Laryssa Leone

3 weeks ago | weareiowa.com | Laryssa Leone

ORIENT, Iowa — A large brush fire accompanied by wind guts has had Adair County fire crews working for hours to extinguish flames on Friday. According to Adair County EMA (Emergency Management Agency) coordinator Jeremy Cooper, multiple crews assessed the fire two miles west of Orient and about eight miles south of Greenfield.  Cooper says the fire broke out around 2 p.m. Friday afternoon and jumped several roadways, bouncing between several different fields in that area.

1 month ago | weareiowa.com | Laryssa Leone

DES MOINES, Iowa — Senate Study Bill 1208  and House Study Bill 313 are two study bills in the legislature aiming to drastically change Iowa's property tax system. The near identical bills were authored by Republican lawmakers in the House and Senate. Each chambers' Ways and Means Committee says if signed into law, these twin bills would be the states biggest property tax revamp since 1977.

1 month ago | weareiowa.com | Laryssa Leone

DES MOINES, Iowa — An outbreak of measles is spreading to more states. According to the Center of Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) cases have been confirmed in at least 15 states from California to New York. Vermont and Maryland have confirmed their first cases this week, and new cases have popped up in Oklahoma. So far this year, there has been one confirmed death from the disease and another is under investigation.

1 month ago | weareiowa.com | Laryssa Leone

DES MOINES, Iowa — Lutheran Services of Iowa (LSI) has been operating for nearly 160 years. However, a team that aims to help immigrants and refugees settle in Iowa has recently experienced a significant reduction in staff, according to the Iowa Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN). "28 employees in our resettlement services line were given notice. This affects staff primarily in Waterloo, Sioux City and Des Moines," LSI CEORenee Hardman said.

1 month ago | weareiowa.com | Laryssa Leone

OMAHA, Nebraska — The National Police of Honduras has notified the U.S. of the capture of a man charged in the death of an Iowa woman nine years ago. Police had cause to believe back in 2016, Eswin Mejia, also known as Edwin, was driving while intoxicated and street racing when he hit 21-year-old Sarah Root's car in Omaha. Root, a Council Bluff resident, died as a result of the crash. At the time of the incident, Mejia was 19 years old and in the country illegally.