Polk County News

A group calling itself Concerned Citizens of Southeast Polk School District plans to hold its second informational meeting about a large industrial park headed to Pleasant Hill.

A career felon whose resume includes the attempted stun-gun robbery of an 83-year-old man is headed back to prison for up to 25 years after he pleaded guilty this week to stealing more than $30,000 from a prominent Des Moines plastic surgeon.

Effective July 1, Linn County supervisors' annual salary will increase from $74,362 to $92,953, a 25 percent increase.

A Des Moines community organization is holding a rally Saturday against violence in Des Moines.

State officials last week excavated the site of a sinkhole in Runnells that experts and residents feared could have been related to abandoned coal mines beneath the city.

A Des Moines woman is charged with assaulting two firefighters as they took her to the hospital, after she allegedly used psychedelic mushrooms.

Olivia Weikum summed it up after only about 90 minutes of listening to a deputy Polk County treasurer read numbers off a computer screen.

What you need to know to start your day, including weather, police radar locations and road closures: Monday will remain in the 80s, with a slight chance of a pop up shower or storm in the afternoon, before things really cool with a high of 79 on Tuesday.

A former trucker accused of killing two men during a dispute at the trucking company's office last year has now been declared mentally competent and faces a murder trial this fall.

Officials at the Polk County Sheriff's Office will roll out new mobile speed cameras Monday, but drivers don't have to worry about paying tickets until mid-July.

Look out, Polk County. Smiles spies may be watching, daring you to flash a grin to be counted in the Don't Smile Movement, the latest initiative for Healthy Polk 2020.

Damage from last night's severe thunderstorms is still being assessed. At least one residential fire was caused by lighting on the 4000 block of NE 126th Avenue in Elkhart, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

A teen gang member accused of taking part in a brutal February carjacking now will have to come up with $500,000 in cash or surety and submit to wearing an electronic ankle bracelet before he can be freed on bond.

The West Des Moines Police Department is asking for assistance in identifying three people suspected of forgery.

Officials will be digging into a sinkhole to see whether it leads to an abandoned mine under the Polk County town of Runnells.

Speeders be warned: The Polk County Sheriff's Office will roll out its first mobile speed cameras next week.

Polk County will begin deploying vehicles equipped with radars and cameras to target speeders.

Runnells residents and state officials are concerned a large sinkhole could be related to an abandoned mine beneath the small city.

The Des Moines Register reports that the body of 53-year-old Kendall Johnson, of Rhodes, was found in his car around 8:40 p.m. Tuesday.

A TORNADO WATCH is in effect for Northeast Iowa until 9 PM. The Central Iowa counties included in the watch are Wright, Franklin, Hamilton, and Hardin.