DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa conservatives are continuing to fight the Common Core education standards, but it isn’t clear that the program will go away at the state level any time soon. The Common Core is a set of english and math standards that spell out what students should know and when. The standards have been attacked by conservatives, who say the federal government is overreaching into classrooms.

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad has not said he wants to eradicate Common Core here, though last year he signed an executive order clarifying that the state would continue to maintain control over education standards and testing. And earlier this month Branstad removed Iowa from an organization created to develop an assessment system for the Common Core standards.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — No one was injured after a homeowner using a small excavator tore open a residential natural gas line in Dubuque. The Telegraph Herald reports that the accident and resulting gas leak occurred around 10 a.m. Saturday. Officials say the gas leak was contained within an hour.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Davenport residents upset over a cellphone tower placed in the middle of a city park say they believe city officials did not follow local laws and regulations in approving the structure. The Quad-City Times reports that 180-foot tower is being built by AT and T in Emeis Park. The newspaper says that despite a city ordinance requiring new cell towers to go through a zoning board for a special-use permit, the city legal department deemed the permitting unnecessary.

ATLANTIC, Iowa (AP) — A motorcyclist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania died in a freak accident on Interstate 80 near Atlantic in western Iowa. The Council Bluffs Nonpareil reports that a wheel from a trailer being pulled by a westbound pickup came loose and struck 39-year-old Andrew Engle Thursday afternoon.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A delegation from Sioux City’s Japanese sister city has arrived in the northwest Iowa city. The Sioux City Journal reports that local officials met with the delegation Thursday as the group arrived for a five-day visit to the United States. Over the rest of their stay, the Japanese group will tour local schools and take in a minor league baseball game.

A mechanical malfunction caused a property damage accident Saturday afternoon, near Villisca. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan driven by 49-year old Lisa Marie Hansen, of Atlantic, was traveling north on Highway 71 near the 26-mile marker just after 1-p.m. Saturday, when the left front wheel became detached from the vehicle.

The van continued northbound on the left rotor for about 165-yards before exiting the roadway to the right, hitting a guard rail post and coming to rest. No injuries were reported. Damage to the van amounted to $3,500. The guard rail post sustained about $200 damage. No citations were issued.

Sheriff’s deputies were assisted at the scene by members of the Villisca Fire Department.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Woodbury County will now charge outside entities more to house young offenders at its juvenile detention center. The Sioux City Journal reports that starting Aug. 24, the northwestern Iowa county will charge agencies $150 a day per young person, up from the current $100. The is move expected to generate an additional $100,000 a year for the county.

Officials say the new rate is in line with what other facilities charge. One in Cherokee charges $150 per juvenile a day, and the center at Council Bluffs charges $165.