trending staunchly conservative and endorsing many aspects of Trumpism. Educated younger adults who were once reliable Democratic voters have fled rural Iowa, and the strength of organized labor has eroded. DeJear tells The Associated Press there is a question of whether a Black woman can win Iowa’s governorship.
AP-US-CEDAR-RAPIDS-SHOOTING
2 killed and 10 wounded in Cedar Rapids nightclub shooting
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Authorities said a shooting inside a crowded Cedar Rapids nightclub has left a man and a woman dead and 10 people wounded. Cedar Rapids Police Chief Wayne Jerman said investigators believe two men fired more than a dozen shots inside the Taboo Nightclub and Lounge just before 1:30 a.m. Sunday. He said officers who were just outside the club because of an earlier incident rushed inside just as 100-150 people streamed out of the bar and found the victims. The gunmen likely escaped as the crowd fled. The names of the victims were released. One of the people injured was in critical condition Sunday afternoon while the other injuries ranged from serious to minor.
JACKPOT-RIGGING-SCANDAL
Parole revoked for Iowa man convicted of lottery rigging
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A man serving a 25-year prison sentence for rigging computers to win lottery jackpots has had his parole revoked after he got into trouble in prison just before his scheduled release. The Iowa Board of Parole approved Eddie Tipton for release in January for good behavior, after he had served nearly five years of his 25-year sentence. The board reversed its decision and rescinded his parole in March after a major disciplinary incident occurred and prison officials recommended revocation of his parole. Tipton pleaded guilty in 2017 to ongoing criminal conduct and was ordered to repay $2.2 million in ill-gotten winnings from lotteries in Colorado, Wisconsin, Kansas and Oklahoma.
DISABILITY TREATMENT-IOWA
Iowa to close long-troubled center for disabled people
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa center for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities that has been the subject of persistent criticism and federal investigations will close. Gov. Kim Reynolds said Thursday that the Glenwood Resource Center, which has treated vulnerable people since the early 1900s, will close by June 30, 2024. The facility about 115 miles southwest of Des Moines has 152 patients and a staff of 650 people. The state will begin moving patients out in July, placing them either at another state-run facility in Woodward or in community housing facilities. Over the next year transitions will continue until the facility is closed. The state plan to sell the facility in the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024.
AP-US-BIRD-FLU
Bird flu’s grisly question: how to kill millions of poultry
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — When cases of bird flu are found on poultry farms officials act quickly to slaughter all the birds in that flock even when it numbers in the millions, but animal welfare groups say their methods are inhumane. USDA officials defend their methods as the most humane options available under the circumstances. The goal is to kill all of the birds within 24 hours to limit the spread of avian influenza and prevent them from suffering with the disease. The methods used to do that include spraying birds with firefighting foam to cut off their air supply, piping carbon dioxide into their barns or in some cases shutting down a barn’s ventilation system and allowing the temperature to raise high enough to kill the birds inside.
FUGITIVE-FAKED DEATH
Marshals arrest Iowa man accused of faking own death
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Federal marshals have arrested an Iowa man in Washington state who has been on the run for six years after allegedly faking his own death to avoid a child pornography trial. U.S. Marshals for the Southern District of Iowa say in a news release that 28-year-old Jacob Greer was arrested Monday in Spanaway, Washington. Greer had been living in Des Moines in April 2016 when he was arrested by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on child pornography possession charges. Officials say Greer was released on bond after that arrest and ordered to wear a GPS tracking ankle monitor while under pretrial supervision.
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