Community Corner

Weird Rewind: Zombie Apocalypse, Coyote Invasion, Burglar Doing the Lord's Work, Drunken Swimming

Weird crime, weird zombies, weird swimming, weird, weird, weird Iowa.

Editor's Note: Each weekend Urbandale Patch brings you the top weird, or strange news from around Iowa. Here's a quick recap on what you may have missed last weekend.

Halloween is only four days away, so is a yard full of zombies really that weird?

Lew Jordan's Urbandale backyard has been turned into a zombie cemetery, the state's smallest corn maze and a zombie pirate ship battle scene. But, Zombie Hollow, 3109 Pine Circle, isn't your typical Halloween fright fest.

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The creators are accepting free-will donations for the Sentinels of Freedom, which helps severely wounded military personnel from recent conflicts. It's open today and Tuesday.

And there was a second zombie apocalypse -- also for a good cause -- in Cedar Falls as the Panthers celebrated homecoming on College Hill. Lurching with arms outstretched and moaning for brains, a hoard of zombies shuffled up the Hill.

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The event was .

Creatures of another sort have begun to invade Johnston. An increase recently in the number of coyote sightings in the Johnston city limits prompted the police department to send an alert to residents Friday.

The Department of Natural Resources said coyotes are not typically a threat to people, but they could prey on smaller dogs and cats.

And as always, we have weird crime.

First up, an 18-year-old Ames man who allegedly broke into a home while the residents were sleeping told police that “he only did what the Lord instructed him to do,” according to police reports. 

Corey Ramsey allegedly broke out three basement windows and set DVDs outside one of them and also knocked over a concrete statue, causing about $200 to $500 of damage. He was charged with interference with official acts and second-degree burglary, a Class C felony. 

The warm temperatures on Monday prompted a couple to take off some of their clothes and jump in Blue Heron Lake in West Des Moines. Police were called after witnesses saw the scantily-dressed couple falling down as they walked along the beach.

Charged with public intoxication were Devin Michael Scharnhorst, 27 of 708 E. Madison Ave., and Patricia Lea Bales, 32, of 8436 Harbach Blvd., Clive. Bales’ blood alcohol content was .337 – more than four times the legal limit in iowa, 0.08 – and Scharnhorst’s was .137, according to the police report.

In Waukee, a call to police about a sick 16-year-old turned into an arrest.

Around 6:30 a.m. on Oct. 21, police were sent to Centennial Park on a report that a teenager was ill. Police officers escorted the teen to his vehicle, where police allegedly found a water bong in the car which smelled of marijuana. The teen was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia. 

More Weird:

Weird Iowa: Dad Invades Soccer Game; Dad Calls Cops on Son; King Explains Comparing Immigrants to Dogs

Weird Iowa: Mother's Day Brawl; Stranger Danger; Reward Offered for Vandals; WWII and WWI Artifacts Stolen from Museum

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