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Iowa early News Headlines: Wednesday, July 31st 2019

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July 31st, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Prosecutors are dismissing several criminal charges and traffic tickets against defendants arrested by an Iowa police officer who is no longer considered credible. Cedar County Attorney Jeffrey Renander says his office is dismissing the cases tied to officer Robert Smith “in the interest of justice.” He says his office has concluded it is unlikely to be able to obtain a conviction in any criminal cases where Smith is the primary or only state witness.

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa officials have approved a final set of rules for the state’s new law allowing sports betting, which is set to go live at noon on Aug. 15. The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission on Tuesday approved the new rules to legally bet on professional, collegiate and international sporting events. Mobile apps for sports betting will only be operable within state borders. So residents in Omaha, Nebraska, would have to cross state lines each time they wished to place a bet on their phones.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Kim Reynolds has appointed an information technology officer for the Iowa Department of Transportation to become the state’s top technology officer. Reynolds said Tuesday she named Annette Dunn to lead the Iowa Office of the Chief Information Officer. Dunn begins the new appointment Aug. 5.

OTTUMWA, Iowa (AP) — Work has resumed to tear down a partially demolished hospital in Ottumwa. The Ottumwa Courier reports that crews this week began work on the former St. Joseph Hospital, nearly a year after a halt in the demolition. Des Moines-based Blackbird Investments had initially planned to convert the 94-year-old building into apartments but then opted to demolish the structure and build new housing. Demolition started in 2018 but was halted over a pay dispute that led to a lawsuit.