(Radio Iowa) — A new analysis shows Iowa and the Midwest have some of the widest disparities in racial equality in the country. A researcher at the Iowa Policy Project found patterns of segregation and discrimination are pervasive in employment, home ownership, infant mortality and prison sentences as well as test scores and suspensions in schools. State Representative Ras Smith is one of five African Americans in the Iowa House. Smith says he’s very aware of these disparities, but he feels many white Iowans are not.

“Honestly I think sometimes in our Midwest mindset of being very neighborly people, it really sometimes serves to kind of cloud our…perspective or our view to see things as really what they are,” Smith says. Smith is from Waterloo. Last November, a financial website owned by Huffington Post called Waterloo-Cedar Falls the worst metro area in the country for blacks.

“For me I don’t know what it’s like to operate from a privileged position. I’ve just never had that benefit,” Smith says. “In the same that way it’s going to be hard for my white counterparts to really understand what it’s like to live with disparities all of the time.” The Iowa Policy Project report found black residents are less likely than whites to get a college degree and black students in elementary and high school are five times more likely to be suspended than are white students.

The latest information from the State Data Center show the poverty rate among black Iowans is about three times greater than for the general population. The unemployment rate for black Iowans is significantly higher, too.

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

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police say a shooting on Des Moines’ north side has left a man dead. Officers were called to the area around 1:30 p.m. Thursday for reports of gunshots and found a 23-year-old man with a gunshot wound to his torso. The man _ whose name has not yet been released _ was taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead. No arrests have been reported.

DENVER (AP) — A pair of Republican senators facing tough reelection campaigns won’t say if the president can ask another country to investigate a political foe. Sens. Joni Ernst of Iowa and Cory Gardner of Colorado wouldn’t answer that question Thursday in light of the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. Trump last week insisted he had the right to ask Ukraine and China to investigate his possible Democratic opponent next year, former Vice President Joe Biden.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court has issued orders to change the way the state court system conducts security assessments after two cybersecurity workers hired by state court administrators were arrested for breaking into the Dallas County Courthouse last month. Chief Justice Mark Cady signed an order on Thursday that prohibits physical break-ins of courthouses and entry outside of regular business hours as part of cybersecurity testing. Court administrators also must confer with local officials.

CORALVILLE, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Kim Reynolds is backing the new leader of Iowa’s human resources agency, saying he made an honest error when he misstated what his department does on his résumé. Reynolds told reporters that “people make mistakes,” and that Department of Administrative Services Director Jim Kurtenbach was human. Reynolds appointed Kurtenbach in June to lead the department that manages human resources, buildings and other functions for the executive branch.

(Radio Iowa) — A state representative from central Iowa has been charged with drunk driving after a weekend arrest in northwest Iowa. Sixty-year-old Scott Ourth is a Democrat from Ackworth who represents part of Warren County in the Iowa House. A report from Cherokee Police indicates an officer saw a pick-up driving without its headlights on at about about 9:30 Saturday night.

Ourth smelled of alcohol, according to the police report, and tests found his blood alcohol level was above the legal limit. In a statement, Ourth said he made a “terrible mistake,” accepts full responsibility and plans to seek professional counseling.

Ourth was charged with a first offense of operating while intoxicated. He faces a minimum of 48 consecutive hours in jail, but that could be waived under certain circumstances — for instance if Ourth’s blood alcohol level was below point-one-five (.15).

(Radio Iowa) — The Iowa D-N-R says two conservation officers who broke up a fight in downtown Des Moines in September did nothing wrong. Information from the D-N-R says an internal investigation found officers Travis Graves and Derrick Slutts did not violate any current department policies after seeing two women fighting on Court Avenue in Des Moines and stopping to break it up.

The two officers were on the way to training when they came upon the fight. Both of the women involved were arrested and charged. The D-N-R says the concerns raised about the action have caused the department to do a review of its policies and ensure they fully reflect the expectations of conservation officers. Conservation officers are sworn peace officers just like officers in police and sheriff’s departments.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have identified a man who was killed while working on a dump truck south of Dubuque.

The Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office says deputies and medics sent to a rural property around 7 p.m. Wednesday found a 61-year-old man, now identified as Philip Sullivan, pinned between the truck’s dump box and the truck body. Sullivan was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities say it appears Sullivan had been cutting metal on the truck frame when the dump box came down on him.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The lower Missouri River will remain high into December because of the large amount of water being released from dams into the river. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says the amount of water being released from the Gavins Point dam on the Nebraska-South Dakota border will remain at a level more than twice what is typical for this time of year — 80,000 cubic feet per second — into mid-December.

