Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — President Barack Obama will visit Iowa on Wednesday to talk about making high speed Internet access more available nationwide. The White House has not said yet where the event will take place in Iowa.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republicans in Iowa have decided to carry on with their presidential straw poll, a political tradition that detractors decry as a meaningless sideshow. Despite criticism from some prominent Republicans, the Republican Party of Iowa’s central committee unanimously voted Saturday to keep the event going. This year’s straw poll will be held in August.

WODEN, Iowa (AP) — A north Iowa woman has died and her husband critically injured after the pair walked away from their vehicle when it became stranded in a blizzard. The Mason City Globe Gazette reports that the body of 76-year-old Lilah Hobbs of rural Woden was found late Thursday or early Friday on the shoulder of a road about a mile from their truck, which was stuck in snow. Her husband, 77-year-old James Hobbs, was found in a field about 150 yards from the road. He remains hospitalized in critical condition.

CLEAR LAKE, Iowa (AP) — A Clear Lake man has been arrested and charged with a felony count of neglect or abandonment of a dependent person. The Mason City Globe Gazette reports that 49-year-old Brian McDaid was booked Friday night into the Cerro Gordo County Jail on $10,0000 cash or surety bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — President Barack Obama will visit Iowa on Wednesday to talk about making high speed Internet access more available nationwide. The White House said Saturday that Obama plans to talk about ways to make the Internet more accessible and affordable. The Iowa stop is part of a series of events Obama is doing to preview proposals in his State of the Union address.

Republican Gov. Terry Branstad said in a statement Saturday that Internet access is a shared priority. Branstad plans to focus on legislation to improve rural broadband Internet access during the upcoming legislative session. A similar effort failed to win approval in the Legislature last year.

The White House has not said where in Iowa the event will take place.

Montgomery County Sheriff’s Officials were led on a pursuit early Saturday morning that ended in a Stanton man being arrested.  Deputies attempted to initiate a traffic stop at approximately 2:57am at 190th Street and M Avenue in Montgomery County when the vehicle fled the scene and led deputies on a chase.

The vehicle was later determined to be stolen from Stanton on Friday and deputies were eventually able to disable the vehicle and arrest the driver.  27-year-old Richard Dean Pierce III of Stanton was arrested and charged with 2nd Degree Theft, Felony Eluding, and Driving While Barred.  Pierce III was taken to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center and held on $5,000 cash bond.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Red Oak Police Department, Cass County Sheriff’s Office, Cass County K-9, Pottawattamie County, and Iowa State Patrol.