Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

STORM LAKE, Iowa (AP) — A northwest Iowa woman has been convicted of charges she pretended to be a nurse to obtain prescription drugs to sell. Police say 30-year-old Kayleen Leedahl, of Royal, pleaded guilty to three counts of felony obtaining or attempting to obtain a prescription drug by deceit. Court documents say she will also pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor counts of the same charge. Police and court documents state Leedahl posed as a nurse over a nearly four month period in 2013.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — An eastern Iowa man has been arrested after allegedly bringing two teenage girls to Chicago from Iowa and forcing them into prostitution. Prosecutors say 18-year-old Ferid Mahalbasic, of Waterloo, is charged with involuntary sexual servitude of a minor and involuntary servitude. Prosecutors say Mahalbasic convinced the girls, age 17 and 18, to post ads online promising sexual acts in exchange for money.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration wants to provide greater access to fast broadband service in towns and cities across the country by encouraging the Federal Communications Commission to remove legal barriers to competition by Internet service providers. It also wants to help local communities improve their service with government loans and grants. The modest proposals do not require congressional approval and are part of a series of measures President Barack Obama is rolling out before his State of the Union address next week. Obama will be in Cedar Falls, Iowa, on Wednesday to detail his broadband plans.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa Workforce Development administrative law judge has filed a lawsuit against the state, former IWD Director Teresa Wahlert and other administrators alleging retaliation and defamation. Susan Ackerman was one of several judges to criticize Wahlert’s management at a legislative government oversight committee hearing last year. It is the third lawsuit from former IWD employees naming Wahlert, who retired suddenly on Friday.

Gov. E. Terry Branstad today (Tuesday) signed a proclamation directing a special election to be held on Feb. 10, 2015, for Iowa House District 23, following the resignation of Mark Costello who won a special election for the Iowa State Senate. Costello replaced U.S. Senator Joni Ernst in the Iowa State Senate.

House District 23 is comprised of Fremont, Mills and a portion of Montgomery County. The district
includes the communities of Glenwood, Hamburg, Malvern, Pacific Junction Red Oak, Sidney and Tabor.

A full district map can be found here: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/DOCS/DistrictMaps/2013/House/House%20District%2023.pdf

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say they have broken up a branch of a Mexican drug cartel dealing methamphetamine in the Omaha area. Police announced Tuesday the arrests of 20 people associated with the Sinaloa drug cartel in Mexico following an 18-month investigation.

The Omaha Police Department and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency deployed investigators who received tips that a woman in charge of a sizeable methamphetamine ring was operating near Omaha. The investigation led officials to the source of the supply in California and the discovery of Nebraska and Iowa customers, who bought the methamphetamine and resold it in smaller amounts.

Authorities say they gathered about 12.5 pounds of methamphetamine and more than $35,000. Most are charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, an offense that could mean 20 years to life in prison.

STORM LAKE, Iowa (AP) — A northwest Iowa woman has been convicted of charges she pretended to be a nurse to obtain prescription drugs to sell. Police say 30-year-old Kayleen Leedahl, of Royal, pleaded guilty to three counts of felony obtaining or attempting to obtain a prescription drug by deceit. Court documents say she will also pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor counts of the same charge.

Police and court documents state Leedahl posed as a nurse over a nearly four month period in 2013. The Sioux City Journal reports Leedahl will be sentenced to 10 years in prison as part of her plea agreement. A sentencing hearing has been set for March 30.

The Iowa Transportation Commission today (Tuesday) approved slightly more than 1.3-million in total funding for six federal Recreational Trails Program projects. In this area, the Raccoon River Valley Trail to High Trestle Trail Connector Phase 1 Acquisition/Construction – Perry to Bouton (Dallas County Conservation Board) received $119,575.

The federal Recreational Trails Program was created in 1991 for the purpose of developing and maintaining recreational trails and trail-related facilities for both motorized and non-motorized trail users. This funding is available to cities, counties, state, and federal agencies and private organizations through an annual application-based program.

Other projects and approved funding amounts include:

• Gypsum City OHV Park – Phase 3 Trail Construction (Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Webster County Improvement Corporation) – $195,559
• Iowa DNR AmeriCorps Trail Crew (Iowa Department of Natural Resources) – $280,000 Mitchellville to Prairie City Rails to Trails Corridor Acquisition (Jasper County Conservation) – $450,599
• Snowmobile Trail Grooming Equipment Purchase (Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Iowa State Snowmobile Association) – $240,000
• Support for Program and Bicycle/Trails Summits (Iowa Department of Transportation) – $18,400.

The Glenwood Police Department reports the arrest today (Tuesday), of 53-year old Debra Decair. The Glenwood woman was arrested on a Mills County warrant for OWI 1st offense. Authorities say her bond was set at $1000.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State wide receiver Jauan Wesley has been suspended indefinitely after being charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Iowa State University police spokesman Aaron DeLashmutt says officers responded to a report of suspicious drug activity around 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday. DeLashmutt says officers found Wesley and a passenger sitting in a vehicle with the windows rolled down. Officers smelled marijuana, conducted a field sobriety test on Wesley and subsequently arrested him.

Wesley was taken to the Story County jail and released later in the morning. Online records don’t state whether Wesley has hired an attorney. Coach Paul Rhoads says he’s “disappointed” in Wesley, adding that his suspension falls under a policy in Iowa State’s student-athlete code of conduct. Wesley caught 10 passes as a freshman last season.

AMES, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa State researcher plans to test genetically modified bananas on a group of students at the university, though some people have expressed concerns about the nature of the study.
Wendy White, a food science professor leading the study, will put 12 women on a diet including regular bananas and bananas infused with a gene to aid Vitamin A production. They’ll follow the diet for four days during three study periods.

The Des Moines Register reports volunteers will also undergo blood tests to gage how their bodies react. Participants will be paid $900. White says the ultimate goal of the study is to help increase Vitamin A consumption in Africa. Dave Schubert, a California scientist, says he’s concerned about feeding the modified fruit to humans before an animal trial.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) – An eastern Iowa man battling terminal cancer has died amid his fight to grow medicinal marijuana for his personal use. Dottie Mackenzie confirmed Tuesday that her 49-year-old son Benton Mackenzie died early Monday at his Long Grove, Iowa, home.

Benton Mackenzie had been growing marijuana to create medicinal oil he could both consume and apply to his tumors. He and his wife, Loretta Mackenzie, were convicted in 2014 for conspiring to grow marijuana. The trial garnered national attention.

The Quad-City Times reports the entire family has faced prosecution, including his parents who received misdemeanor counts for hosting a drug house. Those charges were eventually dropped. Dottie MacKenzie says she has found peace with the situation and her son’s death.