Via KCCI.com: Authorities are asking for the public’s help to find a girl abducted Monday in northern Iowa. Kathlynn Shepard, 15, has been missing since 4 p.m. Monday. Dayton Police Chief Nicholas Dunbar said two girls were abducted from a bus stop Monday afternoon.  Authorities said the girls were taken to a rural agricultural facility southeast of [...]

TULSA, Oklahoma (Reuters) – A huge tornado touched down on Monday near Oklahoma City, and the National Weather Service urged residents to immediately take cover as a massive storm system in the middle of the country threatened to pummel as many as 10 states. “The tornado on the ground right now is huge and has hit [...]

A woman who was fired Friday after working five years for Republicans in the Iowa Senate this morning said her statehouse workplace was “toxic.”

Read more: http://thegazette.com/notes/government/20130520/fired-iowa-senate-aide-alleges-women-objectifiedridiculed-in-workplace/

Several rounds of severe weather moved through Iowa Sunday producing large hail, strong winds and reports of several tornadoes. Tree damage was been reported across the city of Cedar Rapids, several roads were blocked by trees and other debris. There were reports of damage Benton, Linn, Jones and Delaware Counties caused by the storms Sunday [...]

The national debate over Internal Revenue Service agents allegedly targeting conservative groups for extra tax scrutiny is bringing back memories for one small Cedar Rapids non-profit group. In 2009, the Coalition for Life of Iowa was involved in a battle with the IRS while seeking 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status for the group’s activities and fundraising. Susan Martinek, [...]

It’s hard to find an upside to terminal cancer. But Lennox Randon used that diagnosis to spur the writing of a slam-bang, take-no-prisoners, life-embracing crime novel. He also pulled together two other guys in a writers’ group, and they, too, have finished books. It’s not a stretch to call that making the best of a [...]

Learning to read takes practice, and summer is the perfect opportunity for kids to “dig into reading” because it’s a chance to read for fun in a relaxed setting. Reading over the summer directly impacts children’s cognitive skills, increases their vocabulary and helps motivate them. “We encourage all families to make time for reading year-round, [...]

The person you are at 15 is not — thankfully — the person you are at 30. The time in-between can be a period of great exploration and change, especially for those who move abroad and then attempt to return “home.” This fleeting, often romantic notion of “home” is just one of many themes in Chimamanda [...]

It would be fair to wonder if Lawrence Block had run out of things to say about his fictional hit man Keller. In the last book to feature the antihero, 2008’s “Hit and Run,” Keller’s entire life had been upended in ways both positive and negative. It seemed possible that he might retire from the dangerous [...]

A potentially fatal hog virus, porcine epidemic diarrhea, has been found in the United States for the first time, government and private industry officials said on Friday, posing a new threat for the country’s struggling pork producers. PEDV, an incurable condition that causes diarrhea, vomiting and dehydration in hogs, has been identified in Iowa, the [...]

  Soybeans shoot higher Although US farmers are expecting to harvest a large soybean crop this fall, the current supply of soybeans in storage is running low, lifting prices higher. This week, July soybeans shot up 45 cents (+3.2%), reaching $14.47 per bushel on Friday morning. Many farmers are holding onto their remaining soybeans, waiting for higher [...]

Cable companies want to plant a flag in the online video space by buying a stake in one of the hottest new media properties available. Time Warner Cable is weighing a bid to purchase an ownership position in Hulu, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. The New York Post picked up on [...]

House-Senate conference committee members Wednesday finalized a $547.3 million appropriation to fund state prisons, public safety and other justice system functions for the 2014 fiscal year that begins July 1. The overall funding level in http://coolice.legis.iowa.gov/Cool-ICE/default.asp?Category=billinfo&Service=Billbook&menu=false&ga=85&hbill=SF447">Senate File 447 was an increase from the House’s $534.5 million proposal and Gov. Terry Branstad’s $535.2 million plan for fiscal [...]

DES MOINES — Three state senators, including one who is exploring a U.S. Senate run, pulled their support from a potential fuel tax increase Wednesday, likely killing the bill for good. State Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Red Oak, said her potential bid to replace Democratic U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin in the Senate weighed on her mind [...]

DES MOINES — Bipartisan negotiators agreed Wednesday to spend $897.7 million on public education next year, but question marks remain on key proposals related to education reform. The education appropriations bill covers spending for the department of education, the state’s three public universities, its special schools and a host of other programs. State aid for [...]

An estimated 60,000 to 80,000 cars a day will have to find a new route through downtown Cedar Rapids -— at least for the rest of the week. Cedar Rapids public workers managers say that’s the estimated daily traffic count on First Avenue SE between Fifth and Third streets. And that’s the section that closed [...]

As part of a nationwide career fair event, Dollar General will be accepting resumes and interviewing candidates on Saturday May 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the 151 Jacolyn Dr NW location in Cedar Rapids. Dollar General representatives will be present to discuss opportunities, receive resumes and educate candidates on long-term growth and [...]

We know them by their red kettles and their thrift stores, but both around the world and right here in Cedar Rapids, The Salvation Army does so much more. Every Salvation Army location has the same mission, which has been the same since the organization’s inception. In short, it is “to preach the gospel of [...]

Russell Wasendorf Jr., whose father went to prison for stealing $215 million from clients of the futures brokerage they ran together for nearly 20 years, is starting over. The chief operating officer of Peregrine Financial Group, which collapsed in 2012 in an embezzlement scheme orchestrated by his father, has moved to Florida from the firm’s home [...]