Top 9 of Iowa: Sex for Sale, NBA in WDM, Officer Dies and More

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

Here are some of the top stories from our Patches.

1. The Sex Sale is Over

A hotel in Marion was part of a multi-day in Linn County that netted more than 30 arrests. More than 20 law enforcement agencies participated in the sting, which involved multiple hotels, including at least one in Cedar Rapids. Police arrested 40 people, including 37 for prostitution, in the sting that ended Friday.

2. A Couple-Hundred People Taken for a Ride

The Cedar Valley Cyclists put on the 27th Saturday morning in Cedar Falls, and many of the participants shared their photos with the community. About 200 people came out for the ride, which left from Big Woods Lake and had a short loop to Janesville and a longer ride out to Shell Rock.

3. NBA and ISU Come to WDM for the YMCA

That's a lot of acronyms for one event, but it was a huge event in West Des Moines. Former Iowa State basketball stars Royce White and Craig Brackins took to the court for the YMCA Capital City Basketball Leauge and put on quite a show for more than 1,000 people who packed Valley Southwoods Freshman High School. We have to prove it. Brackins just left the Philadelphia 76ers; White is a projected first-round pick in the coming NBA draft.

4. Tragedy for the Ames Police Family

We had . An Ames police sergeant who was known among his peers for being "firm and fair" drowned Father's Day weekend in Henry County while trying to bring his boat back to shore. Sgt. Howard Snider, 51, of the Ames Police Safe Neighborhoods Team, drowned June 16 in Lake Geode. He had a wife and two children.

5. Cyber-Spying Mystery

The Bertin Rocha Law Firm in Urbandale reported an unauthorized user was detected twice in the firm's secure computer network. Felicia Bertin Rocha reported that on the network between June 4 and June 15. The firm's network is protected by a password. Police are checking out the IP address for the remote hacking.

6. Headaches Over Wine

Kurt Schade, owner of the Schade Creek Winery & Vineyard in Waukee, to complain about calls sending police to his property and about what he perceives as a personal grudge Councilman Mike Watts has against him. Watts says the argument stems from a disagreement Schade had with Waukee's Board of Adjustment, a board Watts served on several years ago.

7. Why So Many Millions for a Sports Complex?

The has been about a proposed 150-acre, $78.3 million athletic complex now in the hands of Ankeny school board members to review. Clark Kramme, an Ankeny resident who, along with his brother, Mark, wants to build the complex to be used by multiple entities in the community, decided to answer the more than 270 people who commented on Patch about his proposal.

8. Where You Can Buy About Everything But a Baby

While Bisbee Wood and Wire boasts a wide selection of eclectic items, owner Matt Wilson says his business is intended to be less of a store and more of a place for community involvement. , customers can peruse a variety of items chosen based on “coolness.” A partial list of items on sale includes antique wooden duck decoys, an 8-millimeter camera and a Commodore 64.

9. Murder Charges: Be Aware

Iowa City police have that charges Brandon D. Brown with first-degree murder in Thursday's fatal shooting of a man on Petsel Place. Brown — who is not in custody — is accused of the fatal shooting Donelle Derrell Lindsey, 30, of Iowa City, according to a news release issued Friday afternoon by authorities. Brown, 27, has no current address, but previously lived in Calumet City, IL, and Harvey, IL, authorities said. He is described as a black man, 5-feet 9-inches tall, weighing 170 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.