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

NEW YORK (AP) — Rockwell Collins, which makes systems for airplanes, is buying rival B/E Aerospace for $6.4 billion. The deal still needs approval by shareholders of both companies and by regulators. Rockwell sells electronics systems used in airliners and business jets, while B/E makes aircraft cabin interiors including seating.

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Hampton man has been sentenced to life in prison for the fatal shooting of his girlfriend. The Mason City Globe Gazette reports 61-year-old Ronald Rand was sentenced Monday to the life term after a jury in August found him guilty of first-degree murder in the death of 51-year-old Michelle Key, of Waterloo. She died on a couch in Rand’s living room after being shot in the neck with a sawed-off shotgun. Prosecutors argued Rand killed Key because she laughed as she admitted cheating on him.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A Vinton woman has been sentenced to nearly four years in prison after pleading guilty to a charge connected to the fatal accidental shooting of a 14-year-old girl. The woman was sentenced after pleading guilty in May to providing a firearm to a prohibited person. Investigators found she provided a rifle to her 16-year-old son, who she knew used marijuana. Authorities say a teen other than the woman’s son was handling the gun when it fired, hitting Emma Redlinger. She died four days later.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A judge won’t dismiss a lawsuit filed by a retired University of Iowa administrator over private meetings that Board of Regents members held with the man they later hired as the UI’s president. The judge ruled Monday the lawsuit filed in June by former administrator Gerhild Krapf should proceed, though he noted he wasn’t evaluating the suit’s merits. The regents sought to dismiss the suit, which argued regents violated the law by holding private meetings with Bruce Harreld before his hiring.

After several months of rehabilitation, two great horned owls will be released at Prairie Rose State Park near Harlan in western Iowa tonight (Monday) at 6 P-M. Kay Neumann, executive director of Save Our Avian Resources, or SOAR, says one of the owls had been hit by a car, while the other one had injuries consistent with getting caught in a soccer net.

“They aren’t like us when we go, ‘Oh, we’re stuck in something,’ hold still and figure out how to get yourself out, they will panic,” Neumann says. “They’ll start flapping wings and doing things like that and in a soccer net, it doesn’t take too long and they get entangled.” At night, soccer fields are wide open hunting grounds where owls snatch mice and other rodents, but the nets can quickly turn predators into victims. Tonight’s release of the owls is a celebration for SOAR, which focuses on rehabilitation, education and research.

“We’re over 350 bird-patients this year,” Neumann says. “We take in injured wild birds, we try to fix whatever’s wrong with them and release them back into the wild. It’s been extremely busy.” In the first few months of this year, Neumann says they took in 13 American bald eagles, all with lead poisoning. Only one of the eagles survived to be released. The eagles got sick, she says, from eating animals that were shot by hunters who used lead shot as ammunition. She’s campaigning for hunters to use copper shot instead.

(Radio Iowa)

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports four arrests over the weekend. Saturday morning, 33-year old Zachary Dean Anderson, of Glenwood, was arrested on Highway 34 near 280th Street, for OWI/1st offense, Failure to Maintain Control, Failure to Reduce Speed to Reasonable and Proper Rate, and Speeding. His bond was set at $2,000. 33-year old Joseph Lawrence Isenbart, of Pacific Junction, was arrested Saturday morning for Driving Under Suspension and No SR-22 Insurance. His bond was set at $1,300.

Saturday night, 18-year old Brian Burdette Kuhn, of Carter Lake, was arrested on Highway 34 in Mills County for Possession of Prescription Drug, Reckless Driving, Child Endangerment. He was also wanted on a Pott. County warrant for Failure to Appear in Court. His total bond was set at $4,000.

And, Sunday morning, 41-year old Benjamin David Sieck, of Pacific Junction, was arrested for OWI 3^rd, No Insurance and Failure to Yield to an Emergency Vehicle. His bond was set at $5,000.

Governor Terry Branstad says he doesn’t like the “hodge podge” of city and county minimum wage hikes that are going into effect in Iowa. After the election’s over, he plans to talk with legislators about setting a higher statewide minimum wage. “I think it would be wise for us to carefully review the workforce and what the needs are out there and look at what neighboring states have done and what is competitive,” Branstad says. The state’s minimum wage is 7-dollars-and-25 cents an hour, identical to the federal minimum wage. Every state that borders Iowa has raised its minimum wage higher than that.

“Now we’re seeing this activity in several counties and I think it becomes a challenge and difficult for many businesses and many people,” Branstad says. “It would be better if we had a uniform, statewide minimum wage.” County boards of supervisors in Johnson, Linn, Wapello and Polk Counties have voted to raise the minimum wage locally. Many of those county officials have expressed the hope their action would pressure state officials to act on the issue.

“I know this is a challenging and controversial issue and there are those that would like to demand $15,” Branstad says. “And honestly, I think most people, including the supervisors here in Polk County, determined that wasn’t realistic, so we have to look at what’s fair, but also what’s realistic and will hurt people and not hurt small business.” Branstad says he wants to find a “bipartisan” consensus in the legislature on the issue. Branstad’s staff issued a “clarification” later in the day, Monday, saying Branstad was not openly advocating for an INCREASE in the minimum wage

In 1990, Republicans in the legislature voted against a bill Democrats passed that called for raising the state’s minimum wage above the federal level. Branstad surprised his fellow Republicans by signing it into law. Now, Branstad’s giving advanced warning that he’s open to taking similar action in 2017.

Here are the minimum wage rates in surrounding states: $8.25 in Illinois; $7.56 in Missouri and it will go up to $7.80 next year; $9.00 in Nebraska; $8.50 in South Dakota; $9.50 in Minnesota.

(Radio Iowa)

The Union County Sheriff’s Office says an Afton resident reported Sunday, someone had cut the left rear tire of a 1998 Dodge Durango owned by Megan Short, sometime during the day, while the vehicle was parked outside the residence. The loss was estimated at $200.