DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The head of the Iowa Education Department has outlined details of the state’s request for a waiver from the No Child Left Behind Act. Jason Glass says the federal law relies too much on standardized tests to rate schools. He says the state has a better plan with new testing requirements for 11th graders who want to attend college and career readiness exams for other students.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — A potential juror has become a suspect after authorities say he was caught stealing cash from another juror’s wallet in a Waterloo courtroom. Witnesses and security cameras identified the culprit who has been charged with third-degree theft. The Black Hawk County sheriff called it a “bold place” to be a thief.

KEOKUK, Iowa (AP) — A Lee County jury convicted a Missouri man of first-degree murder in the beating death of another Missouri man near Argyle. Twenty-six-year-old Tyler Hobbs faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison. Authorities say 40-year-old Shawn Wright was killed by a blow to the head on November 6, 2010, at an abandoned farmhouse near Argyle. His body was moved to Missouri and found three days later near the Mississippi River.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Cedar Rapids is seeking a $50,000 federal grant to help restore another Depression-era mural that is hidden under a layer of old paint in the council chamber. City officials say the project to uncover the Works Progress Administration mural could cost $100,000.