Investigators have recovered a body believed to be that of a 20-year-old Iowa college student who vanished from a small town one month ago. Greg Willey of Crime Stoppers of Central Iowa said he learned of the discovery from a close family friend of Mollie Tibbetts on Tuesday morning. Willey says he has no other details about the discovery, but called it a “tough” ending to the search for the University of Iowa student. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation plans a news conference for 4 o’clock this afternoon to update the public on the case. The press conference will be covered live on both KBOE and KMZN radio. A spokesman for the agency has not returned a message seeking comment. Tibbetts vanished on July 18 from her hometown of Brooklyn. Investigators said she was last seen on a routine jog through the streets of the city. It’s unclear whether she returned to the home where she was dog-sitting for her boyfriend and her boyfriend’s brother, who have said they were both out of town. A reward fund has raised nearly $400,000 for any tips that led to Tibbetts’ safe return. Willey says the fund will now likely be used for any information that helps police catch any person responsible for her death.
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Witnesses say the wrong man was convicted
Posted on by Rick Watts
Additional witnesses are suggesting the wrong man may be in prison for the past 31 years for the murder of a 16-year-old girl. The testimony is a boost for inmate Daniel Harris, who maintains his innocence in the death of 16-year-old Kristina Nelson in Council Bluffs. Harris wants a new trial. Earlier this year, a man who was at a party with Nelson’s boyfriend on the night she was killed came forward. He states that Nelson’s boyfriend and friend went to pick up Nelson, returned covered in blood, said they might have killed someone, talked of disposing a body and burnt their overalls in a barrel. Three other party attendees have now signed affidavits consistent with these claims. One stated seeing Nelson’s boyfriend struggling with a body in the trunk of a car. Harris provided proof at his trial that he worked at Burger king that evening. However, he was convicted based on an informant’s since-recanted testimony.
Oskaloosa volleyball season opener was a victory
Posted on by Rick Watts
Oskaloosa High’s volleyball team won its first two matches of the season Monday. The Indians defeated Carlisle and Knoxville in a tournament at Carlisle. Osky defeated Carlisle in two straight sets, then beat Knoxville two sets to one. Individually, freshman Faith DeRonde had 21 kills in the two matches, along with four service aces. Osky’s next game is Thursday night at Bondurant-Farrar. You can hear Oskaloosa High volleyball on KMZN and the No Coast Network next Tuesday night, when the Indians host Grinnell.
Mags was LIVE in-studio today
Posted on by Rick Watts
Mags McCarthy will be joining me in-studio! She Sings, She Dances, She Fiddles and She’s Done It All In Over 40 Countries Throughout the World Raised on a family farm in County Cork, Ireland, Mags McCarthy (MAGS) is an eye-catching and captivating vocalist, dancer and multi-instrumentalist. MAGS began her musical arts pursuit as a four-year-old studying Irish dancing. Catering to an undeniable musical hunger, MAGS expanded her curriculum to explore and learn a variety of dance styles as well as musical instruments with her primary focus on violin. Courted by the world-renowned Irish dance troupe, Rhythm Of The Dance, the UCC (University College Cork) student became a global performer almost overnight. The young singer-songwriter has since canvassed 40-plus countries, performing before millions as a principal lead in the dance troupe and as a solo-touring artist. Embracing the talents of the extraordinary artists who influenced her, MAGS infuses energy and sounds from Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, Shania Twain, Bruce Springsteen, Charlie Daniels, Johnny Cash and Garth Brooks into her live performances. She received welcoming invitations to perform before notable dignitaries such as President and First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House, the President of Ireland, the Mayor of Shanghai, members of the British Royal family, the young Prince of Luxembourg in Chelsea, England and the European Parliament in Brussels as well as numerous majestic locations–Dublin Castle, Lismore Castle, Waterford Castle, Blarney Castle, Ashford Castle and Blackwater Castle in Ireland. Since laying stake in Nashville, Tennessee in 2018, the former high school music teacher has taken center stage at the Wildhorse Saloon, the Hard Rock Café, 12th & Porter and many other historical Music City venues. In the past two years, her show schedule has tallied more than 600 shows.We’ll get to know her and hear a few of her songs! Tune in!
