A Cedar Rapids man was sentenced to nine years in federal prison last week for possessing child pornography after a jury found him guilty in March. James Sumner, 50, was convicted of three counts of possession of child pornography. According to evidence at trial, investigators found child pornography on three CDs and one mini DVD [...]

A 31-year-old Iowa City mother was arrested late Sunday after police reported finding her four children alone, running around and climbing on the roof of the family’s mobile home. Officers were called to Forest View Trailer Court, 1205 Laura Drive in Iowa City, at 8:40 p.m. Sunday after a witness reported the four children had [...]

Cedar Rapids police continue investigating an unattended death at an apartment on the southwest side as a homicide. Officers responded to 5663 Kirkwood Blvd. just after 3:30 p.m. Monday and remained on the scene Wednesday morning. Sgt. Cristy Hamblin said police were called to the apartment for a medical call. The subject of that call [...]

A 31-year-old man accused of enticing two teenaged girls to text him sexually explicit photos of themselves to him will be detained pending his federal trial, a judge ruled Tuesday. Nicholas Appleby of Oxford Junction, was indicted last week on two counts of sexual exploitation of a child. Appleby is accused of texting sexually explicit [...]

An Iowa City man wielding a guitar, a sword and a flask of cocaine was arrested at a gas station in Tiffin Monday night. Johnson County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the Kum & Go gas station in Tiffin at 11:21 p.m. for a report of a man outside the store who was scaring the [...]

UPDATE: Cedar Rapids police are still conducting a death investigation at an apartment on the city’s southwest side. Officers responded to 5663 Kirkwood Blvd. SW around 3:30 p.m. Monday and remained on the scene Tuesday. Sgt. Cristy Hamblin said police were called to the apartment for a medical call. The subject of that call was [...]

A former Iowa City insurance agent convicted in the 1979 execution style killing of a West Branch man will remain in prison after his application for commutation was denied for the second time Monday. Gov. Terry Branstad declined to commute the life sentence of Robert Kern, 67, convicted of first-degree murder, along with six other [...]

UPDATE: Cedar Rapids police have identified the man involved in a fatal altercation with a local man who died last week. Sgt. Cristy Hamblin said Monday morning she did not yet know if police have spoken with the other man, but said investigators will do so. “I know they’ve identified him,” Hamblin said. “I don’t [...]

A 62-year-old man pleaded not guilty last week to sexually assaulting one of his 14-year-old dance students, and his trial was set for July 22 in Linn County District Court. Marcelino Hivento was charged last month with third-degree sexual abuse. He is accused of sexually abusing the 14-year-old girl May 1-  Oct. 31, 2012 in [...]

UPDATE: Iowa City police said Monday that the suspicious package disposed of by the Johnson County Metro Bomb team Sunday evening was not an explosive device. “It was not a bomb,” Sgt. Vicki Lalla said Monday afternoon. Lalla said she is waiting on more information about the investigation before releasing additional details. Police cordoned off [...]