IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The man who disrupted a flag-burning protest in Iowa City with a fire extinguisher last week won’t lose his job. FedEx said in a statement that Matt Uhrin remains a driver with FedEx Express, and the company has no plans to change that.

The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports pictures and video of Uhrin rescuing a U.S. flag Thursday spread quickly on the Internet, and he was wearing his FedEx uniform at the time. Uhrin has declined the newspaper’s request for comment.

Protest organizers say they were trying to make a statement about racial and social injustice and U.S. imperialism by burning the U.S. flag.

Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County report 37-year old Loreto Yzaguirre, of Lenox, was arrested following a traffic stop at around 6:25-p.m., Saturday. Yzaguirre was taken into custody at the intersection of Highway 34 and Q Avenue for Driving While Barred. He was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $2,000 bond.

Officials with the Council Bluffs Fire Department reports an Engine Company responded Saturday afternoon to an automatic fire detection alarm at CHI Health/Mercy Hospital, at 800 Mercy Drive. Upon arrival, an electrical haze was discovered in a non-patient area of the hospital. Because the source was not immediately identified, and the haze spread to two adjacent rooms, a complete fire alarm response was requested by the officer in command.

Council Bluffs Fire Department Crews were on the scene for about two-hours. No patients had to be evacuated or moved to other areas of the hospital during the incident, which was reported at 3:32-p.m. The cause of the haze was isolated and the hospital was operating normally by 7-p.m.

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

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Board of Regents President Bruce Rastetter says he would like to see tuition at state universities rise no faster than the average income of Iowa residents. The Des Moines Register reports that Rastetter made the remarks Friday during and after his appearance on Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press.” Rastetter says any tuition increase higher than the rise in average state income would dramatically affect Iowa families’ ability to access the public universities.

CARTER LAKE, Iowa (AP) — Western Iowa officials say a Nebraska man was arrested twice in as many days for trying to break into his ex-girlfriend’s home. The Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil reports that 58-year-old Joseph Pendley, of Bellevue, Nebraska, was arrested Jan. 17 after Carter Lake police were called about someone trying to break into the home through a window. Police say he tried again the next day after being released from jail.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The state’s court system will close for a day this spring to help close a $400,000 budget gap. The Des Moines Register cites a memo sent to Judicial Branch personnel on Friday in reporting that the state’s court system will go on furlough May 26. Court Administrator David Boyd says clerk of court and other offices will be closed the Friday before Memorial Day, and 1,446 judicial employees will not be paid.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Sioux City man has been charged after police say he stole a skid loader in an attempt to free a stolen pickup truck stuck on railroad tracks. The Sioux City Journal reports the incident happened Thursday, when police say 36-year-old Nicholas Shannon Penny drove the stolen truck over tracks and became stuck. Police say Penny then walked to a nearby Bobcat dealership and stole one of the dealership’s skid loaders.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Sioux City man has been charged after police say he stole a skid loader in an attempt to free a stolen pickup truck stuck on railroad tracks. The Sioux City Journal reports the incident happened Thursday, when police say 36-year-old Nicholas Shannon Penny drove the stolen truck over tracks and became stuck. Police say Penny then walked to a nearby Bobcat dealership and stole one of the dealership’s skid loaders. Police say he damaged a fence when he drove the skid loader through it and also damaged the loader’s door, causing about $3,000 in damage.

Penny remained Saturday in the Woodbury County Jail on theft, burglary and criminal mischief charges.

CARTER LAKE, Iowa (AP) — Western Iowa officials say a Nebraska man was arrested twice in as many days for trying to break into his ex-girlfriend’s home. The Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil reports 58-year-old Joseph Pendley, of Bellevue, Nebraska, was arrested Jan. 17 after Carter Lake police were called about someone trying to break into the home through a window. Officers say they found Pendley hiding in the home’s garage. He was arrested and released after posting $300.

The next day, police were again called to the home when a man reported Pendley had tried to force his way in. Police say they found Pendley hiding in the garage next door and that he had a baseball bat.

He remained jailed Saturday.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The state’s court system will close for a day later this spring to help close a $400,000 budget gap. The Des Moines Register cites a memo sent to Judicial Branch personnel on Friday in reporting that the state’s court system will go on furlough May 26.

Court Administrator David Boyd says clerk of court and other offices will be closed the Friday before Memorial Day, and 1,446 judicial employees will not be paid. Boyd says judges and magistrates will work that day with no pay cut.

The shortfall is a result of cuts the Legislature is poised to approve and send to Gov. Terry Branstad. The adjustments were drafted after revenue forecasts for the fiscal year came up lower than expected.

Police in Creston cited the driver of a 2010 Honda Accord following a collision Friday afternoon at the intersection of Sumner and Adams Streets. Authorities say 48-year old Scott Allen Geary, of Creston, was cited after his car rear-ended a 2004 Dodge pickup driven by 30-year old Colby Michael Lenhart, of Bedford. The accident happened just before 2-p.m., as Lenhart was stopped at the red light. Officials said Geary seemed fatigued and didn’t seem to know what happened, following the collision. He was cited for Following too closely. Damage from the accident amounted to $4,300. No injuries were reported.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — The Historical Society of Pottawattamie County is hoping to see more people in jail — the Historic Pottawattamie County Squirrel Cage Jail. The Daily Nonpareil reports the society is working to give the museum the same feel it had when it operated as a jail.

The three-story building that includes a rotating cell block was built in 1885 and used as a jail until 1969. It was bought by the Council Bluffs Parks Board in 1971 and named to the National Register of Historic Places the next year.

Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Jason LeMaster, who serves on the board, is leading the effort. LeMaster says the museum needs light-colored sheets and military-style wool blankets to outfit the cells’ bunks, as well as mannequins to represent the inmates.

w/ Chris Parks

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