Weird Iowa: Marion students go Gangnam Style, Alleged Drunk Babysitters, Don't Flip Off Cops

Deb Belt collected this recent batch of Weird News from Iowa Patch sites. Here's what you missed on Saturday.

The appeal of the "Gangnam Style" song and video is universal, and some might say weird. In Marion, the teachers and staff from Bowman Woods Elementary School played this video followed by a flash mob of teachers dancing Gangnam Style.

All of Iowa freaked out this week when the International Olympic Committee decided to drop wrestling from the games.

The sport is thousands of years old -- how can that not be part of the Olympics? Weird, right?

"It's worse than death because you can't control death, and this is something that maybe we can control or could have controlled," Tom Brands, a former Olympic gold medalist and current coach of the storied University of Iowa wrestling program, said during a press conference.

A little dramatic, yes, but it's a snapshot of how Iowans - from grapplers to fans to the governor - are feeling in this state that lives and breathes wrestling.

Call this weird misadventure in babysitting a life lesson.

Two teenage baby-sitters from Urbandale and Waukee were charged with possession of alcohol after the teen from Urbandale called police in a panic because her friend had been throwing up. Officer found the girl and her 15-year-old friend from Waukee had been reportedly drinking, according to a police report.

The Urbandale teen had been babysitting four children between the ages of 18 months and four years old. The kids were fine despite the partying.

A Johnston dog appears to be the victim of a sort-of drive-by shooting.

Police were called to investigate a case of animal abuse after a 66-year-old man took his dog to the veterinarian for a regular check-up. The vet determined the dog had been shot twice by a BB gun. The owner didn't witness the incident and was unsure when it could have occurred. The dog appeared to be fine otherwise.

Each week, some of our weird news comes from police reports.

We start off in West Des Moines, where Scott Michael Stevenson, 28, of West Des Moines was charged with public intoxication after reportedly flipping an internationally recognized hand gesture of obscenity at a police officer who declined to give Stevenson a ride home. Stevenson said he didn’t want to walk home, preferring the police to act as chaffeur. When that didn't happen, the obscene gesture flew and charges were filed.

In Ames,  after he allegedly asked his neighbor for help moving some personal items and then threatened to steal his neighbor's dog and “put a bullet in his head.” The neighbor told police that Stromley mentioned having an AK-47 and a Mac-10.

Police asked Stromley about the incident and Stromley said that he was “drunk” and didn't know anything, complaints said.

An Iowa City woman had a visit from police after a child reported she had left her children home alone. That turned out to be the least of her problems.

When Tiffany Stanton Johnson, 25, arrived home and spoke to an officer, she said that she had left her three children home alone to go shopping at Kmart. While speaking to the woman, the officer allegedly saw her son behind her playing with a crack rock. Johnson admitted that she sells crack cocaine and was charged with three drug crimes and child endangerment.