Superintendent to Be Sentenced This Week
(Des Moines) Former Des Moines Public Schools superintendent Ian Roberts is scheduled to be sentenced this week. Roberts has pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement to gain employment and one count of being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm. He was arrested by immigration agents last year and resigned from his position days later. Federal prosecutors are asking for a three-year prison sentence. Roberts faces up to 20 years and will likely be deported to his home country of Guyana once his sentence is complete. His sentencing is set for Friday.
Marshalltown Man Convicted of Fatal 2024 Shooting
(Marshalltown) An Iowa man has been convicted of a fatal 2024 shooting. Prosecutors say Ilias Julian Lasley shot and killed two people inside a Marshalltown home, and was charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Witnesses say he was upset that the victims, Mario Murillo and Frances Tillie Gasca, were speaking Spanish. A jury found him guilty of a lesser charge of second-degree murder for killing Gasca, but not guilty of murdering Murillo. The sentencing is scheduled for July 10.
Iowa Primary Election Day Is in One Week
(Des Moines) The Iowa Primary Election is one week from today. Multiple candidates are running in some high-profile Iowa races, including the Governor, U.S. Senate, and Congress races. Voters are required to choose a political party for this election, because the purpose of the primary is to narrow the field of candidates down to one per party for the November ballot. Early voting for the Iowa Primary Election continues this week, through next Monday. The polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Primary Election Day, which is Tuesday, June 2.Former DMPS
Honor Flights to Resume Out Of Des Moines
(Des Moines) One of the most touching ways to honor our vets is making a comeback in Central Iowa. Honor Flights will soon take off again. The flights bring veterans to Washington, D.C., to visit the memorials in their honor. Monday, Hy-Vee announced its support for a flight on October 7 out of Des Moines. There’s room for seventy-five vets who served through May 1975, along with terminally ill servicemembers. This is the first honor flight from Central Iowa since 2019.
Two Iowa Students Compete in the National Spelling Bee
(Washington, D.C.) Kids from across the country will compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee this week, including two from Iowa. Caleb DeVan, a 14-year-old eighth grader from Ankeny, is one of two Iowa students competing in the national bee. Eleven-year-old Malayna Eichwald from Marion is also competing. Preliminary rounds begin this morning, with the finals scheduled for Thursday night.
