Weird Iowa Rewind: Marion Native on 'American Idol' Grassley Twitter Flutter, Cows Roam Interstate

Patch Editor Deb Belt compiled the latest weird Iowa news from local patch editors. The column runs each Saturday. This is what you missed.

Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley has long been renowned for his folksy charm - the farmer who represents ordinary folks in Washington, D.C.

And yet, he's embraced the digital age, famous for Tweeting from the Capitol, typos and all. So the GOP senator's followers from Johnston and around the state were amused last week when An example: "Me?" Or there was: "SA, USA." And, "Complete Me?"

Only in Iowa would cows roaming along the interstate tie up traffic.

The weird sight was the aftermath of a semi carrying just over three dozen cows that crashed on Interstate 35 north of Ankeny. Some animals died in the crash, others were trapped inside the truck and some escaped and could be seen running from the scene.

Two musical items that are weird in a cool way. First, the weekly newscast produced by broadcast journalism students at Cedar Falls High School includes a throwback to 1980s. Weird if you're not a Bon Jovi fan, right? If you don't watch to watch the whole segment, fast forward to minute 26:13 to meet the pint-sized hair band Minitallica, whose members are 10-year-olds.

Second, a former Marion High School homecoming queen's voice recently earned her a golden ticket to "American Idol." Alisabeth Von Presley, 26, who now lives in Cedar Rapids, made the cut for season 12 of the show. Von Presley's contract prevents her from sharing her next move in the show, which airs at 7 p.m. central time on Wednesdays and Thursdays on Fox. 

Speaking of TV, the weird obsession with the mouth-watering menu at Jethro's BBQ 'n Jambalaya isn't confined to patrons of the Waukee/West Des Moines site. It's gone national.

This week the Discovery Channel's “United States of Bacon” aired a segment on the restaurant's sandwich, which is no ordinary melt. No sir. Diners tackle a half pound of cured bacon and three kinds of cheeses sandwiched between two pieces of Texas-sized toast. Yum.

And every week some of our weird news comes from the police blotter.

First up, an Urbandale man was charged as part of an Ankeny Police undercover sting to combat prostitution. Duane Boswell, 62, Urbandale was among those charged with prositution.

Next, on to Ames, where a man was charged with first- and second-degree theft after allegedly . Justin Darik Nelson, 34, of Ames, reportedly used a nearly empty account at the Greater Iowa Credit Union to buy items including two vehicles and snowmobiles. Oddly enough, the dealerships noticed the checks bounced.

Weird but true: An Iowa City man who lives on Friendship Street was charged for being overly friendly in his texts to women.

Abelardo Joese Rodriguez, 22, of the 3000 block Friendship Street, was charged with three counts of third-degree harassment for sending photos of his genitals to three women, including a former co-worker. The photos were accompanied by sexually explicit, repetitive, and "annoying" text messages, along with rejoinders asking for sexual favors from the women.

Finally, a clerk at a West Des Moines Dahl’s Foods store recognized the name on a check as that of a forgery suspect who had tried to have a store employee help him forge checks. reportedly gave his friend, James Dillon Wicker, 21, of Des Moines, his identification and asked him to cash a check. Both men were arrested on forgery charges.

But that was only the beginning of their legal troubles. While searching Wicker, police found a folded piece of paper with the message: “Take two steps back. I have a gun. Give me your Hydromorphone (8mg) Dilaudid 8 (mg) quietly.” A search of Wilson’s car found a duffel bag containing what appeared to be forged checks and drug paraphernalia, netting Wilson additional drug charges.