The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — The Waterloo City Council has poked a small hole in the city’s fireworks ban. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that the council voted 4-3 on Monday to allow consumer fireworks to be set off July 3-July 5 each year. The three-day window is far below the 53 days that Iowa law allows but replaces a complete city ban. Council member Steve Schmitt says the total ban wasn’t effective in stopping people from shooting off fireworks. Council member Sharon Juon says she thinks “there is more potential harm with expanding the fireworks than there are benefits.”

Matt Reisetter co-owns Crossroads Fireworks and he says the three-day period approved is “a very reasonable compromise.” Waterloo will allow fireworks use between noon to 11 p.m. July 4 and from noon to 10 p.m. on July 3 and July 5 each year. The fine for using fireworks outside of those times was boosted to $375 or more from $250.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office says a woman from Shenandoah was injured during a single-vehicle accident, last Friday evening. In their report issued Tuesday, authorities said 68-year old Ruby Knight, of Shenandoah, was driving a 2006 KIA eastbound on Highway 34 at around 5:55-p.m., when her vehicle went out of control due to the slick road conditions. The car crossed the center line of the road and entered the north ditch, where it rolled over and came to rest on its wheels. Knight was transported by Red Oak Rescue to the Red Oak Hospital.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office, Tuesday, issued a report on arrests that occurred over the past week. Most recently, on Tuesday, 66-year old James Edward Vaughn, of Pacific Junction, was arrested on a warrant charging him with three counts of Indecent Contact with a Child. Bond was set at $6,000. On Monday, 36-year old Jacob Lee Kimball, of Henderson, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault and Obstruction of Emergency Communications. Bond was set at $600. Sunday, 23-year old Shyanne Marie Mathews, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for Driving While Barred ($2,000 bond). And, 43-year old Jeffrey David Robichaud, a homeless person, was arrested on a warrant for Failure to Appear in court (Bond $10,000).

On Saturday, 32-year old Colton Michael McLain, of Glenwood, was arrested in Mills County for OWI/1st offense, Operating a non-registered vehicle, and speeding (Bond $1,000). Last Friday, 23-year old Amanda Lee Nicole Blazer, of Emerson, was arrested for Driving Under Suspension (Bond ($300). And, 23-year old Shyanne Marie Mathews, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for Driving While Barred and Failure to Provide Proof of Insurance (Motor vehicle-related). Bond was set at $2,000.

And on Thursday, 22-year old Jacob Allen Strong, of Wahoo, NE., was arrested in Merrick County, NE., on a Mills County warrant for two counts of Possession of a Controlled Substance. Bond was set at $50,000.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Another trial starting date has been set for a 19-year-old in northwest Iowa accused of stabbing to death his ex-girlfriend and another young man. Woodbury Country District Court records say prosecution and defense attorneys requested another delay in the trial of Tran Walker. The trial had been set to begin Tuesday . The new starting date is April 30. The original starting date was July 24.

Walker’s pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder. He’s accused of killing 17-year-old Paiten Sullivan and 18-year-old Felipe Negron Jr., who both lived in Sioux City. Police say Walker was in a car with the other two on Jan. 28 last year when he began to stab Sullivan because he was upset that she had broken up with him. Police say that when Negron tried to intervene, Walker stabbed him, too.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A bill that would have prohibited health care providers and insurance companies from discriminating against people who refuse immunizations has failed to advance to a Senate committee. A Human Resources subcommittee on Tuesday voted against advancing the bill that would have created the Vaccination Safety and Right of Refusal Act. Republican Sen. Thomas Greene, a retired Burlington pharmacist, voted with a Democrat to kill the bill.