Officials do not expect significant new flooding along the river because of the high releases. But many levees remain damaged from severe flooding in the spring, allowing the floodwaters to flow into many farm fields and rural areas. The amount of rain and melting snow flowing into the river has remained exceptionally high this fall, and wet weather is expected to continue through the end of the year.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police say a shooting on Des Moines’ north side has left a man dead. Officers were called to the area around 1:30 p.m. Thursday for reports of at least three gunshots and found a 23-year-old man with a gunshot wound to his torso. The man — whose name has not yet been released — was taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Police spokesman Sgt. Paul Parizek says in a news release that detectives are following investigative leads, interviewing witnesses and examining evidence. No arrests had been reported by late Thursday afternoon.

Police say the shooting death is the city’s 13th homicide this year.

(Radio Iowa) — A new report on childhood obesity finds Iowa’s numbers aren’t budging, with more than 50-thousand kids statewide falling into the category. Victoria Brown, senior program officer for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, says the report looked at children between the ages of 10 and 17 over the past two years.

“The obesity rate in Iowa for this age group, about 16.4 percent of your population, has held steady in recent years,” Brown says. “You rank as the 14th highest in the nation for childhood obesity.” That’s about one in seven children. Nationwide, the report found four-point-eight million children in that age range are obese, a number that’s also remained essentially unchanged since the last report.

“Even though the rate overall has held steady in recent years, there’s still big health disparities across populations with this rate,” Brown says. “Black and Hispanic youth are much more likely to have obesity than their white or Asian peers. Same for youth from families with lower incomes, they’re at greater risk for higher obesity.” While it’s discouraging the state and national numbers haven’t fallen from year to year, Brown says it’s also important to note they’re not rising either.

“The message here is to stay the course,” Brown says. “A commitment to healthier school meals to make sure that kids get strong nutrition at school breakfast and school lunch, considering that kids consume over half their calories each day in their school buildings, is really critical.” She says it’s also important to maintain access to SNAP or food stamp programs, that we continue to build “walkable” communities, and address things like “food deserts” or urban areas where it’s hard to buy affordable or good-quality fresh food. The report found Mississippi has the highest childhood obesity rate at 25-point-4 percent, while Utah has the lowest rate at 8-point-7 percent.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court has issued orders changing how the state court system conducts security assessments after two cybersecurity workers hired by state court administrators were arrested for breaking into the Dallas County Courthouse last month.

Chief Justice Mark Cady signed an order Thursday that prohibits physical break-ins of courthouses and entry outside of regular business hours as part of cybersecurity testing. Court administrators also must confer with local officials on systems testing.

In addition, Cady says security contracts must be reviewed by a lawyer and the court administrator must personally approve contracts with input from building security, sheriffs and others.

The courts hired an outside law firm to investigate after cybersecurity company Coalfire broke into the Dallas County Courthouse in Adel and Polk County Courthouse in Des Moines. Two workers were arrested at the Dallas County Courthouse.

The law firm concluded there were misunderstandings over contracts terms. It also found contract language was ambiguous and there was a lack of management, oversight and proper supervision of the testing program.

CORALVILLE, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Kim Reynolds on Thursday backed the new leader of Iowa’s human resources agency, saying he made an honest error when he misstated what his department does on his résumé. Reynolds told reporters that “people make mistakes” on their résumés, and that Department of Administrative Services Director Jim Kurtenbach is human.
“It’s not intentional, and I think we need to remember that sometimes,” she said after an appearance at an education technology event in Coralville. “It happens. I’m fine with that. I don’t think there’s anything there.”

Reynolds appointed Kurtenbach in June to lead the department, which manages human resources, buildings and several other functions for the executive branch. The Associated Press reported Wednesday that Kurtenbach is working on the side as a paid expert witness for an Ames family that is seeking millions of dollars from neighbors whose opposition they blame for delaying their plan to build a campground and events venue.

Kurtenbach submitted his résumé to the court last week, claiming the department he leads is the “primary entity charged in the Code of Iowa with representing the State in legal matters,” among other duties. That’s not true. The attorney general’s office, not his department, represents the state in legal matters. Kurtenbach, a former state representative and Iowa GOP chairman, hasn’t responded to questions about how the error occurred. His department warns applicants for state jobs that intentionally misrepresenting their experience can result in disqualification.
Reynolds said she was aware of Kurtenbach’s work on the lawsuit before he was appointed and that she was comfortable with his decision to continue. She said Kurtenbach, a former Iowa State University administrator and accounting professor, was one of many people from outside of state government whom her administration has hired because of their expertise.

“It’s legal, so it’s perfectly fine, and we have to give him time to wind down some of the things he was participating in,” Reynolds said. “I’m fine with that and we’re going to continue to move forward.” Iowa law generally allows state officials to work outside jobs that do not conflict with their state duties or rely on government resources. Kurtenbach revealed in last week’s filing that he is being paid $350 per hour for his work on the lawsuit, which is set for trial in February.