Republican Senator Joni Ernst says she’s talked directly with the head of the federal agency reviewing Iowa’s “stopgap” plan to shore up the state’s individual insurance market.”We should know the administration’s decision, somewhere between the 20th and the 30th,” Ernst said. “I have been on calls with Seema Verma. I just talked to her last week. We’ll continue to push just how important this is to Iowa.”

Verma heads the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. That’s the federal agency that must grant a waiver for the state’s plan to help 72-thousand Iowans buy individual insurance policies for 2018. “We may get all the measures approved, maybe not all of them,” Ernst said. “But one way or another, we expect that we’ll see a difference for Iowans.”

The state’s insurance commissioner is asking for permission to redirect federal subsidies to ensure younger, healthier people buy insurance — and send more of ObamaCare subsidies to two insurance companies to cover the costs of care for older, sicker individuals. If the waiver is granted, Medica and Wellmark have said they’ll sell individual policies to Iowans.

Without the waiver, an estimated 20-thousand Iowans will be unable to afford to buy health insurance next year. Ernst says she’s still hoping a bipartisan effort in the U.S. Senate can come up with a wide-ranging health care reform measure.”We have to correct the deficiencies out there,” We find a way forward. It’s going to have to be bipartisan at this point.”

G-O-P efforts to repeal and replace ObamaCare have failed to get the support of enough Republicans in the Senate to pass. Ernst made her comments Saturday after a townhall meeting in the northwest Iowa community of Brunsville. About 50 people attended the event and Ernst answered questions about a variety of topics, including health care, immigration policy and legalizing gun suppressors.

(Radio Iowa)

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

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is sending a federal hate crimes lawyer to Iowa to help prosecute a man charged with killing a transgender teenager last year. The unusual decision by Attorney General Jeff Sessions comes even as he takes other steps to erode the rights of transgender people broadly. The case involves Jorge Sanders-Galvez, who is charged with killing 16-year-old Kedarie Johnson in Burlington, Iowa.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — A Waterloo city council candidate is acknowledging that he was arrested Friday for public intoxication. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that Chris Shimp apologized for his action and took responsibility in a statement issued Saturday. University of Northern Iowa media relations confirmed that a person by the name of Chris Shimp was arrested Friday for public intoxication, but an arrest report wasn’t immediately available.

TAMA, Iowa (AP) — The Meskwaki Nation in Iowa is expanding its business interests from its casino and bingo hall into tobacco products and e-cigarettes. The Des Moines Register reports that tribal leaders are looking to diversity their revenue so the tribe is less reliant on casino profits. Meskwaki Inc. will soon open a 30,000-square-foot factor and warehouse just off Highway 30, within walking distance of both the Meskwaki Bingo Casino Hotel and the Meskwaki Travel Plaza.

WAVERLY, Iowa (AP) — After years of discussions about the future of a long-closed bridge in Waverly, the city’s mayor has vetoed spending approved by the City Council and pushed action off until after elections this fall. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports Mayor Charles Infelt announced Thursday he would veto a resolution approved by the council that continued funding in preparation for bids to convert the one-lane bridge to pedestrian use. Infelt has supported a two-lane vehicular bridge at the site.

Police in Atlantic, Sunday afternoon, identified a man who was struck by a car while crossing the street Saturday evening. Authorities said 33-year old John Wegner, of Atlantic, was crossing 7th Street (or, Highway 6) at the intersection with Poplar Street, when he was struck by a southbound Mazda 6 driven by Jon McEntaffer, of Atlantic.

The accident happened at around 7:10-p.m., as Wegner was walking southbound across 7th Street, and McEntaffer was turning left from southbound Poplar onto eastbound 7th Street. Earlier authorities told KJAN News Wegner’s injuries were not believed to be life threatening. He was transported by Medivac Ambulance to the Cass County Memorial Hospital for treatment.

McEntaffer was cited for Failure to Yield to a Pedestrian Within an Intersection.

FORT MADISON, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa prison is restricting inmates’ movement in a housing unit after a staff member was assaulted.

Prison officials say the staff member was assaulted Saturday at the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison. The staff member was treated at Fort Madison Community Hospital and released. Authorities say visits to Housing Unit Two in the prison will be suspended until further notice.

Prison officials say the incident remains under investigation and released no other details.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A persistent shortage of substitute teachers is creating challenges for Nebraska and Iowa school districts, and lawmakers who want to address the issue are still trying to pinpoint a solution.

Lawmakers from both states said the problem is most severe in rural districts. In Nebraska, senators convened a hearing last month to look for ways to minimize the time regular teachers spend out of the classroom.

The shortage is driven by a combination of trends, including mandatory teacher training during the school week and family leave policies that allow regular teachers to take off as much as 12 weeks at a time.

Iowa and Nebraska’s low unemployment rates plays a role, because fewer workers must settle for part-time jobs.