Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

CLEAR LAKE, Iowa (AP) — Deidre DeJear is Iowa’s newest political star _ even if she hasn’t yet won an election. Cory Booker recently made his inaugural trip to Iowa by headlining a fundraiser for DeJear. Bernie Sanders will stump with DeJear on Sunday. And Kamala Harris will make her Iowa debut Monday alongside DeJear. Even by Iowa standards, this is a lot of attention being paid to a 32-year-old African American who was not yet won her campaign for secretary of state.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Officials at Des Moines’ Blank Park Zoo say the attraction’s youngest giraffe, Lizzy, has died, just weeks before what would’ve been her second birthday. The Des Moines Register reports that the zoo made the announcement Thursday; Lizzy died Tuesday. Officials say initial results from a necropsy showed the giraffe had ‘internal abnormalities” and had also recently suffered from a minor gastrointestinal illness that may have contributed to her death.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A new survey says farmland prices are expected to continue their decline in parts of 10 Plains and Western states. The latest Rural Mainstreet survey shows that on average, bank CEOs in the region estimated farmland prices declined by 4 percent over the past 12 months. Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Judicial Branch has started tracking a legal deadline for judge appointments amid uncertainty over whether Gov. Kim Reynolds made two picks on time. The governor has 30 days to appoint a judge once the names of finalists have been submitted by a nominating commission. The liberal blog Bleeding Heartland reported last month that Reynolds informed Judge Jason Besler of his appointment after the deadline. Now questions are being raised about the timing of a second appointment.

(Radio Iowa) — Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled to be in Des Moines tomorrow (Friday) afternoon to campaign for Republican David Young, the incumbent in Iowa’s third congressional district. Cindy Axne, of West Des Moines, Young’s Democratic opponent, says Young should use the occasion to lobby Pence.

“I think it’s an opportunity for David Young, candidate David Young, to step up and be a congressman and ask this administration to put a stop to these junk health care bills that they’re putting together,” Axne says. In July, Young wrote a letter to the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services to register his opposition to so-called “skinny” health plans that will not cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.

Young said people with serious illnesses need access to affordable policies. Axne says Young needs to go further and pledge to vote for legislation that would overturn the Trump Administration’s extension of what she calls “junk plans” that deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.

“I hope he stands up and does what’s right,” Axne says. “He’s said on the trail as a candidate that he supports coverage of pre-existing conditions and that would be a step to do it.” Axne and Young are in a tight race in Iowa’s third congressional district. Pence will be making his second campaign stop for Young tomorrow (Friday). President Trump publicly endorsed Young at a rally in Council Bluffs last week.

(Radio Iowa) — Scores in Iowa are slipping on an exam used to measure the readiness of students for college. About 68-percent of Iowa students in the graduating class of 2018 took the ACT last year and they averaged a composite score of 21.8 out of 36. That’s slightly better than the national average score of 20.8, but the data released by the Iowa City-based ACT organization shows scores in Iowa have now dropped three years in a row.

The percentage of Iowa students meeting math benchmarks has dropped from 48 to 44-percent since 2014. Just 45-percent of Iowa students who took the test last year are considered ready for college-level science, according to the ACT report. Thirty-percent of 2018 graduates in Iowa met all four ACT college readiness benchmarks.

A total of 24,208 Iowa students took the ACT last year. Twenty-six (26) of those students posted perfect scores.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A new survey says farmland prices are expected to continue their decline in parts of 10 Plains and Western states. The latest Rural Mainstreet survey shows that on average, bank CEOs in the region estimated farmland prices declined by 4 percent over the past 12 months. They expect farmland prices to fall by another 3.2 percent over the next 12 months.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says the survey also shows the farm sector is being weakened by negative impacts of tariffs and low agriculture commodity prices.

The overall economic index for the region increased slightly to 54.3 from 51.5 in September. That score still suggests growth because it is above 50, while any score below 50 indicates a shrinking economy.

Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Officials at Des Moines’ Blank Park Zoo say the attraction’s youngest giraffe, Lizzy, has died, just weeks before what would’ve been her second birthday. The Des Moines Register reports that the zoo made the announcement Thursday; Lizzy died Tuesday. Officials say initial results from a necropsy showed the giraffe had ‘internal abnormalities” and had also recently suffered from a minor gastrointestinal illness that may have contributed to her death.

Lizzy was born at the zoo on Dec. 6, 2016, to Uzuri. Uruzi’s pregnancy was unexpected because she was older, at 19, and was thought to be unable to conceive. Blank Park Zoo spokesman Ryan Bickel says the zoo now has five giraffes: one male and four females.

A former accounting clerk for the City of Council Bluffs was sentenced to prison Wednesday in U-S District Court, for his role in the distribution and receipt of child pornography. 35-year old Jamin C. Fletcher, of Council Bluffs, appeared before United States District Court Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger and was sentenced to 108 months (9-years) in prison, and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine, $200 to the Crime Victims’ Fund, and serve ten years of supervised release to follow his prison term. Fletcher has served as Council Bluffs’ accounting clerk from 2008-to 2017.

On April 20, 2018, a jury found Fletcher guilty of Distribution and Receipt of Child Pornography. The charges were the result of an FBI investigation on BitTorrent, a file sharing program used on the Internet. FBI downloaded child pornography from a shared folder on BitTorent that identified an IP address subscribed to Jamin Fletcher of Council Bluffs. A search warrant was served on Fletcher’s residence where agents located a desktop computer, laptop computer, and cell phone that contained images of child pornography.

The investigation was conducted by the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Iowa Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

A Red Oak woman was arrested on Thursday following a traffic stop on East Hammond Street in Red Oak. Red Oak Police witnessed 25-year-old Amanda LeeAnn Solt of Red Oak operating a 1995 Ford Explorer. A traffic stop was conducted and Solt was charged with Driving Under Suspension and Failure to Provide Proof of Insurance. Solt was also in possession of .082 grams of marijuana during the stop. Solt was taken to the Montgomery County Jail and booked in on $1,000 bond.

Interstate 80 westbound in Cass County was reduced to one-lane for about 2-hours today, as crews worked to clean-up a collision between a semi and a cement truck. The accident happened just before 11-a.m., about one-half mile west of the Highway 71 exit.

Atlantic Fire and Rescue, Medivac, Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies and the Iowa State Patrol responded to the scene.

Cass County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Kennon said two people were hurt and transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital by ambulance. Additional details were not immediately available.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Mega Millions jackpot has climbed to $970 million, inching ever-closer to the $1 billion mark. Officials raised the estimated jackpot Thursday for the second time due to strong sales ahead of Friday night’s drawing. The prize is the second-largest jackpot in U.S. history, behind only a $1.6 billion Powerball prize won in 2016. No one has matched all six numbers and won the Mega Millions grand prize since July 24. That reflects the game’s long odds , at one in 302.5 million.

The $970 million refers to the annuity option, paid over 29 years. Most winners take the cash option, which would pay an immediate $513 million. About half of the jackpot winnings would go to taxes.
Mega Millions is played in 44 states, plus Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Judicial Branch has started tracking legal deadlines for judge appointments amid uncertainty over whether Gov. Kim Reynolds made two picks on time.
The governor has 30 days to appoint a judge once finalists have been submitted by a nominating commission. After that, the authority falls to the chief justice. The requirement has come into focus after the liberal blog Bleeding Heartland reported that Reynolds informed Judge Jason Besler of his appointment days after the deadline. An attorney has filed a complaint alleging Besler is unlawfully holding office.
Now questions are being raised about the June 21 appointment of Judge Michael Jacobsen.

A nominating commission signed a letter addressed to Reynolds 35 days earlier, on May 17, recommending Jacobsen and another attorney. But the letter apparently was never sent, and the commission chair waited until May 22 to email the names to the governor’s office. Jacobsen was appointed 30 days later. Davis says the court system is now formally tracking submission dates, which it didn’t do previously.