Gazette Daily News Podcast, Oct. 18

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This is John McGlothlen with The Gazette digital news desk and I'm here with your update for Monday, Oct. 18th.

According to the National Weather Service, we can expect sunny skies, with a high near 74. Winds from the south at 5 to 10 mph. Then tonight, mostly clear, with a low around 48.

A North Liberty man with a history of sex crimes is in the Johnson County Jail, accused of raping a woman on a rooftop in downtown Iowa City this summer. According to an Iowa City Police Department criminal complaint, around 1:40 a.m. July 25th, a woman was leaving a bar and trying to find her friends when a man took her by the arm, guided her outside and up to a rooftop area. The man pushed her to the ground and sexually assaulted her, while covering her mouth with his hand and yelling at her as she told him to stop, the complaint stated. After the alleged assault, the woman led officers to the rooftop area in the 200 block of East Washington Street and police found an Iowa driver's license belonging to Fitsum Russell. Also, police said a sexual assault kit located DNA that matched Russell's. Russell was booked into the Johnson County Jail on Friday night, charged with third-degree sexual abuse — second or subsequent offense. The repeat offense enhanced charge raises the offense level from a Class C felony to a Class A felony. He is being held on $150,000 cash or surety bond. Russell has three previous sex crime convictions in Linn and Johnson counties.

The unranked Purdue Boilermakers upset No. 2 Iowa Saturday, 24-7, shocking the college football world and upending the Hawkeyes’ College Football Playoff aspirations. Iowa never led in what turned into an ugly Saturday. For the second consecutive week, Iowa found itself in a double-digit deficit, but didn’t muster a second-half comeback this time. The Hawkeyes fell from No. 2 to No. 11 in the Associated Press Poll.

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