Drivers of the high-dollar all-electric vehicle known as Tesla may be making their way across Iowa more often, now that some super-fast charging stations are available. Hy-Vee stores in West Des Moines, Coralville, and Davenport have installed the new Superchargers in their parking lots to benefit Tesla drivers only. Tesla spokesman Will Nicholas says it will speed up long-distance Midwestern travel.

“So our cars can come in here at no cost…and charge up to 170 miles in 20 minutes, which depletes the amount of wait time you’d have to incur when charging on a road trip,” Nicholas said. More superchargers will soon be available along Interstate-80 across the border in Illinois and Nebraska. Nicholas says it will make owning one of the $70,000 vehicles more practical.

“When people make a significant purchase like this they want to be able to use their car 12 months a year, for all purposes, and this enables that long-distance travel Midwestern customers expect and now can enjoy,” Nicholas said. He estimates, currently, there may be as many as a couple of hundred Tesla owners in Iowa. Nicholas added, by the end of next year, the company hopes to sell a 35-thousand dollar ($35,000) model of the car.

(Radio Iowa/Joyce Russell, IA Public Radio)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:10 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) ” A Republican Iowa lawmaker plans to introduce what he calls the “suck it up, buttercup bill” to cut budgets at public universities that spend extra money on students upset about the presidential election. Rep. Bobby Kaufmann tells the Des Moines Register that the bill targets schools using taxpayer dollars to fund election-related sit-ins and grief counseling above what is normally available to students. Iowa’s public four-year universities say no such money has been spent.

AMES, Iowa (AP) €” Authorities say a 72-year-old woman has died from her injuries received in a house fire in Ames. The city issued a news release Tuesday saying that Joanna Alexander died in the house fire reported around 10 a.m. Monday. Fire investigators say the fire was accidental and was believed to have started near a chair in the living room. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

CANNON BALL, N.D. (AP) €” The company building the $3.8 billion Dakota Access oil pipeline is seeking a federal judge’s permission to circumvent President Barack Obama’s administration and move ahead with a disputed section of the project in North Dakota. Opponents held protests across the country on Tuesday urging it be rejected. More than two dozen people were arrested after putting a truck and tree branches on BNSF Railway tracks near a pipeline work staging area in North Dakota.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) €” The bookkeeper for an Iowa credit union who admitted to embezzling nearly $2.5 million from her employer over 37 years has been sentenced to 6 ½ years in prison. Federal court records in Des Moines say 68-year-old Linda Lee Clark of Corydon also has been ordered to repay the money.

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports a bank robbery took place this (Tuesday) morning, in Crescent. The Pott. County Communications Center received an alarm at around 9:41-a.m. from the American National Bank at 515 Old Lincoln Highway in Crescent.  Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the area. At approximately 9:42-a.m.,  the Pottawattamie County Communications Center received a 911 call from the Bank confirming that a robbery had occurred.

At approximately 9:50-a.m., deputies arrived in the area and began investigating the incident.  They determined that two subjects entered the business with masks on and demanded money.  The subjects left the bank in a silver Chevrolet Tahoe.

At approximately 10:13-a.m., the unoccupied vehicle was located by the Omaha Police Department.  The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are continuing to investigate the incident.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Western Iowa authorities say a 39-year-old mother of three used meth before taking her kids to Chuck E. Cheese’s restaurant.  The Daily Nonpareil reports Christine Hall is now facing child neglect and endangerment charges after she tested positive for drug use, and meth was found in her 3-year-old’s hair.

The case was initially investigated by the Iowa Department of Human Services before it was referred to Council Bluffs Police. Hall’s kids are ages 1, 3 and 16. Hall told investigators that she and her children’s father stopped at a gas station to smoke meth in a bathroom before going to Chuck E. Cheese’s restaurant and arcade.

Hall’s attorney, Amy Garreans, declined to comment on the case.  Hall is free on a $10,000 bond and scheduled to return to court for arraignment on Dec. 12.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A Sioux City man convicted last month of attempted murder in the shooting of a police officer has been sentenced to 50 years in prison. Isaiah Mothershed was sentenced Tuesday to 50 years in prison for the Feb. 7 shooting of Officer Ryan Moritz. The judge also rejected Motershed’s motion for a new trial. Mothershed was found guilty on Oct. 7 of two counts of attempted murder and four counts of first-degree robbery.

Authorities say Mothershed pulled a gun from a couch while his hands were handcuffed behind his back on Feb. 7 and shot Moritz while being arrested. Mothershed could be eligible for parole after serving 35 years.