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

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is insisting that the state control the return of public school classes next month, saying districts can provide online learning only if coronavirus cases are surging in their communities and state officials consent. The teachers union immediately pushed back, saying the lives of children and teachers are at stake and science not politics should guide decisions. Reynolds has said at least half of K-12 classes must be held in-person and only state education and health officials can grant permission for temporary online learning if a county exceeds 15% coronavirus positivity rate over a two-week period, and at least 10% of students are absent.

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump is facing a rare rebuke from the Republican Party for floating the possibility of delaying the November election. Republican officials from New Hampshire to Mississippi to Iowa quickly pushed back against Trump’s repeated suggestion on Thursday that it might be necessary to delay the November election because of the unfounded threat of voter fraud. He is not allowed, anyway, to delay the election without congressional approval. But there has been little conservative opposition to Trump’s broader push to raise questions about the legitimacy of the Nov. 3 election. And there was no indication that his latest bombshell has undermined his standing among the Republican elite.

WINTERSET, Iowa (AP) — Madison County deputies have charged a man with murder in the death of another man whose body was found in a rural intersection southwest of Winterset. Deputies charged 41-year-old Gerald Parker, of Creston, with first-degree murder in the death of 39-year-old Jonathan Hoffman, of Des Moines. A delivery driver fround Hoffman’s body on the afternoon of July 21, face down in an intersection. He had been shot to death. Parker was being held in the Madison County Jail.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Des Moines police say a suspect in the January shooting deaths of three teens has been arrested in Illinois. Police say 17-year-old Leontreal Jones was arrested Tuesday in Peoria, Illinois, on robbery warrants out of Iowa. Police say Des Moines detectives have traveled to Peoria and expect Jones to be extradited to Iowa soon. Police say once Jones’ is returned to Iowa, he’ll be charged with first-degree murder in the Jan. 30 deaths of brothers 19-year-old Devonte Swanks and 16-year-old Malachi Swanks and a friend, 15-year-old Thayne Wright. Officers found their bodies in a southeast Des Moines duplex after responding to reports of shots fired.

SIDNEY, Iowa – July 30, 2020 – A milling and resurfacing project on Iowa 2 between Fremont County Road L-44 to U.S. 275 in Fremont County will begin Monday, Aug. 3, and be completed by early September, weather permitting, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Council Bluffs construction office.

The milling work will take approximately one week to complete. Once the milling work is completed, workers will make repairs along the centerline and then resurfacing work will begin. Traffic will be controlled by flaggers and a pilot car. Motorists should expect some delays.

Western Engineering is the prime contractor of this project.

The Iowa DOT reminds motorists to drive with caution, obey the posted speed limit and other signs in the work area, and be aware that traffic fines for moving violations are at least double in work zones. As in all work zones, drivers should stay alert, allow ample space between vehicles, and wear seat belts.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – United States Attorney Marc Krickbaum announced on Wednesday, July 29, 2020, 41-year old Brandon Bird, of Omaha, was sentenced in Council Bluffs by United States District Court Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger, to 120 months in prison for bank robbery. Bird was ordered to serve three years of supervised release to follow his term of imprisonment and pay a $100 Special Assessment to the Crime Victims’ Fund.

On October 30, 2019, Bird walked into a U.S. Bank in Council Bluffs and gave a demand note to the teller requesting money. After obtaining cash from the bank, Bird fled the scene and was then stopped by law enforcement. All of the stolen cash was recovered.

The matter was investigated by the Council Bluffs Police Department, Iowa State Patrol, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Great Plains Violent Crimes Task Force. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

Griswold Rescue was paged to the scene of a single-vehicle accident northwest of Griswold at around 5:25-p.m. Thursday.  A vehicle was in the ditch near 53386 Elm Tree Road. A 25-year old male was said to have been injured. No other information was immediately available.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports two arrests. 57-year old Sherry Lynn Nottingham, of Omaha, was arrested following a traffic stop on I-29 at around 10:20-p.m. Wednesday, and charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia as well as Providing False Information. 62-year old Robert M. Krupa, also from Omaha, was arrested at the same time and place, and on the same charges. Bond for both persons was set at $600 each.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – A Pottawattamie County man was sentenced to 40-years in prison, Wednesday, on charges associated with Child Pornography offenses. The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports in addition to the 480 month sentence, 29-year old Michael Brandstrom, of Council Bluffs, sentenced to 30-years (360 months) imprisonment for Production of Child Pornography and 120 months to Possession of Child Pornography, to run consecutively. The federal sentence will be served concurrently with his prison sentence in Pottawattamie County State Court for Kidnapping in the Third Degree and Lascivious Acts with a Child. Brandstrom was ordered to serve fifteen years of supervised release to follow his prison term. He was also ordered to pay a $200 special assessment to the Crime Victims’ Fund and $10,500 in restitution to numerous victims.

The charges stem from an investigation initiated by local law enforcement after a mother reported her four-year-old child missing from their apartment in Council Bluffs on September 2,
2019. As Council Bluffs Police Officers searched the apartment complex, Brandstrom brought the missing child out to them. Brandstrom was nervous when questioned by the police, his story
was not consistent as to why he did not contact police when he located the child, and the child’s shirt was inside out. Brandstrom had taken the child into his apartment without the consent of her mother and the child disclosed that Brandstrom took pictures of her in his bathroom.

A search warrant was executed on Brandstrom’s apartment and a laptop and two cellular phones were seized for forensic analysis. The analysis of the devices revealed a large number of child pornography images and videos, including those of the child he kidnapped. The analysis of the laptop computer also located communications Brandstrom had with children from another country, where he attempted to sexually exploit them.

The investigation was conducted by the Council Bluffs Police Department and United States Secret Service. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the
Southern District of Iowa and the Pottawattamie County Attorney’s Office.

(Updated 12:25-p.m., Radio Iowa/KJAN) – Governor Kim Reynolds says Iowa school districts given permission to conduct ALL classes online due to high COVID case counts may do so for 14 days. Districts will have to AGAIN get state officials’ permission for subsequent weeks. Reynolds held a news conference today (Thursday), emphasizing the importance of statewide standards for schools — and getting kids back in the classroom. “After six months of pandemic, there’s also mounting research that shows children are less likely to transmit and contract Covid-19,” Reynolds said.

State Epidemiologist Caitlyn Pedati says districts must notify the state if a child, teacher or school staff member tests positive – and public health officials will notify those who were in close contact to quarantine for 14 days.

The teachers union immediately pushed back, saying the lives of children and teachers are at stake and science not politics should guide decisions.