Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The economic outlook for rural areas of Iowa, Nebraska and other Plains states improved in November. But the monthly survey of bankers doesn’t suggest much growth. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss in Omaha says low grain and energy prices continue to limit the economy in rural areas.

URBANDALE, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Board of Regents member Nicole Carroll says she has resigned from the group that governs the state’s three public universities. Carroll says in a news release that the resignation is due to her family’s move out of Iowa. She says the decision was effective yesterday. Carroll says she wanted to make the announcement ahead of the board’s next meeting.

WILTON, Iowa (AP) — Officials are assessing damage to a warehouse for an electric service provider in eastern Iowa following a small vehicle fire. The Muscatine Journal reports the Eastern Iowa Light and Power Cooperative says a vehicle fire inside the warehouse in Wilton was reported Wednesday morning. The fire was extinguished in 45 minutes and no one was hurt.

CHEROKEE, Iowa (AP) — A Cherokee man has pleaded not guilty to several charges in connection to a lengthy standoff with police on October 30th. The Sioux City Journal reports 35-year-old Joshua Allender entered his written plea Wednesday in Cherokee County District Court.