Top 9 of Iowa: Evansdale Abduction, Iowa City Readies for Students and Parties, Meandering Cattle

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.

9. “Beef cattle are made for meandering” and other mantras dot the aisles in , which opened recently in West Des Moines. Our Patch editor Beth Dalbey took a closer look at the store, which no doubt many around the state wish was close by.

8. Residents in Ames are still recovering from an apartment fire. The fire that began in a carport of South Meadow Apartments on Sunday morning and quickly spread through the roof of the H-shaped building displacing about 90 people, but no one was injured.

7. The saga of the former Ankeny school superintendent, who left for a better paying job and also received a year’s severance from the district, is continuing. The school district filed a lawsuit against the ex-superintendent, Matthew Wendt.

6. As if to signal the return of to Iowa City's fair shores, the city is planning the largest weeklong garage sale called "Rummage in the Ramp." In related news, University of Iowa came in at . Party on, Iowa City.

5. In Waukee, authorities pulled over three teens, including a boy from Urbandale and two from Des Moines, who are accused of taking a stolen car for a joy ride and then fleeing on foot when the car stopped.

4. The Polk County Medical Examiner could not find a cause of death for 13-month-old Emma Bright, who died May 25 at the home of her Urbandale babysitter.

3. On Marion Patch, you can read from our blogger, , who writes about the Boy Scouts of America and her family’s decision they can no longer “support nor donate our time, energy, and money to an organization that has a policy explicitly stating that it will not grant membership to open or avowed homosexuals.”

2. In the latest Red Iowa survey, Johnston GOP insiders are among those who say in Iowa third district congressional race. Republicans weighed in on each of Iowa’s congressional race, and despite the confidence in Latham, insiders have doubts in some of their candidates.

1. Cedar Falls Patch has been covering a who are cousins from Evansdale and have been missing since July 13. Authorities are offering a $50,000 reward and are now handling the case as an abduction.

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