Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Sampling the pork chop on a stick. Snapping a selfie with the butter cow. Taking questions about foreign policy from hecklers. For those who would be president, a visit to the Iowa State Fair may be the purest distillation of the campaign experience in the state that starts the voting in the race for the White House. The 10-day event starts Thursday and most of the 2016 hopefuls will pass through.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa State Fair says the opening acts for singer Meghan Trainor’s canceled grandstand performance will now be the main act for a free show. Fair organizers said Wednesday afternoon that Charlie Puth and Life of Dillon will perform August 22nd at the grandstand. The announcement comes one day after Trainor, the artist behind the hit “All About That Bass,” said she couldn’t complete her tour due to a vocal cord problem.

INDIANOLA, Iowa (AP) — Two people have died, including a 9-year-old boy, after an RV carrying a trailer struck an SUV in Warren County. The Des Moines Register reports 9-year-old Eric M. Fuller and 72-year-old Karla K. Handy, who were passengers in the SUV, died Wednesday morning.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The committee searching for the next University of Iowa president has recommended a slate of finalists to the Iowa Board of Regents. Committee chair and interim school president Jean Robillard said Wednesday the names of recommended finalists will remain confidential for now.