Iowa News

DECORAH EAGLES        Eagle born in Decorah dies near Rockford        (Information in the following story is from: KCRG-TV, http://www.kcrg.com)        DECORAH, Iowa (AP) – A bald eagle that was part of a Decorah family of birds watched by millions of Internet viewers has been electrocuted.        The bald eagle, fitted with a satellite transmitter and known as D14, died Monday near Rockford. That’s about 50 miles southwest of the nest where it was born at the Decorah Fish Hatchery.        Cedar Rapids television station KCRG reports the eagle was found at the base of a power pole.        D14 is the second known death of the 14 eagles hatched at the Decorah nest, where a camera set up by the Raptor Resource Project streams the birds’ actions over the Internet.        Raptor Resource Project director Bob Anderson found the bird after transmitter data showed no movement.        Anderson says the death demonstrates the dangers faced by raptors.

IOWA STATE-LOBBYIST        APNewsBreak: ISU top lobbyist hired without search        IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Board of Regents has hired an employee of a board member’s business to a key post without publicly advertising the position.        Joe Murphy worked for Regent Bruce Rastetter’s business before Board executive director Robert Donley hired Murphy as state relations officer for Iowa State University earlier this month.        Donley sent a statement to The Associated Press on Monday acknowledging he didn’t conduct a search for the position, unlike when he filled a similar job for the University of Northern Iowa last year.        Donley says he needed to hire someone quickly because of the upcoming legislative session, and Murphy came to mind because he did a good job when he held the same position at UNI.        Rastetter said Tuesday that he had nothing to do with Murphy’s appointment.

DES MOINES HOMICIDE        Police say man found dead was homicide victim        (Information in the following story is from: The Des Moines Register, http://www.desmoinesregister.com)        DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Des Moines police say a man found dead near Drake University is the victim of a homicide.        The Des Moines Register reports Tuesday that 20-year-old Nicholas White was found by his roommates Monday afternoon in their home just north of the Drake University campus.        Des Moines Police Sgt. Jason Halifax says investigators thought the death was suspicious because of factors such as how the body was position and the location of blood. An autopsy confirmed the death was a homicide, though police won’t give details about the cause of death or when White died.        Des Moines has had eight homicides this year.

OFFICER ARRESTED        Former Des Moines officer sentenced to 16 years        (Information in the following story is from: The Des Moines Register, http://www.desmoinesregister.com)        DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A former Des Moines police officer has been sentenced to 16 years in prison after repeatedly violating probation.        The Des Moines Register reports Brandon Singleton was sentenced Tuesday in Polk County District Court.        Singleton was fired from his police job in May after drugs were found in his patrol car. He was sentenced last summer to probation on drug and domestic assault charges, but he violated that probation after police stopped him in a vehicle containing drugs and weapons.        He was sentenced on firearms charges on Nov. 1, then later he cut off his electronic ankle bracelet in violation of his second probation.        Police found him hiding in a clothes dryer in a Des Moines home.        Judge Scott Rosenberg told Singleton he had “demonstrated no desire to be treated.”

DEER HUNTING CHARGES        2 deer hunters charged after bow accident        GUTHRIE CENTER, Iowa (AP) – Two deer hunters have been charged with failure to obtain a hunting license and several other charges after they were involved in an accident.        The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says 21-year-old Robert McCauley and 27-year-old Derrick Johnson were practice shooting with bows near Guthrie Center on Nov. 10 when they saw deer crossing a nearby road.        They were chasing the deer when McCauley tripped. His head struck his bow, cutting him above the left eye. Johnson ran into McCauley, pushing an arrow about nine inches into his back.        McCauley was hospitalized overnight but later released.        Both men were charged Tuesday. Other charges include failure to pay a habitat fee and failure to obtain a deer tag.        The charges have not yet been posted on Iowa online court records.

CEDAR RAPIDS CRASH        Iowa man faces vehicular homicide charge        CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – A 31-year-old man has been charged with vehicular homicide in the traffic death of a 30-year-old woman in Cedar Rapids.        Court records say Jeremy Rud also faces two counts of leaving the scene of an accident and one of driving without a valid license. He was arrested Monday.        Police say Rud was driving a sport utility vehicle Sunday afternoon when he ran a stop sign and hit a car driven by 55-year-old Mark McDowell. McDowell and four children in his car suffered minor injuries.        Jennifer Hopkins was a passenger in the SUV and was pronounced dead at the scene.        Witnesses told officers the SUV driver ran from the scene.        A Linn County jailer said Rud remained in custody on Tuesday. Online court records don’t list the name of Rud’s attorney.

ELECTROLUX JOBS        Electrolux moves washer, dryer R&D to NC from Iowa        CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – Appliance maker Electrolux is moving 80 jobs in its division developing better clothes washers and dryers from Iowa to its North American headquarters in North Carolina.        Electrolux said Tuesday that product design and testing will be discontinued at the company’s Webster City, Iowa, site in the third quarter of next year. The move will increase its employment in Charlotte to more than 800.        The Sweden-based appliance maker moved its North American headquarters from Georgia to Charlotte in July 2010 in return for state tax breaks and grants worth up to $26 million, plus more from local governments. The company said last month it surpassed its hiring requirements under that deal.

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