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

BURLINGTON, Iowa (AP) — One of two cousins charged with killing a gender-nonconforming Iowa teenager is scheduled to stand trial in a case that is considered a possible hate crime. The March 2016 death of 16-year-old Kedarie Johnson stunned the city of Burlington, where he was a popular high school junior. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has brought attention to the case by assigning a federal prosecutor to help local and state authorities.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A performing arts group wants to buy and refurbish a historic building in downtown Sioux City, with plans for a 200-plus seat theater, cabaret-style bar and classrooms. The Sioux City Journal reports that the Sioux City Council will decide on Monday whether to approve the Lamb Arts Regional Theatre’s project. The theater is seeking approval for a development agreement that would award it a $350,000 loan to buy the property from a private owner.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Democrats have elected a new leader in the state Senate. State Sen. Janet Petersen of Des Moines was chosen Sunday to be the new Democratic leader of the Iowa Senate.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Nebraska real estate development firm has announced redevelop plans for three historic buildings in downtown Sioux City in northwest Iowa. Sioux City television station KTIV reports that J. Development of Omaha, Nebraska, purchased the Commerce Building, the former Hatch Furniture Building, and the former St. Luke’s/Methodist hospital building. The developer says it plans to convert the buildings into mixed-use and market-rate residential facilities.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A performing arts group wants to buy and refurbish a historic building in downtown Sioux City, with plans for a 200-plus seat theater, cabaret-style bar and classrooms. The Sioux City Journal reports that the Sioux City Council will decide on Monday whether to approve the Lamb Arts Regional Theatre’s project.

The theater is seeking approval for a development agreement. The deal would award the theater a $350,000 loan, which would be used to purchase the property from a private owner. The nonprofit plans to launch a fundraising campaign to repay the loan and pay for the restoration.

City documents say the theater group has leased the former Webster School building for more than 30 years, but has outgrown the space. The downtown building has been vacant since February.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Democrats have elected a new leader in the state Senate. State Sen. Janet Petersen of Des Moines was chosen Sunday to be the new Democratic leader of the Iowa Senate.

Petersen said she is honored to win the job. She is in her second term in the Senate after serving six terms in the Iowa House.

Petersen has lived in Des Moines most of her life. In 2008, she co-founded an Iowa nonprofit called Healthy Birth Day that works to prevent stillbirths.

A traffic stop in Montgomery County late Saturday morning resulted in the arrest of a woman from Adams County. The Sheriff’s Office reports 39-year old Jill Christine Currin, of Corning, was arrested for Driving While License Revoked, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and having expired license plates. Currin was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $1,000 bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have identified some of the victims of a weekend crash in the Des Moines area that killed two people and left two others injured. The Des Moines Register reports that police have released the identities of the two drivers involved in Saturday’s crash in southwest Des Moines.

Investigators say the crash happened when 22-year-old Ryan Rench’s pickup entered oncoming traffic in an attempt to pass another vehicle. Rench’s pickup struck an oncoming white Honda SUV driven by 56-year-old Kathryn Kinley of Des Moines.

Kinley and a 13-year-old boy in her SUV died at the scene. A 12-year-old boy in the SUV was critically injured and remained hospitalized Sunday. Rench was also injured and remained hospitalized in serious condition on Sunday.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Nebraska real estate development firm has announced redevelop plans for three historic buildings in downtown Sioux City in northwest Iowa. Sioux City television station KTIV reports that J. Development of Omaha, Nebraska, purchased the Commerce Building, the former Hatch Furniture Building, and the former St. Luke’s/Methodist hospital building.

The developer says it plans to convert the buildings into mixed-use and market-rate residential facilities. On Friday, Sioux City leaders announced the developer has been awarded $1.5 million by the Iowa Brownfield/Grayfield Program for the redevelopment of the Commerce Building and St. Luke/Methodist Building.

Investment for the projects is expected to be $34 million.

Sheriff’s Deputies in Montgomery County arrested a Villisca man early this (Sunday) morning, on an assault charge. 33-year old Kyle Wayne Johnston, of Villisca, was taken into custody at around 2:44-a.m. in the 100 block of N. 2nd Avenue, in Villisca. Johnston was charged with Domestic Abuse Assault, an aggravated misdemeanor. He was being held without bond in the Montgomery County Jail, pending an appearance before a magistrate.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 5:15 a.m. CDT

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — All roads and nature trails at the DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge remain closed weekend for a scheduled deer hunt. The closure began Saturday and runs through Sunday to ensure public safety during the white-tailed deer hunt. A second antlerless muzzleloader deer hunt is scheduled for the weekend of Dec. 16-17. A temporarily closure will take place that weekend as well.

OGALLALA, Neb. (AP) — A 22-year-old Kansas man has pleaded not guilty to vehicular homicide charges for the crash deaths of four Iowa residents in western Nebraska. The North Platte Telegraph reports that Jeser Cisneros-Hernandez, of Liberal, Kansas, entered the pleas Friday in Keith County District Court. Cisneros-Hernandez is charged with four counts of motor-vehicle homicide, reckless driving and driving left of the center of the road.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A crash in southwest Des Moines has left two people dead and two more injured. Des Moines television station KCCI reports that the head-on crash happened around 1:30 p.m. Saturday on Southeast Army Post Road. Investigators say the crash happened when one car entered oncoming traffic in an attempt to pass another vehicle. Two people died at the scene, and two were taken to hospitals in critical condition.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Iowa’s largest teachers union challenging a new law that eliminated most collective bargaining rights for public workers. The judge said in his ruling that the new law does not violate workers’ constitutional rights to equal protection. The Iowa State Education Association, which represents 34,000 education professionals across the state, says it’s considering an appeal.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — All roads and nature trails at the DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge remain closed weekend for a scheduled deer hunt. The closure began Saturday and runs through Sunday to ensure public safety during the white-tailed deer hunt. The visitor center will remain open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. A second antlerless muzzleloader deer hunt is scheduled for the weekend of Dec. 16-17. A temporarily closure will take place that weekend as well.

Spots for that hunt are still available to Iowa and Nebraska hunters. Nebraska residents can apply for the hunt through the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s website or a local office. Iowa residents can apply by contacting the refuge at 712-388-4803. The refuge is located 25 miles north of Omaha on U.S. Highway 30.

OGALLALA, Neb. (AP) — A 22-year-old Kansas man has pleaded not guilty to vehicular homicide charges for the crash deaths of four Iowa residents in western Nebraska. The North Platte Telegraph reports that Jeser Cisneros-Hernandez, of Liberal, Kansas, entered the pleas Friday in Keith County District Court.

Cisneros-Hernandez is charged with four counts of motor-vehicle homicide, reckless driving and driving left of the center of the road. Prosecutors say hit two motorcycles carrying two people each on July 1 near Ogallala.

Authorities say 54-year-old Sheila Matheny and 61-year-old James Matheny, from Bedford, Iowa, were on one motorcycle. The other riders were 58-year-old Michal Weese and 59-year-old Jerolyn Weese, who lived in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Cisneros-Hernandez’s next court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 8.