MOUNT PLEASANT, Iowa (AP) — A medical examiner has testified that a 4-month-old infant found dead and maggot-infested in a baby swing last year weighed only a few ounces more than his birth weight at the time of his death.

The Courier reports that testimony came Thursday in the murder trial of the baby’s father, 29-year-old Zachary Paul Koehn, who also faces a child endangerment count in the August 2017 death of his son, Sterling Koehn. The baby’s mother, Cheyanne Harris, is also charged and faces a separate trial.

Dr. Dennis Klein, chief medical examiner for the state, said the baby weighed just under 7 pounds at autopsy. Klein said the baby should have weighed about 11 pounds. An autopsy showed the baby died of malnutrition, dehydration and an E. coli infection caused after he was left in a soiled diaper for up to two weeks.

Iowa’s attorney general says he’s opening an inquiry into the handling of clergy abuse by the Roman Catholic Church. In a statement Thursday, Attorney General Tom Miller says he’s appalled by cases of abuse and cover-up recently documented in Pennsylvania, “as well as cases in Iowa that have gone unreported.”

The announcement comes one day after The Associated Press exposed a three-decade cover-up of abuse by the Rev. Jerome Coyle by the Sioux City Diocese. Miller says he expects all Iowa dioceses to comply with a request by the U.S. Justice Department to preserve documents related to abuse and personnel. He says victims can contact his office if they want to provide information.

Miller spokesman Lynn Hicks says the office doesn’t have the authority to conduct a statewide investigative grand jury, which documented decades of abuse in Pennsylvania. But he says the office is gathering information.

(Radio Iowa) — Republican Congressman Steve King is forcefully rejecting critics who’ve accused him of holding the same views as the man who killed 11 Jews at a Pittsburg synagogue. King spoke at a forum today (Thursday) in Des Moines and verbally clashed with a questioner in the crowd.  “Do not associate me with that shooter,” King said emphatically, as the man in the crowd continued to speak. “I knew you were an ambusher when you walked in the room, but there’s no basis for that and you get no question and there’s no answer. You’re done. We don’t play these games here in Iowa.”

King asked one of the event’s hosts to escort the man out of the room. “You crossed the line. It’s not tolerable to accuse me to be associated with a guy who shot 11 people in Pittsburgh,” King said. “I am a person who has stood with Israel from the beginning. The length of that nation is the length of my life and I’ve been with them all along and I will not answer your question and I will not listen to another word from you and this is over is he keeps talking.” King spoke for nearly 47 minutes, outlining his legislative priorities for 2019 and answering half a dozen questions.

Midway through, King was asked about this week’s tweet from the chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee. Ohio Congressman Steve Stivers said the country must “stand up against white supremacy” and he condemned King’s “recent comments, actions and retweets.”

“There’s a question that I don’t favor, but it was offered respectfully. Thank you,” King replied. “First I will say that Stiver’s behavior has befuddled every Republican I’ve talked to and everyone that I know, including our leadership.” King then referred to his written response, which accused Stiver of being an “Establishment Never Trumper” who secretly hopes the House flips over to Democratic control. King suggested the uproar had been caused by a Washington Post story.

“The entire fiasco that you’ve seen here in the state for the last three days or so is all based on the lies on this page right here,” King said, holding a copy of the article aloft. King spent seven minutes reading from the story and providing his response to allegations he “duped” sponsors of a trip to Polish sites associated with the holocaust by taking a side trip for a meeting in Hungary. “Around the table was one person of the Freedom Party, one person who said he was Jewish,” King said, “and the others were I’d say random, successful business people, but there was no meeting there with people who had Nazi ties.”

King said serving in the U.S. House for 16 years “is the joy of his life” and policies like ending birthright citizenship are “on the cusp.”  “A lot of this legislation that I’ve laid down more than 10 years ago is now poised to move forward and become law,” King says. A group of protesters gathered outside criticized the Des Moines Partnership for hosting King today (Thursday). One woman called King a white supremacist.  “When we don’t speak up, when we don’t stand up, we’re part of the problem,” she said.

The Des Moines Partnership has sponsored a public series with state and federal candidates for several years. Earlier this fall, King’s opponent, Democrat J.D. Scholten, spoke to the group.

Officials with the Alliant Energy Foundation say 16 Iowa communities have been award Hometown Safety Grants from the Alliant Energy Foundation. The grants fund specific tools and projects to help first responders do their jobs even better. That includes defibrillators in public buildings, personal protective equipment for police and more. In our area, the Jamaica Fire Department in Guthrie County, received $1,000 for a Communications upgrade. Hometown Safety Grants are awarded for specific, one-time safety-related projects that benefit a wide range of people.

For more information, go to: https://www.alliantenergy.com/foundation. The Alliant Energy Foundation is funded solely by Alliant Energy shareowners

Red Oak Police this (Thursday) morning, arrested a man wanted on a Montgomery County warrant for Violation of Probation. 19-year old Jacob Anthony Anderson, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 10-a.m.  He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $2,500 cash bond.

(12-p.m. News)

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A teacher in an Iowa district that has been criticized for discriminating against minorities says she regrets wearing blackface for a Halloween costume and that she didn’t know it is offensive. The Davenport school district has said its investigating teacher Megan Luloff , who wore the makeup for her costume when she attended an Oct. 19 party unconnected to her job.

Her attorney said in a letter Wednesday that Luloff had never heard the term blackface, didn’t know its history or “how hurtful it is to all African-Americans.” The letter also says Luloff regrets her actions. A district spokeswoman Thursday would confirm only that Luloff remains employed. The district is under state supervision because a disproportionate number of minority students have been identified for special education and subjected to discipline.