Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Data shows the number of Iowa school buses flagged for repeated safety citations has nearly doubled since 2012. The Des Moines Register reports nearly 22,000 bus inspection citations have been issued since June 2012. They include unsafe tires, inoperable warning signals or strobe lights and dysfunctional wheel bearings.

PRESCOTT, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a man faces charges in connection to a Christmas night stabbing in southern Iowa. The Adams County Sheriff’s Office says 47-year-old Kirk Frederick of Corning faces charges of willful injury causing serious injury and going armed with intent.

MARION, Iowa (AP) — Authorities in eastern Iowa say a man fatally shot himself while a police officer stopped him over a traffic citation. Marion police say an officer stopped the man Saturday night as he was driving a vehicle. The officer suspected the man was intoxicated. Authorities say the officer went back to his squad car to request another officer. While the officer was away, police say the driver shot himself with a handgun. The driver was later pronounced dead.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Officials have removed caged wild animals from a “mall zoo” in Des Moines following a court order over their care. Agencies including the Animal Rescue League of Iowa helped remove the 31 animals early Saturday from Merle Hay Mall. They will be sent to the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines, the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado and the World of Reptiles in Des Moines.

In an update to our story posted Christmas Eve, the Logan-Herald Observer reports a fire that destroyed  a home in rural Harrison County, south of Logan, was caused by a wood stove adjacent to the home. The blaze at Ben and Rhonda Collins residence at 2882 Price Place, was reported at around 2:30-p.m. on Dec. 24th.

Logan Fire Chief Craig Charbonneau told the paper fire fighters from Logan, Missouri Valley, Persia, Woodbine, Magnolia and Modale responded to the scene. When they arrived, the home was fully engulfed in flames. The Chief said Ben Collins had tried to put the fire out with a garden hose, but was unable to do so because the hose was frozen. Collins ran to a neighbors home to report the fire, but was unable to locate them. He ended up flagging down a passing motorist, who called the fire in.

Firefighters were called back to the scene three times to put out hot spots after the flames were thought to have been completely extinguished Wednesday evening, including twice on Christmas Day. Crews ended up pushing the walls into the basement. No injuries were reported, but the home was a total loss.

A woman from Iowa and a man from Indiana were injured during a crash Sunday night on Interstate 80, in Pottawattamie County. The Iowa State Patrol says 29-year old Miriam Carolina Almaguer, of Des Moines, was critically injured and transported by Avoca Rescue to Myrtue Memorial Hospital in Harlan, while 51-year old Raymond J. Facco, of Ft. Wayne, IN., was transported by Medivac Ambulance to the same facility, after their vehicles collided on westbound I-80, about two-miles east of the Avoca exit.

Officials say Facco’s 2014 BMW 435-i hit the back of Almaguer’s 1997 Ford Explorer, causing the SUV to roll into the median. As it rolled, Almaguer, who was not wearing her seat belt, was ejected from the vehicle and ended up on one of the eastbound lanes of  travel. A semi blocked eastbound traffic until rescue personnel and law enforcement could arrive on the scene. Until the scene could be cleared, eastbound traffic was re-routed to Avoca and then east toward Walnut before heading north again to I-80.

The accident, which occurred just before 9:30-p.m., remains under investigation.

A single-vehicle rollover accident has both eastbound lanes of Interstate 80 blocked just east the Avoca exit. Traffic was being rerouted off the interstate at Avoca..east to Walnut and back north to I80. The accident resulted in one person being ejected. Emergency crews and law enforcement were on the scene shortly after the crash was reported at around 9:30 pm.  Additional information will be released later.

The website 2015 Niche Ranking has released it’s list of theBest Public High Schools across the country. Niche ranked 14,431 high schools from across the nation, based on dozens of key statistics and 4.6 million opinions from 280,000 students and parents. A high ranking indicates that the school is an exceptional academic institution with a diverse set of high-achieving students who rate their experience very highly. In Iowa, the Corning High School ranked in the top five.

An additional 834 schools received a grade but were not eligible for ranking. The list includes magnet, charter, and online schools. In Iowa, West Senior High School in Iowa City was ranked number one on the list, followed by Ames High School in second place. Waukee Senior High School placed third, Corning fourth, and Iowa City High, fifth.

Elsewhere in southwest Iowa, Treynor Middle School/High School placed 33rd in the survey, West Harrison 38th, Carroll High came in at number 49, Tri-Center was 57th, Guthrie Center was three-quarters of the way down the list at number 75. And coming in at number 81 was West Central Valley/Stuart.

See the full list and methodology here:

https://k12.niche.com/rankings/public-high-schools/best-overall/s/iowa/?source=fba_hs_ks&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=RankingsList&utm_term=RLP