Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 4:15 a.m. CDT

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Navy leaders have backed off a commander’s claim that an Iowa State University midshipman fabricated a sex assault, but they say the victim will still be expelled for underage drinking. In a recent letter, a Navy leader says the July 2016 assault was “unfortunate and appalling” but irrelevant to the 20-year-old man’s decision to drink alcohol the night of the alleged molestation. The midshipman has been ordered to repay $55,000 in benefits he received during his years in the scholarship program.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A recent Iowa Supreme Court ruling means black defendants on trial in Iowa have a better chance of challenging all-white juries. The court’s decision throws out a method previously used to gauge the racial composition of a jury. It says judges must consider multiple methods of assessment that offer a more balanced review.

SOLON, Iowa (AP) — A Lake Mills man has died from injuries he received in a bicycle crash last week in rural Johnson County. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports that 70-year-old Franklin Dahn was riding his bicycle around 1:30 p.m. June 30 down a hill when he hit an animal and crashed The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office says Dahn was flown to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police say they have no video or breath test results in the public intoxication arrest of Gov. Kim Reynolds’ new campaign manager. An officer spotted 32-year-old Phil Valenziano urinating outside a bar June 23, days after Reynolds announced he would lead her 2018 campaign. A West Des Moines police spokesman says its officers don’t wear body cameras yet and the arrest wasn’t captured by dash cam video.

A new telehealth initiative will expand H-I-V prevention efforts in rural Iowa, where H-I-V rates continue to climb. TelePrep will use at-home video calls and the postal system to administer H-I-V prevention medication to rural residents who are at risk. TelePrep coordinator Angie Hoth says in other Midwestern states, H-I-V cases are mostly concentrated in big cities.

Hoth says, “Whereas Iowa has approximately 25 to 30 percent of its HIV cases occurring in a rural part of the state, which is quite unique compared to our neighbors.” Hoth says the TelePrep program expects to serve 300 to 500 rural Iowa residents. She says the distance from cities can be a barrier to getting H-I-V prevention medication.

Hoth says, “People who may be at risk may be eligible for HIV prevention and for sexually-transmitted infection prevention don’t always have access to the services they need.” University of Iowa Health Care and the Iowa Department of Public Health are collaborating on TelePrep, which may be the only program of its kind in the country.

(Radio Iowa)

A California man arrested at the Des Moines Airport last fall has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for a drug-running operation. Forty-three-year-old Jonathan Leroy Homedew was convicted of conspiring to distribute methamphetamine. Last fall, prosecutors say Homedew mailed more than 10 kilos of the potent, smokable form of methamphetamine in packages. The packages were found in Des Moines postal facilities.

Investigators say Homedew had been traveling between Iowa and California repeatedly last summer, buying drugs in California, mailing them to Iowa and then flying here himself to distribute the meth. Three others pleaded guilty in this case. One man has been sentenced to more than 15 years in prison. A woman has been sentenced to more than seven years. A third woman who pleaded guilty hasn’t been sentenced yet.

(Radio Iowa)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Department of Transportation has shut down several interstate ramps in east Omaha expected to affect 47,000 drivers and cause traffic headaches for motorist in Omaha and western Iowa.

Station KETV reports that westbound Interstate 80 ramp to northbound Interstate 480 has been closed along with northbound Highway 75 ramps to westbound I-80 and northbound I-480. Also, the F Street entrance ramp to northbound Highway 75 is closed.

Drivers are being rerouted east on I-80 to northbound I-29 in Council Bluffs, Iowa, then westbound back into Omaha on I-480. The ramps were closed Wednesday night for construction that’s expected to last until the first week of October. The DOT says the closures are needed for bridge repairs and repaving.

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office reports a man from Tennant was arrested for filing false reports with law enforcement. 48-year old Mark Allen Boardman was taken into custody late Sunday night, after deputies were called to the 600 block of Stanley Blvd in Tennant, for reports of shots fired. Deputies arrived on scene and determined in fact no shots were fired. Boardman was booked into the Shelby County Jail and posted a $300 bond Monday afternoon.

And, on June 30th, Sheriffs Deputies in Shelby County arrested 57 year old David Gerard Ausdemore, of Persia, for OWI/1st Offense. Ausdemore was also cited for Speeding, and Reckless Driving. The charges were the result of a traffic stop along Highway 191. Ausdemore was transported to the Shelby County Jail and released the following morning on his own recognizance.

Sheriff’s officials in Union County say a man residing in the 100 block of Kansas Avenue, in Lorimor, reported Wednesday, that sometime during the last couple days, someone came along the side his 1997 Ford F250, and broke out the side window.  The damage was estimated at $350.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A recent Iowa Supreme Court ruling means black defendants on trial in Iowa have a better chance of challenging all-white juries. The court’s decision last Friday throws out a method previously used to gauge the racial composition of a jury and says judges must consider multiple methods of assessment that offer a more balanced review.

The court considered the appeal of Kelvin Plain Sr., a black Waterloo man convicted by an all-white jury of harassment. The jury pool in his case had one black man among 56 potential jurors. Plain’s attorney, Gary Dickey, says the ruling now gives minority defendants in Iowa an avenue to challenge jury pools lacking a minority presence.

Plain may get a new trial if a judge, using the court’s new assessment directive, determines the jury pool violated his right to an impartial jury.

(Update 7/6/17 10:50-a.m.: The Charles City Police Department report a man suspected of murder was apprehended in Chicago. On the Charles City P-D Facebook page: “Last night, the Chicago Police Department took Antoine Williams, age 36, into custody on a warrant for 1st degree murder issued from an incident which took place in Charles City on 06-30-17 at 21:46 hours in the 2100 block of Clarkview Drive. The Chicago Police Department does not have any current charges of their own on the subject.”)

A northeast Iowa murder suspect remains at large, but police have found his vehicle. Charles City Police say 26-year-old Antoine Williams is wanted for the shooting death of another man last Friday night (at an apartment building on the city’s southeast side). The victim has been identified as 36-year-old Nathaniel Fleming of Mason City.

Police said Williams was believed to be driving a red 2006 Chevy Equinox, which has been found in (the 900 block of Oneida Street in) Waterloo. Williams, however, has not been located and police call him “armed and dangerous.”

Antoine Williams

(Radio Iowa)

Davenport’s city council voted Wednesday to revive a ban on the use of fireworks within the city limits. A new state law permits the sale and use of fireworks from June 1st through July 8th and December 10th through January 3rd. While the law prevents cities and counties from banning fireworks sales, it does allow them to ban or limit their use.

Davenport city leaders conducted an experiment to see if residents could use fireworks responsibly. But Mayor Frank Klipsch says there has been some irresponsible use. According to the Quad City Times, Davenport Alderman Mike Matson says, in addition to fireworks being noisy, they have caused five major injuries, three of them serious enough that victims needed to be transported out of town.

Matson also says as of Monday, fireworks have caused two structure fires, one vehicle fire and four major fires outside of buildings.

(Radio Iowa)

A Charles City teen is being declared clinically brain dead after an all-terrain vehicle accident over the holiday. Logan Luft was involved in the ATV accident on July 4th in Charles City. Luft was taken to St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester for a severe brain injury. According to a statement from the Charles City Community School District, Luft’s family shared with them on Wednesday evening that Luft was declared clinically brain dead and was being kept on life support while his organ donation recipients were being chosen.

Charles City school officials were providing counseling to Luft’s classmates on Thursday. Luft was going to be entering the 9th grade this fall.

(Radio Iowa)