Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:50 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A judge has approved a payment of $3.1 million for lawyers representing a former state official that a jury found was discriminated against by former Gov. Terry Branstad. The judge approved the amount in an order filed Friday for Roxanne Conlin and her team who won former Iowa Workers’ Compensation Commissioner Chris Godfrey a $1.5 million verdict. Branstad, now U.S. ambassador to China, was found to have discriminated and retaliated against Godfrey in 2011 because he’s gay. Taxpayers have paid $2.9 million for Branstad’s attorneys and will pay Conlin’s fees if the state loses a pending Iowa Supreme Court appeal.

FORT MADISON, Iowa (AP) — The frenetic chase for momentum in Iowa is underway among Democrats seeking the 2020 presidential nomination. Candidates such as Pete Buttigieg point to large crowds showing up for his campaign events in small towns. Others note late spikes in fundraising as proof they are gathering enthusiasm less than a month before the leadoff nominating contest. Energy could allow one of a cluster at the top in Iowa to break away in the final month or help another work his or her way into the pack. Just as easily, the look of momentum can paint a target on a candidate’s back and send him or her limping out of Iowa next month.

CLIVE, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have concluded a Clive police officer was legally justified in shooting a man last month after a chase that ended in a Des Moines neighborhood. Police said Monday an investigation by Des Moines police of Clive officer Nicholas Anderson found he was justified in his actions. Anderson took part in an incident that started as a car chase in the suburb of Clive. It ended after two men in the car crashed on an interstate off-ramp in Des Moines and ran into a neighborhood. Anderson shot one of the men after the suspect pulled out a pistol. The officer wasn’t hurt. The suspect remains in the hospital. The other man was charged on an existing warrant.

Two people were injured during a collision Monday evening in western Iowa’s Monona County. The Iowa State Patrol reports 93-year old Lawrence Nelson and 26-year old Tari Miller, both of Mapleton, were transported to Mercy Hospital in Sioux City, after their vehicles collided head-on along Highway 141, just west of Plum Avenue, before before 6-p.m.

The accident remains under investigation. Both drivers were wearing their seat belts. The Patrol says Nelson was flown by helicopter to the hospital, while Miller was taken by Mapleton Rescue.

The Adair County Sheriff’s Office reports one arrest over the past week. 42-year old John Michael Burgoyne, of Des Moines, was arrested Jan. 3rd at the Polk County Jail, and transported to Adair County. Burgoyne was wanted on an Adair County warrant for Violation of Probation.

He was released Monday morning on his own recognizance, but arrested a short time later by Union County authorities. The Union County Sheriff’s Office says Burgoyne was wanted on two Union County warrants for violation of probation. Burgoyne was being held in the Union County Jail, on $8,000 bond.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa announced on January 3rd, 2020, that 34-year old Chanel Traci Huff, of Maryville, Missouri, was sentenced in Council Bluffs U-S District Court to 120 months in prison, for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Huff must also serve 5-year term of supervised release upon completion of her prison sentence.

On February 2, 2019, Mills County law enforcement conducted a traffic stop of Huff’s vehicle and officers located 381 grams of methamphetamine and $7,000 in drug proceeds in her car. A search warrant was executed at Huff’s residence and officers seized $15,000 in drug proceeds and a pistol.

The matter was investigated by the Southwest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force, Mills County Sheriff’s Office, Nodaway County (Missouri) Sheriff’s Office, and the Maryville (Missouri) Police Department. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.