Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

(Information in the following story is from: Quad-City Times, http://www.qctimes.com)

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — The Rhythm City Casino in Davenport is reopening after being closed for two weeks because of flooding concerns along the Mississippi River. General manager Mo Hyder says the riverboat casino is reopening Tuesday morning because floodwaters have receded. That has allowed “clean and safe access” for employees and customers.

TOLEDO, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa woman has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the stabbing death of her daughter-in-law. Ginger Jefferson was given the mandatory sentence Monday in Tama County District Court for the September death of Kerry O’Clair-Jefferson. Jurors convicted her of first-degree murder in May.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Iowa officials say a Waterloo man whose life sentence for murder was commuted by the governor has been released from prison. Records show Rasberry Williams was paroled effective Monday. Williams was convicted of first-degree murder in the 1974 shooting death of a man outside a Waterloo pool hall. Over the decades, supporters argued that Williams had been a model inmate.

ALLISON, Iowa (AP) — Officials are monitoring cleanup of a fertilizer spill in northern Iowa that dumped hundreds of gallons of liquid. The state Department of Natural Resources says an employee of the Farmers Cooperative in Allison was pulling a tank of 32 percent liquid nitrogen fertilizer on Thursday when a seam on the tank failed. More than 800 gallons of the fertilizer spilled onto a city street. The liquid was then washed into a storm sewer that reached a nearby stream.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Conservative fundraising group American Crossroads is filling in for Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Joni Ernst while she participates in Iowa National Guard training for two weeks. Group spokesman Paul Lindsay tells The Associated Press they’re spending $415,000 on a 30-second television ad that begins Tuesday.

Crossroads is spending another $3.1 million in Iowa as part of a $20 million blitz in Senate battlegrounds as the GOP tries to take control of the chamber. The ad mentions Democratic candidate and U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley’s critique of Republican Sen. Charles Grassley’s qualifications to be Senate Judiciary Chairman. The ad calls Ernst, a state senator, “a better choice.”

Crossroads is a super PAC that is unaffiliated with Ernst’s campaign and not bound by federal laws limiting contributions. It is required to disclose donors.

An electrical short is being blamed for a large fire in western Iowa on July 4. Jeff Cullen, an inspector with the Iowa State Fire Marshal’s office, says the fire destroyed a building in downtown Audubon. “The most likely cause we’re coming up with right now is there was an electrical issue behind one of the appliances in the kitchen area in the rear of the building,” Cullen said.

The fire was reported around noon on July 4. Audubon firefighters were joined by crews from Atlantic, Brayton, Adair, Exira, Manning, and Templeton. Many of the fire trucks had been participating in a parade in Exira. No one was injured. Audubon’s mayor said the top of the building was vacant and the lower floor was used primarily for storage.

(Radio Iowa)

(Updates to say fire was electrical in nature)

An investigator from the State Fire Marshal’s Office has determined a fire late Monday morning at a business in Griswold was caused by an apparent electrical problem. The call about flames inside the building at 615 Main Street (Southwest Iowa Tiling) came in at around 11:50-a.m. Griswold Fire Captain Dustin Wyman was one of the first firefighters from Griswold to arrive. He describes what the scene looked like.

Evidence of the damage caused by the fire at SW IA Tiling in Griswold.

Photo courtesy Cass Co. Deputy Bill Ayers.

Wyman said there was a large amount of black smoke coming from the east side of the building. One initial attack, there were windows broken out on the south side, with smoke and flames pouring out. All the employees escaped and were not injured.

Inside the building were a number of vehicles, tools and welding tanks. One of the vehicles, a pickup truck converted into a service vehicle, was heavily damaged by the flames. Firefighters from Lewis, Elliott, Red Oak and Atlantic were called to help fight the flames and provide extra water. Red Oak and Atlantic brought their Quint, or ladder trucks to the scene.

The flames were knocked down within about 30-to 45-minutes. The building was a total loss.

Firefighters with Griswold Fire and Rescue, Lewis Fire, and Atlantic Fire and Rescue’s ladder truck, have responded to a report of flames in the building at 615 Main Street in Griswold, the site of Southwest Iowa Tiling. The call was dispatched at 11:49-a.m., Monday. Red Oak fire has also been paged out to help with the blaze.

No other details are currently available.