MONTEZUMA, Iowa (AP) — The immigrant from Mexico charged in the kidnapping and murder of an Iowa college student worked at a dairy farm owned by the family of a prominent state Republican leader. Yarrabee Farms said in a statement that Cristhian Bahena Rivera had worked at its farms for the last four years and was an employee in good standing. The company said it was shocked to hear that Rivera had been charged in the death of 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts. Spokesman Dane Lang said Tuesday night that Yarrabee Farms is a “small family farm” owned by him and his father, Craig Lang, who has long been a prominent Iowa farmer and political figure. Craig Lang previously served as president of the Iowa Farm Bureau and president of the Iowa Board of Regents, which governs the state’s public universities. In June, he lost a close GOP primary in the race for state agriculture secretary.

MANCHESTER, Iowa (AP) — A driver whose passenger drowned after the vehicle they were in broke through ice in eastern Iowa has been sentenced to up to 15 years. Television station KCRG reports that 37-year-old Joshua Juengel, of Manchester, was sentenced Tuesday. A witness spotted Juengel’s vehicle doing doughnuts on the ice before it plunged into the frigid water of Lake Delhi on Jan. 8. The body of 23-year-old Alex Salow was found in the vehicle.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Omaha World-Herald is eliminating 23 positions from its staff, including 10 employees who were laid off. The layoffs were announced in a memo sent to the newspaper’s staff. The company will also leave eight jobs unfilled, and five other employees will retire. Omaha World-Herald President Phil Taylor says in the memo that the newspaper’s print advertising revenue continues to decline in certain categories, specifically among large national retailers.