Latest news with #KWQC
Newsweek
18-06-2025
- Newsweek
Iowa Police Take 88 Children From Church Camp Over Abuse Allegations
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Authorities in Iowa removed 88 children from a church camp as part of what they called a child safety operation. The children were removed from the Shekinah Glory Camp run by the Kingdom Ministry of Rehabilitation and Recreation in Columbus Junction last week, the Louisa County Sheriff's Office said in a news release that was provided to Newsweek. Victor Bawi, whose family runs the camp, denied that any children at the camp had been harmed in an interview with local news station KWQC. Newsweek has contacted the Kingdom Ministry of Rehabilitation and Recreation for further comment via email. The Context The Shekinah Glory Camp had initially been scheduled to run from June 8 to June 29. The website of the Kingdom Ministry of Rehabilitation and Recreation, which was founded in 2018 and is run by its pastors, says its mission is to aid individuals "in breaking free from addiction through God's Word, offering food and shelter to those in need, and supporting individuals during fasting and prayer." A stock photo of a police vehicle A stock photo of a police vehicle iStock What To Know The sheriff's office said it conducted the search at two locations in Columbus Junction in collaboration with the Iowa Department of Health Human Services), Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and Columbus Junction Police Department between June 12 and June 13. The operation was in response to reports of child abuse and endangerment, the sheriff's office said. During the search, authorities took 88 children from the camp and brought them to the Wapello Methodist Church to meet with multiple child protection workers. They were then reunited with their parents and guardians or placed in temporary foster care until they could be reunited with their families, the sheriff's office said. Bawi told KWQC that a 15-year-old from Texas who was at the camp had called authorities because he did not want to be there. He said the camp is for Christian teenagers from all over the country. "We never harmed that child. We loved him," Bawi said. "We bought him like $400 shoes, clothing, everything." What People Are Saying Victor Bawi told local news station WQAD: "If they want to investigate, they can investigate. We're innocent. They're not going to find any abuse or anything like that. We never abused anyone. You can ask any of the children as well. They were having a fun time." He added: "We hope that the children are well and that they can come back." What's Next No arrests have been made and no charges have been filed. The sheriff's office said the investigation is ongoing.
New York Post
17-06-2025
- New York Post
Cops remove 88 children from a Bible study camp in Iowa as part of a human trafficking investigation: officials
Deputies raided an Iowa church and removed 88 children participating in a Bible study camp as part of a sweeping human trafficking investigation, police said Monday. The youngsters are now in protective custody of local agencies after they were taken from the Shekinah Glory Camp run by Kingdom Ministry of Rehab and Recreation, according to police and local reports. Deputies executing search warrants removed the children over the weekend and took them to nearby Wapello Methodist Church to meet with child protection workers, deputies told KWQC. 3 Police removed 88 children from a Bible study camp in Iowa. Shekinah Ranch Camp The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services placed the children in temporary foster care until they could be reunited with their parents or guardians, deputies added. The Kingdom Ministry of Rehabilitation and Recreation, founded in 2018, was hosting the summer camp from June 8-29. The family behind the ministry that runs the camp in Columbus Junction denied the allegations, according to WQAD8. 'What we try to do is, we take care of adults and children who are under the influence of drugs, alcohol, nicotine,' Victor Bawi, whose parents run the ministry, told the outlet. 'The adults and children, we take care of them, we provide food for them. The children we separate from the adults. We separate the boys and girls. We care for them, we provide for them.' 3 Police launched a human trafficking investigation at a church in Iowa where they removed 88 children. Shekinah Ranch Camp Bawi told KWQC that a teen from Texas called authorities because he didn't want to attend the camp. Bawi said no children were ever in danger or harmed. 'We never harmed that child. We loved him,' he said. We bought him like $400 shoes, clothing, everything.' Christian teenagers from across the nation attend the camp, he added. Bawi told WQAD8 that when the children aren't studying the Bible, they have fun playing volleyball, soccer and other outdoor activities. 3 Deputies removed 88 children from a church camp under investigation for human trafficking in Iowa. Shekinah Ranch Camp Deputies executed search warrants at several locations — one where the camp was taking place in Columbus Junction, and another less than two miles away in Fredonia, where the church helps people find housing. The Louisa County Sheriff's Office said the operation took place in coordination with the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and Columbus Junction Police Department, according to WQAD8. The investigation remains ongoing. The church is run by two pastors from Burma. They are members of the Chin, an ethnic minority, according to an Iowa cultural organization. Iowa has resettled thousands of refugees fleeing the longest-running civil war in the world. Iowa has one of the largest Burmese populations in the Midwest, and Columbus Junction had a significant number in the area. Many of the refugees are poor and work in the Tyson's Food Inc. meat packing plant, where the company has translators on premises. The plant is responsible for 2% of the hogs slaughtered each year in the nation. Burma, also known as Myanmar, is one of the countries added to the controversial list of countries banned for entry to the US by the State Department on June 16.
