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- 6/18/13; West Hancock vs. Corwith Wesley Luverne Baseball will play varsity first at 5:45 p.m. No JV. :
Iowa News
IOWA-SLAIN COUSINS FUNERAL 1,000 people turn out for slain Iowa girl’s funeral CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) – A huge crowd of well-wishers joined the friends, relatives and family at a memorial service Thursday for one of two Iowa cousins whose remains were found by hunters last week, months after their summer disappearance. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reported that more than 1,000 people turned out to honor Elizabeth Collins, who was 8 when she and her 10-year-old cousin, Lyric Cook, vanished after setting off on their bicycles last July. Elizabeth’s mother, Heather Collins, told those at the Cedar Falls gathering not to lose faith, saying her family knows the girls are in a better place.
IOWA-SLAIN COUSINS FAMILY Family of slain Iowa girl holds news conference CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) – The family of one of two Iowa cousins who disappeared last summer and whose bodies were recently found is speaking out about the case. The family of Elizabeth Collins took questions at a news conference Thursday. A visitation and memorial service for Elizabeth was held Thursday afternoon in Cedar Falls. Hunters discovered the bodies of Elizabeth and her cousin, Lyric Cook, last week in a wooded area about 25 miles from where the girls were last seen. Elizabeth was 8 and Lyric was 10 when they went for a bike ride in July and didn’t return. Lyric’s family says a service for her will be scheduled after Christmas or early next year.
HIDDEN CASH-DES MOINES Recycling plant workers retrieve wad of cash (Information in the following story is from: KCCI-TV, http://www.kcci.com) DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Workers at a Des Moines recycling plant recovered thousands of dollars wrapped in old newspapers that were nearly shredded. KCCI-TV reports workers at International Paper’s Des Moines Recycling Center found the money Wednesday stuffed into an envelope that was wrapped inside newspapers. Des Moines police Sergeant Jason Halifax says the fifty and one hundred dollar bills were clipped together with old, rusty paper clips. Police wouldn’t give an exact figure on the amount of money found but say it’s tens of thousands of dollars. Halifax says a worker noted the envelope as workers were getting ready to shred some paper. Employees sto
pped a machine and recovered the money. Workers called police, who are trying to track down who brought in the newspaper. SCHOOL SPITTING No charges for Iowa teacher in spitting case (Information in the following story is from: KJAN-AM, http://www.kjan.com) SHENANDOAH, Iowa (AP) – Authorities in western Iowa say no criminal charges will be filed against an elementary teacher accused of telling her students to spit on another student. Atlantic radio station KJAN-AM reports Page County officials determined earlier this week that the teacher did not have the necessary criminal intent for charges. The parent of a student at Shenandoah Elementary School complained to officials in October that a music teacher encouraged students to spit on her son. The boy told her mother the teacher was reprimanding him for spitting. He said the teacher made the students gather around him as some spit on his head and shoulders. A school district superintendent would not comment on the incident at the time, but confirmed the teacher had been suspended.
HOME SALES Report shows home sales, prices up in Iowa DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A new report shows home sales and prices are up in Iowa. The Iowa Association of Realtors says more than 2,600 homes in the state were sold and closed in November. That’s about 200 sales more than the same period last year. Home prices also are up. The median sale price in November was $125,000. That’s up more than $6,000 from the same period last year. The report shows the average amount of days a home was on the market in November was 98 days. That’s down by 8 days from November 2011.
VENDING MACHINES-THEFTS Iowa police looking for vending machine thief DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Police in Des Moines say they’re looking for a suspect connected to a string of vending machine thefts. The Des Moines Police Department says in a release Thursday that several vending machines in the downtown area have been broken into since late November. Officials have not specified how many machines were broken into, or how much money was taken. Police say they’re seeking public help in catching the thief. Surveillance video near at least one of the thefts shows a man wearing dark clothing.
STATE HISTORICAL BUILDING $101M request for Iowa’s State Historical Building (Information in the following story is from: The Gazette, http://www.gazetteonline.com/) DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Restoration for the State Historical Building in downtown Des Moines could come with a price tag of up to $101 million. The Gazette reports the state Department of Cultural Affairs held a budget meeting Thursday that included a proposal to Governor Terry Branstad. The agency’s director says the sum is combined requests for upcoming fiscal years that would be phased over several years. Mary Cownie says the total could be lowered. The newspaper reports the governor said he planned to carefully review the proposal, and noted it was a huge price tag. The State Historical Building opened in 1987. It houses several divisions of the cultural affairs agency, as well as the State Historical Museum and other offices.
BODY FOUND-TRAILER FIRE Iowa officials identify body found in trailer fire PEOSTA, Iowa (AP) – Authorities have identified the body of a man found inside a trailer that burned in eastern Iowa. The Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office says 84-year-old Leonard Behnke was found inside his home after the fire was reported early Thursday morning. Firefighters from the Centralia-Peosta Fire Department say the trailer was engulfed in flames when they arrived. Authorities say they’re investigating the cause of the fire.
CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE-IOWA DNR: 2nd deer at Iowa preserve had wasting disease DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says a second deer has tested positive for chronic wasting disease at a southern Iowa hunting preserve. The DNR said Thursday the positive test came from a sample of a male deer harvested December 1st at the Pine Ridge Hunting Preserve near Bloomfield. The agency announced in July that Iowa’s first confirmation of the disease in the deer population came from a deer shot at the preserve in December 2011. The disease damages the animals’ brain tissue, causing illness and eventually death. The preserve has been providing test samples from each deer shot on its grounds under an agreement with the DNR, which is collecting additional samples of wild deer shot in the area.
NAIA-FOOTBAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME Morningside of Iowa loses NAIA championship game 30-27 ROME, Ga. (AP) – Michael Josifovski made a 35-yard field goal on the final play of regulation to force overtime and hit a 26-yarder in the extra session to give Marian, Indiana a 30-27 victory over Morningside of Iowa in the NAIA championship game Thursday night. Marian (12-1) won its first national title in only its sixth season of football. In the semifinals, Josifovski made a 51-yard field goal on the final play for a 20-17 victory over Missouri Valley College. Joel Nixon was 22 of 39 for 228 yards and two touchdowns for Morningside (13-1), and Fred Jones ran for 118 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries. Nixon also threw two interceptions and lost a fumble in Rome, Georgia.