DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Terry Branstad has asked the Iowa Supreme Court to overturn a district court order to reopen the Iowa Juvenile Home. Branstad announced his plans Friday. He is being represented by the Iowa Attorney General. In a press release, Branstad says the children residing at the home in Toledo were not receiving the education and care they needed.

Branstad closed the home in January following allegations that teens were improperly treated and denied a proper education. Four lawmakers then sued Branstad to keep the home open. A district court judge on Wednesday ordered the state to reopen the home and use funds the Legislature approved to operate it. The 21 girls who had been living at the home now live elsewhere.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey today announced that he will be visiting Griswold and Red Oak on Monday, February 10th. Northey will tour Schuler Manufacturing in Griswold and then speak to an Iowa Corn Growers Association meeting in Red Oak.

His tour begins 10:30-a.m. Monday  at Schuler Manufacturing in Griswold, and continues in  Red Oak at 12:30-p.m., with an  address to the Iowa Corn Growers Association meeting at the Red Coach Inn.

Northey, a corn and soybean farmer from Spirit Lake, is serving his second term as Secretary of Agriculture. His priorities as Secretary of Agriculture are promoting the use of science and new technologies to better care for our air, soil and water, and reaching out to tell the story of Iowa agriculture.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — New rules will soon go into effect that give state transportation officials control over whether speed and red light cameras are placed by cities and counties on state-supervised highways and interstates. The Legislature’s Administrative Rules Review Committee, a group of five Democrats and five Republicans, did not vote on the rules Friday. That means the regulations will go into effect Feb. 12.

The rules will require local agencies to show cameras are targeting “high-crash or high-risk locations.” They will have to justify renewal every year. Local officials have criticized the rules, saying the state is taking away local control.

Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, and Sioux City have cameras on interstates that would be regulated by the new rules. The state has no laws governing their use.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Sioux City hospitals are requiring health care workers who haven’t received a flu shot to wear masks when consulting with patients.  Mercy Medical Center Sioux City and UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s want anyone who comes in contact with patients to be immunized or wear a mask if they opt out for medical or religious reasons. The hospitals’ policies aren’t mandated by the state.

The Sioux City Journal reports the state Department of Public Health has upgraded influenza activity in Iowa from regional to widespread. Officials have confirmed more than 500 cases of the virus. Hospital officials say catching the flu while being hospitalized with another medical condition can be dangerous. It could lead to longer hospital stays or cause death.