Midwest

Missouri police officer charged in death of K-9 officer left in hot car

Published

2 years ago

September 10, 2024

Missouri police officer charged in death of K-9 officer left in hot car

A Missouri police officer has been charged after allegedly leaving his K-9 officer inside a hot car overnight in June, leading to his death.

On Friday, charges against Savannah Police Lt. Daniel Zeigler were filed in Andrew County, including one count of animal abuse.

According to court documents obtained by Fox 2, the incident took place on June 20 when Zeigler and his K-9 partner Horus completed their overnight shift just before 5 a.m.

Just before 6 p.m. the same day, Zeigler contacted Savannah Police Chief Dave Vincent and informed him Horus was dead.

MISSOURI K-9 OFFICER DIES AFTER BEING LEFT INSIDE HOT CAR OVERNIGHT: ‘TREMENDOUS LOSS’

A Missouri police officer has been charged in the death of a K-9 officer who was left inside a hot car overnight earlier this summer. (Savannah Police Department)

An investigation determined Horus had been left in the police vehicle by Ziegler following the end of the shift and had died of heat exposure, court records stated.

FOX 4 reported that the maximum temperature that day was 90 degrees, with the low being 70 degrees outside.

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, research indicates that the temperature inside a vehicle can rise to over 100 degrees in a half-hour, even if it’s only 70 degrees outside.

In the court documents, a witness told investigators about seeing the deceased K-9 officer in the yard near the police vehicle that evening and described Zeigler as “flipping out” and yelling in disbelief that he thought he had brought the K-9 in at the end of his shift.

HERO SOUTH CAROLINA POLICE K-9 DIES SAVING HUMAN TEAMMATES IN SHOOTOUT WITH FUGITIVE SUSPECT, AUTHORITIES SAY

Officers in a small Missouri town in Andrew County are mourning the death of their K-9 companion, Horus. (FOX 4/Savannah Missouri Police Department )

A test was also conducted on Ziegler’s vehicle following his alleged confession about Horus’s death. His vehicle was parked outside in direct sunlight with the ignition turned off and court documents stated that when the internal temperature reached 90 degrees, the vehicle began to honk repeatedly, rolled down the rear windows, and activated a fan.

This test was used to demonstrate the AceK9 system inside the police vehicle was in working order and would have had to be manually turned off or deactivated on June 20, aiding in the death of Horus by removing a safeguard to prevent the tragedy, court documents stated.

A farewell service was held on Saturday to honor K-9 Officer Horus who had served the community for over three years.

LAS VEGAS POLICE K-9 UNDERGOES SURGERY AFTER BEING STABBED MULTIPLE TIMES BY SUSPECT

An anonymous donor purchased a permanent headstone for fallen Savannah Police K-9 Officer Horus. (Savannah Police Department)

The police department also posted a statement on social media back in July announcing that an anonymous donor had offered to purchase a headstone for Horus.

“Thank you to our donor, and Vanvickle Monuments for the headstone honoring our K9 Officer Horus,” the department wrote in a caption with images of the headstone.

A bill was recently signed by Gov. Mike Parson called Max’s Law, which increases penalties for injuring and killing animals in law enforcement.

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“These heroic animals put their lives on the line every day to protect the public and their human partners,” Republican state Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer said in a previous statement. “The law should protect them.”

According to the Savannah Police Department website, Lt. Ziegler is still listed on the staff roster.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Savannah Police Department for comment, but has not yet heard back.

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Iowa

11 beaches on Iowa DNR’s swimming not recommended list for July 4

Published

26 seconds ago

July 3, 2026

Press Room

11 beaches on Iowa DNR’s swimming not recommended list for July 4

High temperatures over the Fourth of July weekend might have you looking to take a dip in one of Iowa’s lakes. But, you’ll want to be sure the water is safe for swimming before getting into the water.

A total of 11 state beaches are not recommended for swimming ahead of the holiday, up from 10 beaches last week.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources provides weekly updates on which state beaches are experiencing high levels of E. coli or algae that can be dangerous to swimmers. You can check the latest reports on the DNR website or by calling (515) 725-3434.

The DNR collects weekly samples at 41 state-owned swimming beaches to determine the public’s risk of coming in contact with waterborne diseases. Testing starts a week before Memorial Day and runs through Labor Day.

What Iowa DNR beaches are not recommended for swimming?

