Quirky Videos, Weird Crime, Dirty Dancing, Stolen Flags and Officials-At-Odds: Weird Iowa
The weeks round up includes the usual mix of strange arrests, damaged homes and officials who just can't seem to get along.
Let's start off with a pretty touching story with some weird elements.
In honor of Ames art teacher Ron Heinen's retirement, Ames Patch featured some of the better videos produced by his students.
Nothing is weird about the short on bullying, but it's hard not to chuckle at the imaginations of the students that made the Great Escape, about army toys breaking out of a boy's closet, or Dream or Real about a seemingly forgetful boy who oversleeps his alarm.
Over in Eastern Iowa, Marion Patch has been covering the story about Linn County officials who don't seem to want to get along. You see, the county auditor sued the county board of supervisors. Not to be out done, the supervisors counter-sued the auditor.
The case went to trial this week.
Now onto some of the weird crime stories.
In Iowa City, a veteran allegedly decided to take American Flags from Oakland Cemetery. He told officers there were no flags for him, to which the officers explained that living veterans get Veteran's Day. The man was charged with public intoxication.
Next we have two cases of allegedly drunk people arrested after being found sleeping in places they didn't belong.
An Ames woman was allegedly sleeping on the sidewalk outside the front door of an apartment complex, and then she allegedly socked the arresting officer in the face with a closed fist.
In West Des Moines, a Norwalk man went to sleep in a grassy area outside a local bar only to be awakened by police. The allegedly drunk man was thoroughly confused, wasn't sure where we was staying and had a hard time working his cell phone. He came to with a simple question for police: why was he in jail?
In Cedar Falls, a tutoring session at the home of a teacher on administrative leave and three former students took a theatrical turn. The teacher apparently lifted one teenage girl up in the air, "like in the movie 'Dirty Dancing." He also allegedly served alcohol, for which he is facing three counts of serving alcohol to a minor.
Finally, in Urbandale, two weeks later and city manager A.J. Johnson is still trying to recover his home, which was damaged after someone put a garden hose in a basement window and pumped 3,000 gallons of water into his finished basement.
For more weirdness:
Iowa City Weirdness — And Other Picks from Our Iowa Patches