Tag: Iowa

South Dakota, Iowa To Send Law Enforcement Officers to Southern Border

The Republican governors of South Dakota and Iowa said in recent announcements they will be sending law enforcement personnel to the U.S.–Mexico border. It comes after the governors of Texas and Arizona asked all other states to help with the ongoing border crisis by providing additional manpower. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said late Monday…


Prosecutors: Robber Fired 10 Shots at Wounded Iowa Deputy

IOWA CITY, Iowa—A Chicago man robbed two Iowa gas station employees at gunpoint and confined them in a cooler before he fired ten shots at a sheriff’s deputy who responded to the crime, seriously wounding him, prosecutors said Tuesday. The shots fired by Stanley Donahue injured the left hip and leg of Linn County Deputy…


Illegal Immigrant Found Guilty in 2018 Stabbing Death of Mollie Tibbetts

IOWA CITY, Iowa—A jury found an illegal immigrant guilty of murder Friday in the abduction and killing of a University of Iowa student who vanished while out for a run in 2018. The 12-member jury unanimously found Cristhian Bahena Rivera guilty of first-degree murder in the stabbing death of Mollie Tibbetts, who is remembered as…


Iowa Murder Suspect Blames Mystery Men for Runner’s Slaying

IOWA CITY, Iowa—The man on trial for the 2018 abduction and stabbing death of a University of Iowa student testified in his own defense Wednesday and claimed for the first time that two masked men were responsible for the crime but forced him to take part. In a surprise development, the defense called Cristhian Bahena…


Mollie Tibbetts’s Murder Suspect Blames Mystery Men for Her Slaying

IOWA CITY, Iowa—The man on trial for the 2018 abduction and stabbing death of a University of Iowa student testified in his own defense Wednesday and claimed for the first time that two masked men were responsible for the crime but forced him to take part. In a surprise development, the defense called Cristhian Bahena…


Iowa, Alabama Governors Sign Laws Banning Vaccine Passports

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey have signed bills into law, joining more states to prohibit COVID-19 vaccine passports at the state level. Ivey signed Senate Bill 267 (pdf) into law on Monday, while Reynolds signed House File 889 into law on May 20. “Since the development of the COVID-19 vaccine, both…


Mollie Tibbetts Murder Trial: DNA Analyst Testifies Blood in Suspect’s Trunk Belonged to Tibbetts

DAVENPORT, Iowa—Blood found in the trunk of a farmhand’s car was an exact match for a University of Iowa student who was abducted and killed while out for a run in 2018, a DNA analyst told jurors Friday. Tara Scott, a criminalist in the DNA section of Iowa’s crime lab, said she analyzed a swab…


Iowa Bans Mask Mandates in Public Schools, Cities, Counties

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Thursday signed a bill to ban mask mandates in the state’s public schools, as well as in cities and counties, joining Texas. “The state of Iowa is putting parents back in control of their child’s education and taking greater steps to protect the rights of all Iowans to make their…


Mollie Tibbetts’s Boyfriend Testifies in Murder Trial, ‘Wholeheartedly’ Believes Suspect Is Guilty

The boyfriend of a University of Iowa student testified Wednesday that he had nothing to do with her 2018 abduction and stabbing death, saying he had been out of town for work and was heartbroken by her slaying, and he “wholeheartedly” believes the suspect is guilty. Dalton Jack, the longtime boyfriend of Mollie Tibbetts, was…


Prosecutor Says Trial in Iowa Student’s Death Won’t Be Easy

DAVENPORT, Iowa—A prosecutor warned prospective jurors Monday that the trial of a Mexican national charged in the 2018 fatal stabbing of a University of Iowa student will include graphic evidence that will be emotionally difficult to see and hear. Prosecutor Scott Brown said the first-degree murder trial of Cristhian Bahena Rivera in the death of…