Backbone Beach

Beach classification: Vulnerable
Last test date: July 1
Test results: Exceeded single-sample limit and five-sample Geomean standard for E. coli

Beeds Lake Beach

Beach classification: Vulnerable
Last test date: June 30
Test results: Exceeded single-sample limit for E. coli

Big Creek Beach

Beach classification: Less vulnerable
Last test date: June 30
Test results: Exceeded single-sample limit for E. coli

Black Hawk Beach

Beach classification: Less vulnerable
Last test date: June 30
Test results: Exceeded single-sample limit and five-sample Geomean standard for E. coli

Emerson Bay Beach

Beach classification: Vulnerable
Last test date: July 1
Test results: Exceeded single-sample limit and five-sample Geomean standard for E. coli

Lake Darling Beach

Beach classification: Vulnerable
Last test date: June 30
Test results: Exceeded single-sample limit and five-sample Geomean standard for E. coli

Lake of Three Fires Beach

Beach classification: Less vulnerable
Last test date: July 1
Test results: Exceeded algal toxin action level

Nine Eagles Beach

Beach classification: Vulnerable
Last test date: July 1
Test results: Exceeded five-sample Geomean standard for E. coli

North Twin Lake West Beach

Beach classification: Less vulnerable
Last test date: June 30
Test results: Exceeded five-sample Geomean standard for E. coli

Pine Lake South Beach

Beach classification: Vulnerable
Last test date: June 30
Test results: Exceeded single-sample limit and five-sample Geomean standard for E. coli

Prairie Rose Beach

Beach classification: Vulnerable
Last test date: June 30
Test results: Exceeded single-sample limit and five-sample Geomean standard for E. coli

Which Iowa beaches have improved to ‘OK for swimming’?

Two beaches have made it back onto the OK for swimming list since June 26:

North Twin Lake East Beach
Pleasant Creek Beach

Which Iowa beaches have special statuses?

Blue Lake Beach: Monitoring by DNR is currently suspended due to low lake water conditions and the closure of Lewis and Clark State Park.
Lake Keomah: Monitoring by DNR is currently suspended due to low lake water conditions. The DNR drained the lake in July 2024 for a major renovation and water quality improvement project that was set to last through spring 2026. The DNR warns people to stay out of the lake bed, which might look dry, but is soft and could quickly entrap people.

How does the Iowa DNR classify Iowa’s beaches based on their water quality?

DNR officials classify state park beaches into one of three categories annually based on their history of bacteria results in recent years:

Vulnerable: Beaches are considered vulnerable when the geometric mean standard is exceeded in three or more of the five most recent sampling seasons.
Transitional: The beach’s geometric mean standard is exceeded in two or fewer sampling seasons of the five most recent years of monitoring and was listed as “vulnerable” in the past monitoring seasons.
Less vulnerable: The beach’s geometric mean standard is exceeded in two or fewer sampling seasons of the five most recent years of monitoring and was listed as “transitional” or “less vulnerable” in past monitoring seasons.

Brian Smith is a senior editor and audience strategist at the Des Moines Register. Contact him at bsmith@dmreg.com.

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Michigan

Michigan lawmakers work through the night on ‘compromise’ budget

Published

30 minutes ago

July 3, 2026

Press Room

Michigan lawmakers work through the night on ‘compromise’ budget

Lansing — Michigan lawmakers worked through the night into Friday morning on a new state budget that will use an array of spending cuts and funding maneuvers to close a $1 billion tax revenue gap.

The plan will increase the state’s investment in basic per-student support for Michigan schools and will feature $125 million for special projects sought by legislators. However, 10 state departments will get less money than they had the year before, and a variety of state initiatives, such as the arts and culture program, Pure Michigan and the Office of Global Michigan, will see cuts.

Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Sarah Anthony, D-Lansing, described the new budget, which authorized somewhere around $84 billion in spending, as one “full of compromises.”

“This was a very challenging budget negotiation, mainly because of the $1 billion deficit that we had to ensure to address,” Anthony said. “But being able to do so without reducing any benefits for folks who are receiving Medicaid or food assistance is probably the proudest thing … that comes out of this process.”

The Legislature convened throughout the night Thursday into Friday morning, when the state Capitol would normally have been closed for the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

Under state law, the Republican-led House and Democratic-led Senate are supposed to approve a new budget by July 1 each year. The first of the funding bills wasn’t unveiled this week until about 3:13 a.m. Friday morning, two days after the deadline.

Lawmakers would likely have a few hours to read the bills before the final votes, which were expected later Friday.

On Thursday afternoon, Sen. John Damoose, R-Harbor Springs, said Senate Republicans had no information about what was in the budget blueprint. He labeled the process playing out in the Legislature “nonsense.”

Likewise, Sen. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake Township, said lawmakers had about 30 to 40 minutes between being briefed on the budget and when they had to vote on it.

“We have no idea what’s in these bills,” Runestad said.

