Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Senate has passed a bill that would allow law enforcement officials to more easily regulate Iowa’s ban on texting while driving. The Senate voted 44-6 Tuesday to make texting while driving a primary offense instead of a secondary one. It now heads to the House for consideration.

Iowa law prohibits a person from reading, writing and sending messages on an electronic device while driving. The bill would remove a stipulation that a law enforcement official must stop a person for a different offense to enforce it.

Sen. Tod Bowman, a Democrat from Maquoketa, says distracted driving kills people. Most lawmakers voted for the bill, which has Gov. Terry Branstad’s support. But some Republicans questioned whether the legislation was needed.

A Page County man was arrested early this (Tuesday) morning on a drug charge. Clarinda Police say 24-year old Quentin Russell Horter, of Clarinda, was taken into custody in a parking lot at 1107 S. 16th Street, at around 12:30-a.m.

Horter faces a misdemeanor Possession of drug paraphernalia charge. He was subsequently released on his own recognizance pending an appearance before a Page County Magistrate.

HONEY CREEK, Iowa (AP) — A resident who tried to burn dead grass caused a fire that spread to nearby field, requiring the efforts of four southwest Iowa fire departments to control it. Pat West, who lives northwest of Honey Creek near Interstate 29 and 152nd Street, tells the Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil that he intended to burn only a small section of his backyard. Instead, strong gusts of wind carried the flames north into a nearby field, and West says his attempts to extinguish the fire himself were futile.

Four area fire departments responded to the fire at about 12:15 p.m. Monday and contained it within an hour. The National Weather Service had issued a warning reflecting the dry conditions, but West won’t be fined because Pottawattamie County wasn’t under a burn ban.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A new report shows Iowa’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.2 percent in January from 4.3 percent in December. Iowa Workforce Development said in the report released Tuesday that the rate is one-fifth of a point below the January 2014 rate of 4.4 percent. The new Iowa figure places the state below the national jobless rate of 5.7 percent in January.

The report also shows Iowa added 3,100 nonfarm jobs from December to January, with the state’s trade, transportation and utilities sector alone gaining 2,200 jobs. Professional and business services saw an increase of 1,800 jobs across the state, but a loss of 1,300 positions in education and health services offset some employment advances.

Since January 2014, Iowa added 24,800 jobs, led by the state’s construction sector at 6,500 new positions.