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

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Sen. Bernie Sanders is reasserting himself as the original champion of a progressive agenda many of his fellow 2020 Democratic presidential candidates have adopted. At a rally in Iowa, the Vermont senator jabbed at some of his rivals, saying, “Shock of all shocks, those very same ideas are now supported by candidates _ Democratic candidates _ for president.” That shows how the landscape has shifted since 2016, when Sanders was the lone supporter for such policies as “Medicare-for-all.”

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Senate committee has narrowly passed a death penalty bill making it eligible for debate this year, the first time since the mid-1990s the issue will make it that far if leaders call it up for debate. The Senate Judiciary Committee passed the bill out on an 8-7 vote Thursday. Two Republicans joined the committee’s five Democrats to oppose the bill.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A review by The Associated Press shows that convicted felons who violate Iowa’s strict ban on voting face severe legal consequences, even when it’s unclear whether they knowingly broke the law. The review found that felons can be arrested, jailed, ordered to pay fines and even imprisoned after trying to cast ballots. In all, 10 have been charged with felony election misconduct for voting since 2017

Police in Council Bluffs report an arrest was made Thursday in connection with a domestic incident that resulted in injuries. Officers responded at around 1:52-p.m. to   a cutting call at the 300 block of Platner Street. When an officer arrived, he located a female outside, who had several lacerations on her upper torso and throat.

The woman, 58-year old Lisa Dietz, of Council Bluffs, advised officers that she was assaulted by her adult son, 24-year old Dylan Goodman, who resides with her in her home. Dietz was transported to UNMC for medical assistance by ambulance, her injuries were said to be non-life threatening.

Dylan Goodman

Goodman was located at his residence. After a brief standoff occurred, Goodman was taken into custody without incident. He was placed under arrest for Attempted Murder, Willful Injury Serious and Aggravated Domestic Abuse with use of a Weapon.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Senate committee has narrowly passed a death penalty bill making it eligible for debate this year, the first time since the mid-1990s the issue will make it that far if it’s debated.

The Senate Judiciary Committee passed the bill out on an 8-7 vote Thursday. Two Republicans joined the committee’s five Democrats to oppose the bill including Sen. Kevin Kinney, a former sheriff’s deputy who investigated the death of 10-year-old Jetseta Gage. She was kidnapped, raped and murdered by a convicted sex offender near Iowa City in 2005. Kinney says he’s come to realize life in prison is more severe than the death penalty.

A similar bill last year failed to get through the committee process. Its chances of survival remain uncertain. The most recent full debate was in March 1995 when the Senate rejected a bill the Iowa House had approved just days before.

The bill would make it a capital offense to kidnap, rape and murder a minor, crimes Republican Sen. Jason Schultz says are so heinous they justify death.
Iowa abolished the death penalty in 1965.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Sen. Bernie Sanders is reasserting himself as the original champion of a progressive agenda many of his fellow 2020 Democratic presidential candidates have adopted.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, takes leave after speaking at a rally in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Thursday, March 7, 2019. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

At a rally of 2,000 in a western Iowa convention center, the Vermont senator jabbed at some of his rivals, saying, “Shock of all shocks, those very same ideas are now supported by candidates — Democratic candidates — for president.”

Prompting roars from the crowd — most of them Nebraskans and ineligible for Iowa’s leadoff caucuses — Sanders ticked through the agenda, leading with “Medicare-for-all,” supported by rivals including Sens. Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren.

That shows how the landscape has shifted since 2016, when Sanders was the lone supporter for such policies as “Medicare-for-all” and the $15 minimum wage.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – United States Attorney Marc Krickbaum announced on March 6, 2019, 40-year old Randy Allen Gray, Jr., was sentenced by United States Senior District Court Judge Robert W. Pratt for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Gray was sentenced to ten years in prison, to be followed by a term of supervised release for ten years.

In December 2016, following a search of defendant’s vehicle, a pound of methamphetamine, a loaded .380 handgun under the driver’s seat and over $4,000 in cash was recovered.

The case was investigated by the Dunlap, Iowa Police Department, Harrison County Sheriff’s Department, Sac County Sheriff’s Department, Greene County Sheriff’s Department, Crawford County Sheriff’s Department and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement.

The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A western Iowa man is again behind bars for bank robbery. Federal prosecutors say 30-year-old Larry Eugene Burns, of Council Bluffs, was sentenced Wednesday to 2 ½ years in prison.

Prosecutors say that in September, Burns donned a bandanna and a pink shirt, walked into Centris Federal Credit Union and demanded money. Outside the bank, Burns ditched the bandanna and pink shirt in a nearby garbage can. Officers found a shirtless Burns walking a few blocks from the bank. Police say Burns later confessed to the robbery and identified himself on bank video surveillance.

Officials say Burns had been released from an Iowa prison just a month before the robbery after serving an 8-year sentence for another bank robbery.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A review by The Associated Press shows that ex-offenders who violate Iowa’s strict ban on voting by convicted felons face severe legal consequences, even when it’s unclear whether they knowingly broke the law.

The review found that felons can be arrested, jailed, ordered to pay fines and even imprisoned after trying to cast ballots. In all, 10 have been charged with felony election misconduct for voting since 2017.

A man who is disabled from a brain injury was prosecuted after he mistakenly believed poll workers would alert him if there was a problem with his eligibility. A man who cast a provisional ballot after disputing that he was ineligible still owes $2,300 in court costs. The mayor of one town was forced to resign and prosecuted for illegally voting after a judge revoked his deferred judgment in a drug case.

Defendants and their supporters argue that the consequences are draconian. Prosecutors say they are enforcing laws intended to safeguard elections from participation by ineligible voters.