LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A consultant for the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission is warning that the state’s gaming industry relies heavily on Nebraska gamblers for revenue and would lose a lot of business if its western neighbor decided to allow casinos. Iowa has 18 state-licensed casinos scattered throughout the state, but nearly one-fourth of the industry’s revenue comes from Nebraskans, who mostly visit casinos across the Missouri River.

The consultant’s report says Nebraskans generated nearly $327 million in gross revenue for Iowa casinos last year. Total gross revenue for the casinos was $1.4 billion, of which 53 percent came from Iowa gamblers. Casino supporters in Nebraska say it’s unlikely the state will allow casinos soon, but the Iowa report by Union Gaming Analytics predicts it will happen eventually.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Firefighters are crediting a 10-year-old girl with helping save her younger brother from being washed away into a flooded concrete culvert. Waterloo television station KWWL reports that firefighters were called to Bontrager Park around 7:00 p.m. Thursday. They found 8-year-old Charlie Cizek of Waterloo, clinging to his sister, Caly, after falling into a flooded concrete intake drain.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Officials in Dubuque have closed several floodgates as the National Weather Service predicts the Mississippi River will crest above flood stage in the coming days. The Dubuque Telegraph Herald says that the city closed the Ice Harbor floodgates on Friday as the National Weather Service predicts the Mississippi River will crest at 17.9 feet this weekend. That’s nearly a foot above flood stage.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Power company Alliant Energy is investigating the cause of a weekend power outage that affected three Linn County communities in eastern Iowa. Cedar Rapids television station KCRG reports that the outage lasted from about 12:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. yesterday, affecting 9,000 in parts of southeast Cedar Rapids and the communities of Ely and Bertram.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A four-alarm fire has partially collapsed an industrial warehouse on Des Moines’s north side. The Register reports that more than half a dozen area fire departments were battling the blaze since about 9 a.m. Saturday at the warehouse, which houses a paint company and two automotive suppliers.

The suspense is over. Iowa Republicans have chosen a candidate in Iowa’s third congressional district.
Even the man who won the nomination admits he was stunned by the turn of events today (Saturday). “Anything can happen,” Young told reporters. “It’s exhilarating. There’s so many different emotions moving inside me, but right now I’m actually looking towards November and figuring out where we go from here.” Over 500 delegates gathered Saturday morning for the special nominating convention and about five hours later Young had secured the spot on November’s ballot.

“Somebody asked me right before I got up on stage: “David, is this one of your magic tricks again?'” Young said, a reference to one of his campaign commercials. “I said: ‘No, but I have one trick left — and that’s to make Staci Appel disappear in November.'” Appel is the Democratic Party’s nominee for seat now held by Republican Tom Latham, who is not seeking reelection. The third district delegates had to make the choice because none of the six candidates who ran in the G-O-P Primary secured 35 percent of the votes on June 3rd. Brad Zaun, a state senator, finished first in the primary voting and Zaun repeatedly asked delegates to take that into consideration.

“I’m a little bit disappointed,” Zaun said after the loss, “but I’m going to be behind David Young 110 percent and I’ll do anything I can to help him.” It took five rounds of voting, with all six primary candidates in the mix at the start, but it wound down to a contest between Zaun and Young, who had placed fifth in the primary. On Saturday, in that last round of vote, a tie vote among the delegates in Polk County, Zaun’s home base, was likely the difference maker. “But, hey listen: we move on,” Zaun said. Two other key moments on Saturday helped Young surge past Zaun. One came when Matt Schultz, Iowa’s current secretary of state, was forced out of the competition by his last place finish in the third round of voting.

“I’m asking all of you who supported me to get behind David because we need someone who’s conservative and can win — and I trust David Young,” Schultz said, “so join me in trusting him.” The other involved Robert Cramer, the construction company executive who finished second in the June 3rd Primary. Cramer took himself out of contention right before the third round of voting and Young spoke next. “When I was 15, my parents moved the family from Van Meter to Johnston and across the street and two doors down was this tall, lanky blonde kid named Robert Cramer and he became my best friend,” Young said. “And we were in track together, basketball, choir, hung out at the swimming pool and we went to church together and he is a man of faith and he helped me grow in my faith and, Robert, I just want to thank you. I love you, brother.”

Many delegates stayed after the voting and the decision-making were over to congratulate Young. “Talk about coming from behind,” one delegate told Young. “Congratulations. Well done.” Young replied: “Anything can happen in politics. It’s a game that moves as you play.” Young resigned from his job as Senator Chuck Grassley’s chief of staff over a year ago to run for the U.S. Senate after Democrat Tom Harkin announce he wouldn’t run for reelection, but Young switched his sights to the third congressional district after Republican Congressman Tom Latham announced this past December that he wouldn’t seek reelection in 2014.

Grassley issued a written statement Saturday night saying Young “has the ability to appeal to a cross section of residents in the third district. Grassley also pledged to “do everything he can to help” Young get elected to congress. Democrat Staci Appel’s campaign sent out a fundraising email shortly after Young secured the nomination, calling Young a “Tea Party extremist.” Democrats also point to 2012 voting in the third district which saw President Obama win that 16-county section of the state.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Documents in an unemployment benefits case show that a Council Bluffs hospital administrator resigned his post last year after his superiors refused to tell patients that surgical instruments used on them hadn’t been properly sterilized. The Des Moines Register reports that Robert Owen Burgin was a registered nurse and the infection-control specialist for Mercy Hospital in Council Bluffs. State records show he resigned April 12, 2013, after making several attempts to get permission to tell two patients they were at risk of infection from blood-borne pathogens.

Documents say a supervisor threatened his job when he persisted. The matter became public when Burgin filed for unemployment benefits and the hospital challenged his claim. A judge has ruled for Burgin, saying Burgin resigned for good cause.