In February, Jen Flood, Whitmer’s budget director, said the state was facing a $1.8 billion financial gap. Health care costs had jumped, the Legislature had dedicated more tax dollars to roads, and the federal government, led by Republican President Donald Trump, had forced states to pay for a larger share of costs associated with food assistance for low-income families.

Whitmer initially proposed an $88.1 budget for next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. She sought a bevy of new taxes on smokers, gamblers and digital advertising. Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, refused to go along with the tax hikes.

The new budget will be somewhat close to the current budget in overall amount of approximately $84 million.

Hall and Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, had been working for weeks to create the new funding plan. Hall announced a final deal had been reached Thursday.

The ultimate agreement involved dozens of other bills that were tied to the budget’s approval, including a long-sought measure by some Democrats that would double the cap on the state’s transformational brownfield program, which allows businesses behind large developments to keep income tax and sales withholdings resulting from their projects, from $1.6 billion to $3.2 billion.

The incentive is expected to be used to spur the redevelopment of Detroit’s riverfront Renaissance Center. The Senate approved the brownfield bill in December. The House voted 82-26 in favor of it early Friday.

The Senate also took up early Friday a House-backed proposal to ban former lawmakers from being paid to lobby for two years after leaving office. The bill passed in a vote of 29-7.

How will schools be funded?

Sen. Darrin Camilleri, D-Trenton, acknowledged lawmakers were shifting a larger amount of School Aid Fund money, which would normally go to K-12 schools, toward higher education and community colleges.

The number appeared to rise from about $1.3 billion in the current year to about $2 billion in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, setting a new record. Whitmer had proposed using $1.7 billion from the School Aid Fund to support the operations of universities and community colleges.

The moves effectively free up money in the General Fund, where tax dollars are currently tight, for other needs.

“It’s too much,” Camilleri said of the shifts. “But we’re dealing with a divided Legislature with different priorities, and we all needed to fill the budget gap.”

Robert McCann, executive director of the K-12 Alliance of Michigan, blasted the approach lawmakers took.

“Nothing in this budget justifies it once again being done late,” McCann said. “There is little in it focused on supporting Michigan’s schools, even as it raids nearly $2 billion from the School Aid Fund to pay for data centers and corporate tax handouts.”

The K-12 budget went down from $21.3 billion to $19.8 billion, a 7 percent drop in federal funds on paper.

But the plan appears to allow the federal funds not included in the tally to be spent, so it wasn’t clear how much total spending there would actually be under the legislation.

Lawmakers are increasing the base per-pupil foundation allowance for schools by about 2.5% from $10,050 to $10,300. They are also investing $50 million in high-impact tutoring and instituting a long-term plan for a so-called weighted funding formula, which would tie extra support to economically disadvantaged students and students who are learning English.

House Appropriations Chairwoman Ann Bollin, R-Brighton, touted the weighted funding formula, which will be phased in over the next 15 years.

“This is a transformational school budget, where we are making record investments,” Bollin said.

For Michigan’s public universities, overall funding increased by 12% from $2.3 billion to $2.6 billion, with more money for operations and scholarships.

What were the cuts and projects?

Lawmakers’ final plan also cut $8 million in funding for the Pure Michigan tourism campaign, which received $17 million in support in the current year. The Office of Global Michigan got $500,000 less, dropping its total to about $41.4 million. And the arts and culture program got $685,200 less, dropping its total to $8 million.

Among state departments, the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy saw the largest percentage drop in funding of 31%, going from $967 million to $671 million. The decrease was largely due to the reduction of money for a federal sewage and stormwater program.

Lawmakers did provide $125 million for special projects around the state.

There was $3 million for the Schoenherr Road Bridge Reconstruction in Shelby Township, $1.4 million for the Rochester Community House expansion and renovation, $3.7 million for water main replacements in Utica and $2 million for a fire station project in Waterford Township, according to the spending plan.

cmauger@detroitnews.com

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Minnesota

Where to watch Minnesota Lynx vs New York Liberty on July 3: TV channel, start time and streaming

Published

40 minutes ago

July 3, 2026

Press Room

The WNBA has returned with a brand new collective bargaining agreement and a league full of loaded rosters as the 2026 season tips off.

A rookie class headlined by Dallas Wings top pick Azzi Fudd, Minnesota’s Olivia Miles and Washington’s Lauren Betts is ready to make a mark in the pros while the defending champion Las Vegas Aces look to keep their dynasty alive with a fourth title in five years.

As the the season gets going under a new media rights deal, it can be tough to figure out which channel each team is playing on every night. Here’s everything you need to know to tune in when the New York Liberty host the Minnesota Lynx on Friday.