Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Former Iowa Lieutenant Governor Patty Judge plans to seek the Democratic nomination to run against U.S. Senator Charles Grassley. Democrats in Iowa and Washington with knowledge of her plans but not authorized to discuss them say she’ll announce as early as Friday.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An advocacy coalition in Iowa says it delivered thousands of petitions to U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley to protest his recent comments about the selection of a U.S. Supreme Court nominee. A coalition of organizations says it delivered 36,000 petition signatures Thursday to Grassley’s six regional offices around Iowa. They also delivered excerpts from the U.S. Constitution.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A Waterloo man accused in the killing of his former girlfriend, whose body was found in Linn County, has pleaded guilty. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that 38-year-old Shaun Hogan pleaded guilty Tuesday to a reduced charge of second-degree murder for the July 2014 death of 29-year-old Crystal Gaffney. Hogan had been scheduled to go on trial next week and faced a first-degree murder charge.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Chris Kendrix hit five 3-pointers and finished with 21 points, and Ryan Kreklow hit a late 3 to help seventh-seeded Missouri State beat Number 10 seed Drake 69-67 Thursday night in the first round of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. Dominik Olejniczak led Drake with 18 points, on 9-of-13 shooting, and eight rebounds. Casey Schlatter had a career-high 11 assists in St. Louis.

A man from Council Bluffs was cited, and may face additional charges, following an accident Thursday afternoon, in Pottawattamie County. Police in Council Bluffs say at around 3-p.m., the Pottawattamie County 911 Center received a call of a vehicle that had crashed into Mosquito Creek near Mall Drive. A man was seen fleeing the area. Council Bluffs Police officers, with the assistance of the Iowa State Patrol were able to locate the driver, 52-year old Jeffery Gearhart, of Council Bluffs, near the crash scene.

An investigation revealed that Gearhart had started a new medication, possibly causing impairment. He’d been traveling east on Mall drive when he lost control of the 2005 Chevy Malibu he was driving, as it approached the bridge at Mosquito Creek. The vehicle rode up the southern guardrail and hit a sign before vaulting into Mosquito Creek. Authorities say the car appears to have floated down stream before coming to rest.

Vehicle as found

Gearhart wasn’t injured in the crash. he was checked for possible impairment and later cited for leaving the scene of a property damage crash, no insurance proof, no vehicle registration, and failure to maintain control of his vehicle. Additional charges may be filed in the future regarding impairment.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An advocacy coalition in Iowa says it delivered thousands of petitions to U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley to protest his recent comments about the selection of a U.S. Supreme Court nominee. A coalition of organizations says it delivered 36,000 petition signatures Thursday to Grassley’s six regional offices around Iowa. They also delivered excerpts from the U.S. Constitution.

Why Courts Matter Iowa, part of a national group, says the move is to protest the Iowa senator’s comments that he will not hold hearings on any Supreme Court nominee made by President Barack Obama. Grassley is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Grassley said through a spokeswoman that he appreciated the effort but he had his own copy of the Constitution. He also defended the Senate committee’s work.

Officials with the Cass County Board of Health said Thursday (March 3rd), the Board met February 15th and unanimously voted to name Cass County Health Systems (CCHS) as the official public health agency. The change will go into effect on July, 1st, 2016. Cindy Kail, local site manager for UnityPoint at Home, noted that UnityPoint at Home is committed to a smooth transition of public health services and staff to CCHS.

The hospital leadership has offered to assume the employment of UnityPoint at Home employees currently providing public health services. Kail said, “UnityPoint at Home will continue to proudly serve the community with home care and hospice services, including nursing, therapy, home care aide, and homemaker services. This transition will allow us to focus our energies on continuing to be the premier home care and hospice agency in the area.”

The Board of Health will continue to subcontract with UnityPoint at Home for nursing, home care aide and homemaker services for residents of Cass County. UnityPoint at Home will be funded with the Local Public Health Services grant and a share of board health funds (county taxes) to support patients who lack insurance coverage for home care services.

The board of health will fund the CCHS public health agency with Local Public Health Services grant funding to support local board of health coordination, as well as disease outbreak and collaborative relationships on behalf of the board of health. In addition, CCHS will be funded with a share of board of health funds to support other public health services, such as immunization, breast/cervical cancer screening, family planning, maternal/child health, lead follow-up, family home visitation, volunteer services, and Children at Home.

Grants for those programs will be prepared by CCHS staff this spring for the transition to occur this summer.