Iowa

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — One teenager was killed and two others were critically wounded after gunfire that appeared to come from a passing vehicle struck them outside an Iowa school, authorities said.

Des Moines police said in a news release Monday that potential suspects have been detained in the shooting on the grounds of East High School, near Des Moines’ downtown, about a half mile, from the Capitol. No charges were immediately filed.

WINTERSET, Iowa (AP) — Seven people were killed, including two children, when several tornadoes swept through central Iowa, destroying homes and knocking down trees and power lines in the state’s deadliest storm in more than a decade, authorities said.

Emergency management officials in Madison County said four were injured and six people were killed Saturday when one tornado touched down in the area southwest of Des Moines near the town of Winterset around 4:30 p.m. Among those killed were two children under the age of five and four adults.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Six people were killed Saturday when a tornado swept through central Iowa, damaging buildings and knocking down trees and power lines, authorities said.

Emergency management officials in Madison County said four were injured in addition to those killed when the tornado touched down in the area southwest of Des Moines at about 4:30 p.m. Among those killed were children and adults.

Madison County Emergency Management Director Diogenes Ayala said 25 to 30 homes were badly damaged by the tornado.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Davenport’s 81-year-old Centennial Bridge across the Mississippi River creaks under the weight of tens of thousands of cars and trucks every day. Rust shows through its chipped silver paint, exposing the steel that needs replacing.

This city’s aging landmark is among more than 1,000 structurally deficient bridges in the area. The tally gives Iowa’s 2nd congressional district the dubious distinction of having the second-most troubled bridges in the country.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republican Sen. Charles Grassley and Gov. Kim Reynolds embraced Donald Trump’s return to Iowa on Saturday, standing by the former president as he repeated his false claims of voter fraud and a stolen election to a crowd of thousands.

The state’s senior senator, who recently announced plans to run for an eighth six-year term, praised Trump as he introduced him by noting there was “a great crowd honoring a great president of the United States.”

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne of Iowa was slow to get behind a $1 trillion infrastructure bill after the Senate passed it last month. It wasn’t the price tag that tripped up the Democrat from a swing House district. It was that none of the money was targeted for a home state industry — ethanol and biodiesel.

Axne set out to fix that. In the weeks since, she won assurances from congressional leaders that a separate multitrillion-dollar budget blueprint would include money for the renewable fuels. She’s now on board.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Inmates used hammers to attack staff members during a failed attempt to escape an Iowa prison, killing a nurse and a correctional officer, kidnapping a third employee and severely injuring an inmate who intervened, authorities said Wednesday.

Those killed in Tuesday’s attack at the Anamosa State Penitentiary were identified as 50-year-old nurse Lorena Schulte, of Cedar Rapids, and 46-year-old Officer Robert McFarland, of Ely. Both worked at the prison in Anamosa in eastern Iowa for more than a decade.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A federal judge in Iowa who has warned against political corruption is ridiculing President Donald Trump’s pardons, including those issued to convicted Republican campaign operatives and former members of Congress.

“It’s not surprising that a criminal like Trump pardons other criminals,” senior U.S. District Judge Robert Pratt of the Southern District of Iowa told The Associated Press in a brief phone interview Monday.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The deadly rise in COVID-19 cases across the U.S. is forcing state and local officials to adjust their blueprints for fighting the virus, with Republican governors adopting mask mandates — skeptically, in at least one case — and schools scrapping plans to reopen classrooms.

The steps face blowback from those who question the science behind mask wearing and social distancing and fear the new restrictions will kill off more jobs and trample on their civil liberties.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A surge in coronavirus cases across the country, including in key presidential battleground states, is creating mounting health and logistical concerns for voters, poll workers and political parties ahead of Election Day.

In Iowa, where both presidential campaigns are competing feverishly, county officials said they were preparing for scores of confirmed or potentially infected people to vote curbside. It’s an option typically used by disabled people that must be available outside every polling place.