Top 9 of Iowa: Children Locked in Basement, Record Ticket Sales, 'Superstar' Bonobo Dies, 'Thriller' Makes Comeback

Why nine? Because the Patch community includes nine sites in Iowa: Ames, Ankeny, Cedar Falls, Iowa City, Johnston, Marion, Urbandale, Waukee and West Des Moines.

9. Marion could boost its chance at becoming a Blue Zone when officials visit next week. The designation helps cities with resource to become healthier.

8. Iowa State basketball set a season ticket sales record for the second year in a row. (Fingers cross), this looks to be a promising year for Cyclones fans in Ames and around the state.

7. Iowa City kids offered a flashback to the 1980s by dusting of Michael Jackson's Thriller dance. Click on the link to have a look.

6. Iowa State Sen. Pat Ward from Waukee will leave a lasting memory of winning her re-election campaign a month after losing her battle with cancer.

5. Urbandale students brougth Hellen Keller and Annie Sullivan's story to life on the stage at Urbandale High School with a production of "The Miracle Worker."

4. When Karla Prosperi and her family moved relocated from Chicago two and a half years ago, she knew Johnston would provide the perfect backdrop for her massage business, which offers new techniques in relief.

3. As much as we'd like to, we can't totally ignore Election Day:

• Steve King took down Christie Vilsack in a key congressional race
• Gay marriage advocates celebrated a judicial retention victory
• Iowa helped President Obama to re-election.
• Cedar Falls State Sen. Jeff Danielson eked out a win that wound up being critical to Democrats holding control of the Iowa Senate.

2. Panbanisha, one of two rare bonobos whose understanding of spoken English brought a Des Moines scientist to international acclaim, has died, West Des Moines Patch reports.

1. The Iowa Department of Human Services is investigating allegations that an Ankeny couple locked their children in a basement any time they were not in school for a three- to four-week period.

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