OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Officials in the Omaha School district are considering providing free meals to all students, regardless of the children’s ability to pay. The Omaha World-Herald reports that it would be an expansion of a pilot program the district kicked off in January at six elementary schools. In Iowa, participating districts included Council Bluffs and Des Moines.

Omaha was one of two districts in Nebraska to participate in a federal initiative this year that pushed for schools with high concentrations of low-income students to serve free meals to all. Schools can participate in the program if many of their students already were receiving public benefits, such as food stamps or welfare.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — There are no additional bird flu cases in Iowa, giving hundreds of state and federal workers and hired contractors a chance to catch up with the backlog of birds to be euthanized. Iowa Department of Agriculture officials say they expected to have all turkeys exposed to the H5N2 virus euthanized and composting by the end of the day Thursday. Disposal using composting, on-site burial, incineration and placement in landfills, continues.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Board of Regents President Bruce Rastetter says tuition will be frozen at state universities for the fall semester, but he is not detailing what will happen in the spring. At a board meeting Thursday, Rastetter said a tuition freeze would continue at the three public universities for the fall. But he said officials will need to assess if the institutions have enough state funding to maintain the freeze in the spring.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State President Steven Leath says he’s “open minded” about how much the university is willing to pay its next basketball coach, adding that the school is looking for a return on its investment. Leath spoke to reporters Thursday for the first time since Fred Hoiberg left to take over the NBA’s Chicago Bulls. Leath says he intends to interview all the finalists identified by athletic director Jamie Pollard and weigh in with his opinion before Pollard makes the final decision. Leath says the next coach’s contract would likely be loaded with performance incentives tied to the team’s success in the Big 12 and nationally.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush is wasting little time getting to Iowa after announcing his candidacy for the 2016 presidential nomination. According to JebAnnouncement DOT com, a website established to explain Bush’s announcement plans, the Republican plans to make his first Iowa campaign stop in Pella on June 17th.

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — A 62-year-old Mason City man has been accused of using a hammer to beat his dog. Police say George Harrington is charged with animal torture and other misdemeanor violations. Harrington didn’t immediately return a message yesterday from The Associated Press

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — The U.S. attorney says an eastern Iowa man who caused a fire the damaged six mobile homes while attempting to manufacture meth has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Linda Reade on Thursday sentenced 27-year-old Michael Lala to prison after he pleaded guilty in January to attempting to manufacture meth.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Fire department officials in Council Bluffs say a $2,000 donation will help them plan for the restoration of an old bell that once tolled for fire calls. The Daily Nonpareil reports the Pottawattamie County Community Foundation made the donation to aid planning for the bell, which will be placed at the city’s headquarters station.

The bell, which was forged in St. Louis in 1876, was rung when fire calls came in. It also tolled for firefighter funerals. The bell was moved to many stations over the years but has been in storage for a few years. Fire officials want to restore the bell and place it in a tower. Project estimates range from $80,000 to $120,000.

Sheriff’s Deputies in Montgomery County arrested an Omaha man this (Thursday) morning, on a warrant charging him with Contempt of Court – Resistance to a Judicial Order or Process. Christian T. Leming was transported from the Douglas County, Nebraska Corrections facility to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center. Leming appeared before the Magistrate and had his bond set at $800.

The Branstad Administration is not yet indicating whether the governor will accept or reject the legislature’s attempt to undo Branstad’s order to close the state-run Mental Health Institutes in Clarinda and Mount Pleasant. A bill that cleared both the House and Senate yesterday (Wednesday) with bipartisan support calls for keeping the Mount Pleasant facility open for another year. The Clarinda M-H-I would remain open until mid-December, with hopes of finding a private company that would run the unit there that cares for elderly patients who are too frail or aggressive for other facilities. Clarinda Economic Development Director John Greenwood says that would be victory for his community.

“Like in anything, you’re hoping to get more, but you have to work with the powers that be on both sides,” Greenwood says. “And, you know, if you’ll remember back when Branstad brought out his budget, Clarinda would have been essentially closed right now, so for us it definitely is a positive thing.” A spokesman for the governor said this morning that Branstad “will carefully review the bill while also continuing to consider how the state provides the highest quality of care to individuals in need.” Clarinda’s economic development director says the legislature’s proposal gives employees at the M-H-I more time to figure out their next step and it his community a chance to try to find a private company that will come in and keep the facility operating.

“Probably, most importantly, it gives us another six months to continue to provide services for the folks out there that need them,” Greenwood says. Senator Rich Taylor, a Democrat from Mount Pleasant, is also hoping the governor accepts the legislature’s plan. “What the governor was trying to do in shutting down the Mental Health Institution was just wrong,” Taylor says. The M-H-I in Mount Pleasant would continue to offer inpatient treatment for those with the “dual diagnosis” of substance abuse and mental illness if the governor accepts the legislature’s proposal. Senator Taylor worked at the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison for 27 years and Taylor says he saw many inmates who wound up behind prison walls because they hadn’t gotten mental health treatment.

“And to shut down even more of our state institutions was just totally unacceptable to me. It just broken my heart,” Taylor says. “It just is not the right place for these people. It’s not what we should do to these most vulnerable citizens.” State officials have said about a third of the inmates in Iowa prisons are “severely mentally ill” — hearing voices, seeing things and often unable to comprehend prison staff orders. The legislature’s vote on the future of the two Mental Health Institutes in southern Iowa is among the many decisions lawmakers are rushing to make this week, in hopes of concluding the 2015 legislative session — perhaps as soon as today (Thursday).

(Radio Iowa)