Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — A leader of the Greater Dubuque Development Corporation says about 200 employees at the Dubuque IBM facility have been affected by the company’s mass layoff. Rick Dickinson, the corporations’ president and CEO, tells the Telegraph Herald Dubuque’s layoffs are part of companywide reductions after IBM announced a $600 million workforce rebalancing in its fourth-quarter filing for 2014.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senator Chuck Grassley — at 81 years old — is steering the Senate Judiciary Committee into a brave new world. The Iowa Republican is the first nonlawyer to chair the panel considering the confirmation of Loretta Lynch, President Barack Obama’s choice for attorney general. But he also may be the committee’s first chairman to tweet straight from the podium.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker says he is seriously considering running for president because he sees gaps in the field of likely Republican candidates. Walker also said yesterday he’s planning trips to important primary states including Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada and Florida in the coming weeks and months.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The head of Iowa’s corrections department says he still doesn’t know when the long-delayed Iowa State Penitentiary will open. Director John Baldwin told House lawmakers Wednesday in a government oversight committee that officials are studying a potential solution to a faulty smoke control system. He says the process of completing that fix will require a few months, and additional staff training will take another few months.