Crime & Courts

The family of a 16-year-old who was killed by Des Moines police in December 2022 has filed a lawsuit arguing that the teen never pointed a gun at officers and police should have had better training in de-escalation.

Excessive speed, distracted driving, impaired driving and not wearing seat belts are some of the motorist behaviors that pushed fatalities to 372 in 2023 so far -- up 10 percent from last year and well over five-year average.

The court said Wednesday it will not hear an appeal of a lower court’s ruling from groups seeking to keep Trump from appearing on the ballot.

An Iowa City man, who had a cardiac arrest during the City High Homecoming Parade in September, said he was lucky to have an officer with a paramedic background to save him. He will “never forget him.”

This year’s annual sock drive at the Johnson County Courthouse was dedicated to the memory of Kim Kurth, a court reporter for 33 years who’d retired in May and died of cancer in November. A record number of socks have been collected for donation to Iowa City nonprofits.

A northwest Iowa man, who was convicted last month of felony theft and 50 timber violations, argued that the Charter of the Forest of 1217, which established commoners’ rights to use public lands, applied to his case. The man admitted to cutting down and taking dozens of trees from a wildlife management area over the course of more than a year.

The crash with injuries happened outside 223 E. Post Rd., south of Indian Creak, near Cedar Rapids, according to the Linn County Sheriff’s Office.

The judge on Friday heard arguments from attorneys in two separate lawsuits challenging the new state law, which also bans the teaching of gender identity and sexual orientation through 6th grade.