Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 4:38 a.m. CDT
ADEL, Iowa (AP) — Decades after a devastating fire caused by a dropped sparkler led Iowa to ban fireworks, the explosives are now legal in the state. But fireworks retailers and people eager to set off the explosives are finding that many local officials remain keenly aware of that fire so many years ago.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A man who helped write the computer code behind several U.S. lotteries, including some of its biggest, has pleaded guilty to masterminding a scheme through which he rigged the winning numbers for jackpots in several states and collected millions of dollars. Eddie Tipton, who rose to be the Multi-State Lottery Association’s computer information security director before his 2015 arrest, described his lead role in the scheme for the first time Thursday during a hearing in Des Moines, Iowa.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A U.S. wrestler who spent years in prison for a sexual assault he denies testified Thursday that he was pressured by his coach and lawyers to waive his right to a jury trial. Jordan Holm is seeking a new trial based on claims that he received ineffective assistance from his lawyers. Holm, 35, was convicted of sexually assaulting a University of Iowa student after an off-campus party in 2002.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A federal judge has denied an Alabama-based company’s attempt to block Des Moines from restricting where fireworks can be sold within city limits. The Des Moines Register reports that the court on Thursday denied the company’s petition for an emergency injunction. American Promotional Events is suing to block Des Moines from limiting the sale of fireworks to industrial zones.