MOTHER KILLED-CONVICTION

Judge finds South Carolina man guilty in mother’s death

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A judge has convicted a South Carolina man of killing his mother last year in Iowa. District Judge Jeffrey Neary on Friday convicted Paul Belk of second-degree murder in the April 2020 death of his 55-year-old mother, Lisa Belk, in Sioux City, Iowa. Prosecutors said Belk, of Beaufort, South Carolina, stabbed his mother 16 times with knives and scissors at his sister’s apartment. Belk had entered an insanity defense. Neary ruled that Belk was not insane when he killed his mother but his use of marijuana aggravated his mental illness, preventing him from forming intent to kill his mother. Belk was found not guilty of willful injury for stabbing his sister. 

VIRUS OUTBREAK-IOWA-UNIVERSITIES

Iowa professor who required masks ordered to teach from home

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A University of Northern Iowa biology professor who required masks be worn in his classroom and threatened lower grades for students who refused has been relegated to online teaching and stripped of his eligibility for merit pay. UNI professor Steve O’Kane Jr. had pushed a resolution among his colleagues saying faculty should be allowed to manage their classrooms. The Gazette of Cedar Rapids reports O’Kane received a disciplinary letter from UNI College of Humanities, Arts and Sciences Dean John Fritch. Despite the letter’s warning that he could be fired if he fails to comply with university policies on face masks, O’Kane says he will require masks again in the spring if he’s allowed to return to in-person teaching.

LOTTERY JACKPOT

Powerball jackpot rises to $635M due to ticket-buying surge

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The giant Powerball jackpot has grown even bigger, with officials raising the estimated payout to $635 million ahead of Saturday night’s drawing. The grand prize was raised Friday from an earlier estimate of $620 million, reflecting a surge in sales from players attracted by the potential payoff. While the jackpot increases, the chance of winning all that money remains miniscule, at one in 292.2 million. There have been 39 drawings in a row without a grand prize winner. The jackpot amount refers to the payout for winners who choose the annuity option, paid over 29 years. Most winners take cash, which for Saturday’s drawing would be an estimated $450 million. Powerball is played in 45 states plus Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

RACIAL INJUSTICE-DES MOINES

Des Moines cancels security contract after owner’s remarks

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Des Moines will cancel a city contract with a private security company more than two months after reports revealed troubling remarks by the company’s CEO, who referred to local racial justice protests as “terrorism.” The Des Moines Register reports the city’s contract with The Conley Group will end at midnight Monday. City Manager Scott Sanders says both parties reached an agreement to end the contract. An attorney for company CEO Tom Conley says The Conley Group asked the city to end its contract early. The firm had been set to see its $250,000 city contract more than double in July until Conley’s remarks surfaced in a Register investigative report.

MIDWEST ECONOMY

Midwest report: Business confidence in economy plummets

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A new monthly survey of business leaders in nine Midwest and Plains states shows their confidence in the economy over the next six month plummeted to its lowest level since the COVID-19 pandemic began last year. The overall index for September of the Creighton University Mid-America Business Conditions released Friday dropped to 61.6 from August’s 68.9. Any score above 50 on the survey’s indexes suggests growth. But the survey’s business confidence index, which looks ahead six months, fell more than 16 points to 37 from August’s 53.5. The monthly survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

MISSING BOY-IOWA

Police: Human remains could be Iowa boy who vanished in May

MONTEZUMA, Iowa (AP) — Investigators searching for an Iowa boy who vanished in May days before his 11th birthday say they have found human remains matching his description in a nearby cornfield. The remains were discovered by a farmer working in a field a few miles outside of Montezuma, where then 10-year-old Xavior Harrelson was reported missing May 27 from the trailer park where he lived. The farmer called the Poweshiek County Sheriff’s Office, which responded to the scene. Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation agents and the Iowa Office of State Medical Examiner and the state anthropologist also responded and confirmed that they were remains. DCI spokesman Mitch Mortvedt says the body “appears to be that of an adolescent” and the clothing found on scene match what Xavior was wearing.

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