Weed killer chemical found in some cereals
Posted on by Rick Watts
A number of popular breakfast foods, including cereals, granola bars and instant oats, were tested and found to contain potentially dangerous amounts of cancer-linked glyphosate. This is a main ingredient in weed killer. Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide. The company notes on its website that on Dec. 18, the EPA stated the following:”The draft human health risk assessment concludes that glyphosate is not likely to be carconogenic to humans.” The products tested showed levels dramatically lower than current EPA standard for glyphosate. The worst offenders were Quaker oat products. Potentially dangerous products include but are not limited to: Lucky Charms(w/o marshmallows), Cheerios, Nature Valley granola bars, Quaker steel cut oats and Quaker old fashioned oats.
August 20th: On this day
Posted on by Rick Watts
On this day in 1977 Born on this day in in Amarillo, Texas was country singer Aaron Watson. In February 2015, Watson made history when he released The Underdog making him the first solo male artist to debut at #1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart with a self-released and independently distributed and promoted album.
Oskaloosa football scrimmage held last Friday
Posted on by Rick Watts
Oskaloosa High School’s football team held its annual Old Shoe scrimmage Friday night (8/17). Indians Coach Jake Jenkins gave his thoughts: “I think it’s early. Scrimmages are kind of tough because you have to break the squad, intrasquad scrimmages you have to break up. We kind of went back and forth, offense and defense. It’s kind of what we expected. We expect our guys to play hard. We expected there to be a lot of questions and we expected to be that deer in the headlights look because there were a lot of young guys out playing for the first time on a varsity field. So it’s kind of like we expected, it looked like a scrimmage. There’s a million little things to fix.”
Senior Casey Hill ran for two touchdowns in the scrimmage. Now the Indians get ready for their season opener Friday night at Pella Christian. You can hear that game on KMZN and the No Coast Network; kickoff is at 7.
One more note on Oskaloosa football: junior kicker Aaron Blom has been named to the Des Moines Register’s preseason All-Iowa team. Blom has made 79 of 81 extra points in two varsity seasons, along with making 12 of 21 field goals.
Oskaloosa football scrimmage tonight
Posted on by Rick Watts
The Oskaloosa High School football team will hold its’ Old Shoe scrimmage Friday night at Lacey Athletic Complex. Gates will open at 5:30pm, with the scrimmage between Osky’s freshmen and junior varsity at 6, followed by the varsity scrimmage starting around 7:30. Besides getting a look at this year’s Indian football team, you can also buy activity passes and reserved football seats for the coming season. And admission for Friday night’s scrimmage is one bottle of sports drink.
Osky’s regular season football opener is Friday, Aug. 24th at Pella Christian. Remember, you can hear Oskaloosa High football all season long on KMZN and the No Coast Network.
Meet Oreo the cuddly cat
Posted on by Rick Watts
Oreo, the domestic short hair cat, is our KBOE/KMZN Pet of the Week. Oreo, estimated at approximately 5 months old, is a very friendly, loving little fella who loves to cuddle. He is looking for his forever home. Oreo was abandoned and brought to Stephen Memorial Shelter. Oreo is ready for adoption now so submit an application to give him a loving home. Call Stephen Memorial Animal Shelter at (641) 673-3991 for more information about Oreo or a wide variety of other loving and adoptable pets!
Murder conviction upheld in Ottumwa
Posted on by Rick Watts
An Ottumwa man’s murder conviction has been upheld by the Iowa Court of Appeals. 26-year-old Erik Davila was convicted of second degree murder last year for killing his roommate, 24-year-old Hugo Hernandez, in March 2016. Davila’s appeal claimed prosecutors improperly introduced evidence of drug use and that prosecutors suggested Hernandez was asleep when he was shot. But the appeals court says the prosecution won the case because of strong evidence. Davila is serving a 50 year sentence.
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