Des Moines Register All News

SEXUAL HARASSMENT & THE IOWA SENATE: Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, who served in the Iowa Senate in 2009 and 2010, said Monday she didn't experience sexual harassment as a state lawmaker, but she believes everyone should be ensured a safe and secure working environment.

MEDICAID IN IOWA: On Monday, Branstad seemed to indicate he might be amenable to accepting some form of expansion if it came with “assurances” that the feds wouldn't renege on funding commitments in the years to come.

CARNIVAL RIDE INJURY: A 5-year-old Council Bluffs boy injured in a weekend carnival ride accident has been released from the hospital.

NOLLEN PLAZA: Nollen Plaza is getting a new name to go with its much-anticipated makeover. Details of the renaming and the renovations will be unveiled today.

RAINFALL, FLOODING & DAMAGE TOTALS: National Weather Service crews will go out today to survey the damage in Madison, Dallas and Polk counties, including the sites of two reported tornadoes near Earlham and Huxley.

• Video: Flash floods close highway 218 in northern Iowa
• Video: Strong wind and heavy rain in Slater
• Video: Heavy rain falls in Beaverdale
• Video: Rain, wind pass through Johnston

POPEYES CHICKEN ROBBERY: An unknown man reportedly leaped over the counter at a Popeyes Chicken restaurant and held the cashier at gunpoint while demanding money.

A Des Moines man told police he thought he had been punched in the back as he tried to walk away from an altercation. But when he felt the blood, he realized he had been stabbed.

Tornadoes, damaging winds and hail lashed Iowa as severe spring weather returned Sunday evening after nearly a year's absence, but no injuries were reported.

• Morning Update: 14,000 still without power
• Video: Flash floods close highway 218 in northern Iowa
• Video: Strong wind and heavy rain in Slater
• Video: Heavy rain falls in Beaverdale
• Video: Rain, wind pass through Johnston

A former key staffer for the Iowa Senate Republican caucus says she was fired Friday, just hours after providing documentation of sexual harassment by male legislators and caucus staff members and asking for changes.

A new, four-phase, $82 million version of a long-discussed courthouse building expansion plan will be unveiled this morning during a presentation before Polk County supervisors. The proposal could go before voters this fall.

The state-run Glenwood Resource Center for the disabled has the worst record of compliance with federal regulations of any care facility in Iowa over the past 10 months.

Mark Gee's world is not so different from the main character's world in one of his favorite series, 'Harry Potter.'

Three teenagers were reportedly robbed at gunpoint early Saturday morning near East 15th Street and Dean Avenue, according to a Des Moines police report.

West Des Moines school board members moved quickly to fire the district's superintendent in order to meet a state-imposed deadline that allows top administrators to be removed without just cause, officials said.

Shots were fired in the front yard of a Des Moines apartment building overnight Friday after several people returned to a party that had ended earlier in the evening, according to a Des Moines police report.

Seniors of the Ankeny class of 2013 shared an overwhelming sentiment before Sunday's commencement ceremony - we are lucky.

Iowa lawmakers are grasping at adjournment and a slate of top-flight bills remain undone, but you wouldn't know it if you walked into the Capitol this morning.

An effort to renovate Merle Hay Mall may get a financial boost today when the Des Moines City Council considers up to $1.6 million in assistance for the $12 million project.

The Ankeny Fire Department will hold an open house from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday to celebrate National Emergency Medical Services Week.