FROM KCCI: Fire causes $275,000 in damages at Nevada restaurant. A fire at Starbuck's Drive-In in Nevada caused $275,000 in interior damages, leaving the restaurant a total loss, according to the fire department. The restaurant is located on the north side of town along Lincoln Highway, also known as Old Highway 30. The fire department said the blaze started accidentally after electrical services became overloaded in a storage area and took 30 minutes to get under control on Tuesday evening. ... READ MORE

FROM WHO-TV: Des Moines chef sentenced to prison for sexual abuse. A once-celebrated Des Moines chef has been sentenced to prison for sexual abuse. In November, 55-year-old Enosh Kelley was arrested and charged with third-degree sexual abuse and invasion of privacy. According to the Des Moines Police Department, a woman reported that Kelley sexually abused her in 2023 while she was sleeping and incapacitated from pain medications for a head injury. Court documents also allege that Kelley had taken photos of the abuse, which were found on his iPad. ... READ MORE

FROM WOI: Des Moines man pleads guilty to human trafficking, faces up to 67 years in prison. A Des Moines man faces nearly seven decades in prison after he pleaded guilty Monday to human trafficking and other various charges. The Polk County Attorney's Office said Bryce Alan McNeil, 27, faces up to 67 years in prison with a minimum of 17.5 years before he is eligible for parole. McNeil brought two victims from out of state to Des Moines, where trafficking and abuse took place. The victims were unable to leave. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: Ukrainian drone attacks on oil refineries plunge Russia into a summer fuel crisis. The lines are growing at Russian gas stations -- and so is the frustration and uncertainty as several months of Ukrainian attacks have set oil refineries ablaze and choked supplies for motorists across the vast country. Fuel rationing has been introduced in many regions, with hourslong queues of cars snaking beside roads. Social media videos show drivers aghast at the lines or swearing at empty gas pumps and rising prices. The mayor of the Siberian city of Irkutsk even ordered portable toilets brought in to accommodate those in line. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE NATION: Supreme Court upholds birthright citizenship, rejecting Trump’s proposed limits. A divided Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a broad conception of birthright citizenship, rejecting President Donald Trump’s executive order declaring that children born to people who are in the United States illegally or temporarily are not American citizens. ... READ MORE

FROM AROUND THE STATE: Northwest Iowa man charged with grooming and enticing a minor takes plea deal. A Cherokee County man accused of grooming and other counts has pleaded guilty after taking a plea deal. On Friday, June 19, court documents state that 43-year-old Travis Ehrig of Marcus, Iowa, had agreed to take a deal and had pleaded guilty to a charge of grooming, one of three counts he was accused of. ... READ MORE

On the morning of the Fourth of July, much of America will be celebrating the 250th birthday of our country. There are events of every size and shape.

Early that morning, Eagle Scout Benjamin Harrington, History Professor Doug Frazer, athletic trainer and entrepreneur Michael Donahue, fulltime father and part-time movie reviewer David Rowley, Creative Product Manager Thomas Ochylski and retired pharmaceutical sales rep and great-great-great-great-great-grandson (Mike Rowley) of one of the 41 known Revolutionary War veterans buried in Iowa will don the wool uniforms of soldiers of several eras and raise the flags at Fort Des Moines.

The public event will invite all to remember the history of those who may have been forgotten, at a place also forgotten by many, but which still holds so much tremendous local and national history.

First reactions of new visitors or those who may not have been there for decades might be unprepared for the conditions of some of the grounds. There are overgrown grass and weeds. There is chipped paint on the porch. The reflection pool clearly has seen better days. But once inside the museum, one quickly feels a great sense of pride in being an Iowan or a Des Moines descendant of those who served here.

The 9 a.m. ceremony won't be the biggest, longest or the most extravagant event of this Fourth of July. But if even a few caring, active and passionate people come and view the museum building and grounds with an eye willing to see what it once was and could be again, and if even a few are willing to give their time, expertise, and enough for needed materials, I am confident one year from now all Iowans will again point with pride at all that Fort Des Moines and the men and women who have passed through there over the years represents.

- Mike Rowley

1997: Hong Kong returned to China. At midnight on July 1, 1997, Hong Kong reverts to Chinese rule in a ceremony attended by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Prince Charles of Wales, Chinese President Jiang Zemin and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. A few thousand Hong Kongers protested the turnover, which was otherwise celebratory and peaceful. … READ MORE

1963: U.S. Post Office introduces zip codes. On July 1, 1963, the United States Postal Service (USPS) introduces the Zone Improvement Plan as part of a plan to improve the speed of mail delivery, inaugurating the use of machine-readable ZIP codes to facilitate the efficient sorting of mail at a national level. … READ MORE

1979: The first Sony Walkman goes on sale. On July 1, 1979, the first personal stereo cassette player, called the Sony Walkman, debuts for sale. It would spark a revolution in portable electronics. … READ MORE

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