Eddie Tipton has been found guilty by a jury in the Hot Lotto fraud case. He was accused of rigging a lottery computer so he could by the winning ticket and pass it to a friend to collect more than 16-million dollars for him. The defense plans an appeal.
A former Bagley Fire Department volunteer is one of two people arrested in connection to thefts at the department. A credit card and equipment were among the items taken. Terry King and Jessica Woods have been charged with several felonies.
The number of prison escapees in Iowa is going up. State records show an increase in the number of prisoners sneaking away while on work release over the past four years, with 305 in the past year. Correction officials point to more prisoners being in the program, but the workers’ union says staff have had to do more with less.
State officials will be launching next month a computerized system aimed at tracking the availability of beds in mental health united throughout Iowa. The Department of Human Services plans to pay a national company more than a quarter-of-a-million dollars to set up and maintain the system for four years.
The parent company of Des Moines-based Sammons Financial Group has donated a million dollars to Drake University for the Sammons Endowed Professorship in Actuarial Science. Drake is one of only 16 universities in the U-S to be recognized as a Center for Actuarial Excellence by the Society of Actuaries.
Nearly ten thousand cyclists took off yesterday from Sioux City for the first leg of the weeklong RAGBRAI. Iowa State Patrol is reminding drivers to share the road with the bike riders. They also says the bicyclers have the responsibility of riding right.
It’s been a busy couple of weekends for rescue crews on the Raccoon River. At least 18 people had to be rescued Saturday night, with 16 stuck in a tree more than a mile from the Boone Access. Van Meter’s fire chief cautions tubers to go during the day, when they can be spotted, and they can see obstacles.
Home sales are up in the greater Des Moines area by 22 percent in the first half of this year, according to the Des Moines Area Association of Realtors. Homes have been selling in an average of 66 days on the market, 13 days fewer than the same time last year.
The National Balloon Classic kicks off this weekend at the National Balloon Classic Fairgrounds in Indianola. It runs through August 1st.
