Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Board of Medicine will look into a proposal that seeks to ban a therapy designed to change a person’s sexual orientation. Members of the state Youth Advisory Council submitted a petition in February to the governor-appointed board in an attempt to pass an administrative rule that prohibits Iowa doctors from practicing conversion therapies for people younger than 18. Board members voted Friday to deny the petition with the intention to instead form a subcommittee to study the topic.

GRAND RIVER, Iowa (AP) — A child who was found unresponsive earlier this week has died. Decatur County Attorney Lisa Jeanes says Sebastian Guill died Thursday at a Des Moines hospital. Joshua Guill faces charges of first-degree murder and child endangerment causing death. Jasmin Kifer is charged with child endangerment causing serious injury.

WASHINGTON, Iowa (AP) — A man serving time at an eastern Iowa jail has died. The Washington County Sheriff’s Office says staff members at the county jail found Everette Christner unresponsive in his cell Thursday night. Christner was pronounced dead by the county medical examiner. An autopsy is scheduled for Monday.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Cedar Rapids police are investigating the death of a woman found in her burning condominium as a homicide. Cedar Rapids city officials say a preliminary investigation into the death of Robyn Furmanski revealed the woman may have sustained a traumatic injury before the fire. The new information from the State Medical Examiner’s Office has prompted police to begin a homicide investigation.

Iowa Senator Joni Ernst is one of the sponsors of a bipartisan bill that would provide a tax credit for those who take care of aging parents, grandparents or other family members. “It’s time that we recognize the essential role these caregivers play in supporting aging relatives or family members with a long-term illnesses and disabilities,” Ernst says. Ernst is sponsoring the Credit for Caring Act along with fellow Senators Michael Bennet, a Democrat from Colorado, Kelly Ayotte, a Republican from New Hampshire, and Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts.

“This legislation will provide up to a three-thousand dollar non-refundable tax credit to working family caregivers for qualified expenses,” Ernst explains.
She says the tax credit helps alleviate some of the out of pocket financial expenses that caregivers often take on, all while balancing full or part-time employment.

“The credit would be available to those working family caregivers who have incurred expenses of more than two-thousand dollars while caring for a family member who has been certified to be in need of long-term care,” Ernst says. “In particular, this credit would help cover the costs associate with caring for a family member — such as home modifications to accommodate special needs, medication management, respite care, and more.”

A-A-R-P supports the bill and says there are an estimated 317-thousand family caregivers in Iowa who provide an estimated unpaid care worth more than three-point-eight (3.8) billion dollars annually to their adult loved ones. Ernst says the credit would also phase out at higher income levels to ensure appropriate taxpayer protections are in place.

(Radio Iowa)

GRAND RIVER, Iowa (AP) — A child who was found unresponsive earlier this week has now died, and the infant’s parents are both facing charges. Decatur County Attorney Lisa Jeanes says 3-month-old Sebastian Guill died Thursday at a Des Moines hospital. Autopsy results are pending.

Authorities say they received a report around noon Monday about an infant who was having trouble breathing. When emergency crews arrived at the Grand River home they found Guill unresponsive.

The child’s father, 25-year-old Joshua Guill, was initially charged with child endangerment causing bodily injury, but since the infant’s death he now faces charges of first-degree murder and child endangerment causing death. The child’s mother, 20-year-old Jasmin Kifer, is charged with child endangerment causing serious injury.

Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department Director Roger Herring has announced that the Kiwanis and the middle school Builder’s Club workday scheduled for Saturday, April 9th, has been postponed due to the weather, and is rescheduled for  Saturday, April 16th, from 9:00 – noon at the Kiddie Korral Shelter in Sunnyside Park.