New York Post
22-05-2025
- General
- New York Post
3 Vietnam-era vets receive diplomas from Iowa high school some 60 years after they enlisted
A trio of Iowa veterans received their high school diplomas – and two even walked across the graduation stage – some six decades after they left school early to serve in the US military. Vietnam War-era vets Robert David Holliday, Richard Hill and Dennis Snyder were all honored last week during the pomp and circumstance at Muscatine High School. 'Getting it now, I look back and I think, 'Well, everything that I did with the service and everything was all worth it,'' Snyder told WQAD. 'Being here today is really, really worth it.' Advertisement 3 Vietnam War-era veterans Dennis Snyder and Richard Hill were the first to walk during the ceremony and receive their diplomas. Muscatine He recalled the stream of emotions when he found out he was getting the memento. 'I couldn't believe it,' Snyder, 78, said in an interview with KWQC. Advertisement 'I told my wife, and she said, 'What?' Of course, she started crying right away. I was just shocked.' Snyder and Hill, 81, were the first of more than 300 graduates to walk across the stage at Sunday's ceremony – with the two receiving a raucous round of applause. 3 Muscatine High School's graduation happened on Sunday. KWQC The pair both grew up in Muscatine, which is about 35 miles from Iowa City, and Snyder even attended the high school until he left classes to enlist at 17 years old. Advertisement Snyder served in the Navy from 1961 to 1965 and was stationed in Pearl Harbor, while Hill's deployment to Vietnam came to an end in 1969. 'I don't know how to accept it, you know, because I didn't get a chance, going through school,' Hill told WQAD. 3 Robert Holliday, 85, was given his diploma at home. x/MuscatineCSD Holliday, 85, wasn't at the graduation, but he was also recognized on May 14 when school officials presented him with his diploma at home surrounded by family. Advertisement The veteran would have graduated in 1958, but left school early to join the US Army Corps of Engineers, where he served in Vietnam between 1959 and 1961, according to WQAD. He also served in the Netherlands, Denmark, France and Germany. Eight veterans with ties to Muscatine have received their diplomas over the past three years, the county's veterans' affairs agency said. 'I'm just so excited that he was able to get this opportunity,' said Snyder's daughter Julie Lerch, according to KWQC, 'and then he could have the entire grandstand and the entire graduating class behind him.'
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Yahoo
Microsoft Outlook, 365 ‘global outage' affects millions
March 1 (UPI) -- Microsoft Outlook, 365 and other services crashed Saturday, affecting tens of thousands in the United States and millions globally before services were restored in less than an hour. The brief outage prevented millions of global users from accessing their Microsoft Outlook emails with most of those affecting being incapable of connecting with the server. Outage reports for Outlook spiked quickly starting shortly before 3 p.m. EST and peaking with a total of 35,390 reports in the United States shortly afterward, according to Downdetector. Up to 25,037 Microsoft 365 subscribers in the United States also reported outages shortly after outage reports for Outlook began flowing in, Downdetector reported. Both services were restored in about half an hour, KWQC reported. Outages reported for Outlook cited a server connection as affecting 61% causing most of the issues with Outlook, followed by website problems, 20%, and app issues, 19%. Microsoft 365 outage reports cited login issues, 43%, followed by problems with Outlook, 36%, and Microsoft Exchange, 21%. Microsoft Teams and the Microsoft Store also were affected by the outages, which affected millions of users globally, the Daily Mail reported. The outages spurred a flurry of social media complaints, but Microsoft officials did not comment on the outages as of 5 p.m. EST. As of late 2024, more than 400 million people use Outlook to send and receive emails and manage their calendars, according to Clean Email. That amounts to 4.38% market share for email platforms. Apple Mail leads with 53.7% share and Gmail is second at 30.7%.