The subcommittee also declined to forward a bill that created a philosophical exemption from vaccinations for children enrolling in schools or child care centers. Gov. Kim Reynolds says that with outbreaks of measles and other diseases resurfacing, she thinks vaccinations are important. She says existing medical and religious exemptions already address some of the concerns voiced by anti-vaccine proponents.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 5:40 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A nonpartisan public policy research institute is planning an $8 million expansion at Drake University to create more space for public events. The Des Moines Register reports that the Harkin Institute for Public Policy & Citizen Engagement will build a new two-story, 16,000-square-foot building on the Des Moines campus. Institute officials say it has outgrown the current offices. The institute says it has raised $6.6 million in private donations and construction is expected to start this year.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Another trial starting date has been set for a 19-year-old in northwest Iowa accused of stabbing to death his ex-girlfriend and another young man. Woodbury Country District Court records say prosecution and defense attorneys requested another delay in the trial of Tran Walker. The trial had been set to begin Tuesday. The new starting date is April 30. The original starting date was July 24.

SUMNER, Iowa (AP) — Volunteer firefighters rescued a northeast Iowa man who became trapped in a grain bin. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports members of the Sumner Volunteer Fire Department were called Monday afternoon to a farm in Bremer County were a man was buried up to his waist in corn. Kip Ladage, the Bremer County Emergency Management coordinator, says the firefighters were able to remove the grain from around the man and finally free him after about three hours.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Kim Reynolds is dismissing criticism of her decision to schedule a special election for a state Senate district in the Cedar Falls area while University of Northern Iowa students are on spring break. Asked Tuesday if she knew students would be gone when she scheduled the election for March 19, the Republican governor responded, “It doesn’t really matter.” Reynolds says voters have plenty of time to request an absentee ballot.

The Harlan Police Department, Tuesday, released a report on arrests that took place over the past week. On Monday, 20-year old Joslynn Nicole Johnston, of, Harlan, was arrested on an active Shelby County warrant, and transported to the Shelby County Jail. Last Saturday, 49-year old Michael Dean Onnen, of Harlan, was arrested following a call for a disturbance. Onnen was transported to the Shelby County Jail where he was charged with operating while intoxicated. And, 22-year old Jesse Ayala, of Eldridge, was arrested following a traffic stop. Ayala was transported to the Shelby County Jail where he was charged with operating while intoxicated.

On Feb. 14th, 60-year old Leo James Pedersen, of Charter Oak, was arrested following a traffic stop, in Harlan. Pedersen was transported to the Shelby County Jail where he was charged with violating a one-way traffic designation and operating while intoxicated.And, on Feb. 12th, 53-year old Judith Bradley, of Harlan, was arrested following a traffic stop. Bradley was transported to the Shelby County Jail where she was charged with violation of a no contact order. That same day 28-year old Angela Michelle Williams, of Manilla, was arrested following a traffic stop. Williams was transported to the Shelby County Jail where she was charged with driving while barred, violation of financial liability, and violation of a no contact order.

NEW HAMPTON, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa woman whose infant son’s lifeless body was found in a baby swing has been imprisoned for life without possibility of parole. Court records say 22-year-old Cheyanne Harris was sentenced Tuesday in New Hampton to the state-mandated penalty, and her request for a new trial was denied. A jury found her guilty Feb. 6 of first-degree murder and child endangerment causing death.

The charges stem from the death of 4-month-old Sterling Koehn, whose body was found Aug. 30, 2017, in a maggot-infested diaper at an apartment in Alta Vista. The swing was in a sweltering bedroom. An autopsy shows he died of malnutrition, dehydration and an E. coli infection. The baby’s father, Zachary Koehn, also has been sentenced to life in prison.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Officials have chosen a 22-year veteran of the Iowa State Patrol to lead the organization. The Department of Public Safety announced Tuesday that Capt. Nathan Fulk had been chosen as colonel to lead the state patrol. Fulk, of Ankeny, will be sworn into his new position Friday. Fulk grew up in southeast Iowa and served in the Marine Corps.

He began working for the Iowa State Patrol in 1997 as a trooper in Solon. He was promoted to sergeant in 2008 and lieutenant in 2013. Most recently, he worked as an area captain in central Iowa. Fulk will replace Colonel Jeff Ritzman, who retired from leading the state patrol after 36 years at the agency.