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Iowa early News Headlines: Tue., 4/2/19

News

April 2nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:45 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The loss of a second major health care insurer in the Iowa Medicaid program is raising concerns about the stability of a system that serves about 600,000 poor and disabled people. Democratic lawmakers continued calls Monday for Gov. Kim Reynolds to reverse the move three years ago to privatize the program. Republican House Speaker Linda Upmeyer says leaders are monitoring the situation and will help constituents navigate the transition.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Department of Corrections has suspended a prison guard for giving an interview to his hometown newspaper for a positive feature story about his life and work. The Bloomfield Democrat, a weekly paper in southern Iowa, featured John Cox in a front-page story about his work inspiring and teaching inmates at the Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility. Prison leaders suspended Cox after the article was published, saying he violated work rules requiring authorization for media interviews.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Jurors will continue deliberating murder charges against a man being tried a fourth time for the 1990 killing of a 9-year-old girl. The Quad-City Times reports the Black Hawk County jury will renew deliberations Tuesday after working for several hours before being dismissed Monday afternoon. Jurors are considering a single count of first-degree murder against Stanley Liggins, who is charged in the death of Jennifer Lewis of Rock Island, Illinois. Her body was found in a field in Davenport.

TODDVILLE, Iowa (AP) — The Linn County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death of a man found by deputies who were called to investigate an attempted burglary. The sheriff’s office said Monday that deputies were call just Sunday night to a house after a report that someone had broken several windows before running away. Deputies searched the property and found a man on the ground behind a garage. He was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead. He was identified as 39-year-old Jesse McBurney, of Palo.