Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Waterloo police have arrested a suspect in a shooting that left a woman dead and her daughter wounded. Police arrested 33-year-old Kevin Ambrose during a raid on a Waterloo apartment building yesterday. Authorities say Ambrose is a suspect in Wednesday’s night shooting that killed 59-year-old Kay Straw and wounded her daughter, 33-year-old Marlene Buss.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa City has ordered a bar to tear down a platform where a student says she was told she was too overweight to dance. The city’s housing and inspection services department has sent a formal violation to The Union Bar, demanding the platform be removed by today. The platform, which is 4-feet square and 4-feet tall, overlooks the dance floor.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Governor Terry Branstad has approved a measure to create a state Public Information Board to ensure Iowa’s open records and meetings laws are enforced. The Republican governor signed the bill into law yesterday at a signing ceremony. The event capped a six-year effort to improve access to government meetings and records.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Officials in Des Moines are considering opening a dog park at a downtown spot along the Des Moines River. The City Council will consider the proposal on Monday. Plans call for a fenced off-leash area, a dog waste station and portable restrooms for people.

Iowans will honor their Vietnam Veterans at a remembrance ceremony to be held Monday, May 7^th, 2012, beginning at 12:00 p.m. at the Vietnam Memorial − located on the south side of the State Capitol in Des Moines. This year marks the 50^th anniversary of the beginning of the Vietnam War.

The ceremony will include keynote speaker Bill McCarthy, Vietnam Veteran, Sheriff, Polk County, Iowa, and guest speaker Lawrence Paul, Vietnam Veteran, retired IWD Executive Officer, Mason City. 

The event is sponsored by the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs, who invites you to join them, as we remember those who served, and those who sacrificed their lives for our country.

Bullying has been recognized as a widespread problem and the recent instances of bullying highlighted in the media bring this topic to the forefront for Iowans.  In response, the Iowa Department of Education, Iowa Department of Public Safety, Iowa Civil Rights Commission, Office of The Attorney General Tom Miller, and Office of The Governor Terry Branstad are working in partnership to provide information and resources to Iowans on the topic of bullying and cyber-bullying.

A 2011 study by the Pew Research Center on Teens and Social Media found that 88% of social media-using teens have witnessed other people being mean or cruel on social networking sites and 15% of social media-using teens say they have been the victim of online meanness.  Another study in 2009 sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics who conducted the National Crime Victimization Survey / School Crime Supplement found that 28% of 12-18 year old students stated they had been bullied at school during the school year and 6% stated they had been victims of cyber-bullying.

In light of the alarming statistics these agencies have formed a partnership to continue to educate Iowans and to provide necessary resources to address bullying and cyber-bullying.  Resources have been provided to every school district in the State of Iowa, including links to websites containing teaching materials, presentations, safety education kits, and other information for school use in educating Iowa students.  In addition, the Iowa Internet Crimes against Children Task Force and Iowa State Patrol Safety Education Officers (SEO’s) are available to provide presentations at Iowa schools on the topics of bullying, cyber-bullying, internet safety, and others.  Contact information for the SEO’s was provided to all Iowa school districts so they may arrange for these presentations when it fits with their curriculum. These agencies continue to communicate with each other as instances of bullying and cyber-bullying are discovered.  It is vital that state government assist local school districts with appropriate resources to address instances of bullying at the onset, and in-turn prevent the often tragic outcome of negative peer influences.

Online resources for parents are available at www.netsmartz.org, the Iowa Internet Crimes against Children website at www.iaicac.org, the National Crime Prevention Council website at www.ncpc.org, and www.cybersmart.org. These resources represent an important component of an overall school-wide bullying prevention effort.  Additional resources can be found on the Department of Education website at http://educateiowa.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1030&Itemid=2911 .

Officials say by striving to reach every Iowa student through our schools we can make a difference and put a stop to bullying in our state.

Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker is warning the public about a new sweepstakes mailing scam that purports to be the result of your shopping trip to a large chain store. The Sheriff says his office has received multiple complaints from citizens saying they were notified by mail, that they have won a sweepstakes by being randomly selected as a consumer that has shopped at a large, well-known chain store.

The notification includes a check, which the recipient is instructed to deposit, before remitting a “non-resident” tax to an address included in the letter. The mailing says the recipient would then be entitled to receive the remaining prize funds.

Danker says any person who receives any check, money order or negotiable instrument from an UNSOLICITED source, should be suspicious of the financial documents’ validity. He urges you to report ANY suspected fraudulent activity to your local law enforcement agency, prior to taking any other action.