Much of the election-year attention in Iowa is focused on the presidential race, but the balance of power in the state legislature is at stake in this year’s balloting, too. After failing in each of the past three election cycles, Republicans are aiming to seize control of the Iowa Senate from Democrats. Iowa G-O-P chairman Jeff Kaufmann has been expressing confidence.

“Legislative races are kind of a different beast,” Kaufmann says. “…People that have had a chance of meeting the senate candidates in those six to eight key races have to agree this is an outstanding crop.” According to Kaufmann, the G-O-P candidates in those competitive senate races have knocked on more than one-hundred thousand doors by the end of September. Kaufmann promises his party will spend a “record amount” of money to support key candidates.

Senator Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs is the top Democrat in the legislature. He is up for reelection this year. “Everybody is tired of the spectacle at the national level,” Gronstal says. “But people are actually paying a little more attention down ballot.” And, according to Gronstal, voters are paying attention to state issues, like education spending. There are currently 25 Democrats and 23 Republicans in the Iowa Senate.

The other senator switched this summer from Republican to “no party” to protest Donald Trump. In the past, individual senate races have been decided by fewer than a handful of votes, so party control MAY not be decided on Election Night if recounts are necessary. In addition, one seat won’t be filled until late December. A special election will be held in Davenport to fill the seat that had been held by Senator Joe Seng, who died last month.

Republicans have held a 57-to-43 seat edge in the Iowa House for the past two years. Back in 2012, when President Obama carried the state, Democrats gained seven seats in the Iowa House. A similar result in 2016 would plunge the Iowa House in a 50-50 tie.

(O.Kay Henderson/Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

CEDAR RAPIDS — A 49-year old former Cedar County Sheriff’s Office jail administrator was charged Saturday, with first degree Theft, for allegedly misappropriating over $36,000 in funds from the Sheriff’s Office, which is located in Tipton. Daron Lance Wilkinson served as the Jail Administrator for the Cedar County Sheriff’s Office from May 2013 until December 2015. A state audit released last week reviewed jail records and Wilkinson’s personal accounts. It concluded he skimmed off about 23-thousand dollars in fees for room and board at the jail, plus another 36-hundred dollars from the commissary and other funds.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a man and a woman and two dogs were all found dead in a Waterloo home. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that autopsies are planned for the two unidentified people found in the home Sunday morning. Authorities say they do not suspect foul play. Police and paramedics were called to the house shortly after 10 a.m. after an acquaintance arrived and found one of the two people unresponsive.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Some eastern Iowa law enforcement agencies are considering whether to provide their officers with a drug that reverses the effects of opioids, potentially saving the lives of addicts who have overdosed. The Quad-City Times reports that police have to take into account how many overdose calls they go to each year and training for officers, as well as cost and storage of the drug.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Despite a spate of heavy rains and flooding in recent years, Iowa officials have little idea how much it would cost to protect homes, schools, factories and infrastructure, let alone how to pay for it. The Des Moines Register reports that Iowa cities and towns have compiled $1.4 billion in plans to protect themselves from flooding. The plans call for buying homes and businesses near rivers, building levees and flood walls, and better protecting utilities.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Mystery and crime fiction writer Edward Gorman has died. Gorman’s publicist says he died Friday after a long battle with cancer. He was 74. Gorman, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is the author of dozens of mystery novels, including the Sam McCain, Jack Dwyer and Dev Conrad series

An incident of alleged kidnapping resulted in the arrest Sunday, of a man who was charged with False Report to a Law Enforcement Entity. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says deputies arrested 21-year old Chase P. Palmer, of rural Red Oak, at around 6:43-a.m., Sunday, for causing false information to be reported, knowing that information was false. Palmer was initially reported to be the victim of the incident, but authorities located the man and determined he had in fact NOT been kidnapped. Palmer was found at a friends’ residence after losing his keys and being locked out.

Authorities say he was initially not cooperative, and they determined the man was not in any danger. Palmer was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $300 bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Despite a spate of heavy rains and flooding in recent years, Iowa officials have little idea how much it would cost to protect homes, schools factories and other infrastructure, let alone how to pay for it.

The Des Moines Register reports that Iowa cities and towns have compiled $1.4 billion in plans to protect themselves from flooding. The plans call for buying homes and businesses near rivers, building levees and flood walls and better protecting utilities. But the state hasn’t aggressively pushed for wetlands, detention ponds and other upstream structures that can significantly reduce flooding risks.

Iowa state Sen. Rob Hogg, a Cedar Rapids Democrat, says some lawmakers have discussed the need, but the message got lost amid intense budget fights.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A University of Iowa residence hall was evacuated after a false report of an active shooter. A university spokeswoman says Burge Residence Hall was evacuated around 5 p.m. Saturday after a student called police to report he had received a text message from a friend about an active shooter. The student’s friend urged him to contact police.

University police officers arrived as students were being evacuated. Minutes later, the student who made the initial report called the police department to say his friend had gotten back in touch with him to say he was joking.

Both students were brought in for questioning, but no arrests have been made. The incident remains under investigation. University officials say they didn’t send a campus-wide alert because they quickly concluded the threat wasn’t credible.