Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa agency whose power to remove problem officers was recently expanded generally has taken years to ban those who commit serious crimes and rarely punishes officers for improper policing alone. Records show the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy Council has sought to decertify 17 officers in the last 2½ years after determining they had committed crimes or misconduct that warranted their removal from the profession. An Associated Press review found that most of those officers had been found guilty of felonies, domestic violence or other crimes that disqualify them from working in law enforcement. Only one officer since 2018 has been decertified for improper police work.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa public health data indicates the state has surpassed 700 deaths from the coronavirus and known additional positive cases have jumped by 493 in the last 24 hours. Data shows the state with 27,555 known positive cases of coronavirus on Friday, about 9.8% of those tested overall. Seven additional deaths reported in the last 24 hours put the state at 701 total known deaths since state officials began tracking the virus in March. Counties showing significant increases in known positive cases in recent days include Story and Johnson, where local health officials have attributed the increase to young adults in college communities with increasingly active bar scenes.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed into law a bill that limits the secretary of state’s ability to send absentee ballot requests to all registered voters. The change signed into law Thursday followed a record turnout in this year’s primary election, largely because of a surge in absentee voting. Senate Republicans pushed the measure through the legislature barely a week after a huge primary turnout, as Secretary of State Paul Pate sent ballot requests to all voters because of concerns in-person voting could be dangerous during the coronavirus pandemic. If the coronavirus persists and Pate wants to mail ballot applications to voters before the November election, the measure that Reynolds signed would require approval of the Republican-run legislature.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds told President Donald Trump that his is “an administration of action” that is identifying barriers and gaps for U.S. workers and finding solutions. Reynolds is a member of the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board, which Trump established by executive order last year. Trump’s daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross chair the panel. Video provided by the White House includes Reynolds praising Trump during a Friday visit to the White House for creating the board. The panel’s goal is to develop strategies for improving the workforce.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Opposition from lobbyists for the liquor and restaurant industries helped kill a price increase on Iowa booze that was intended to discourage problem drinking. The Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division announced June 5 that it would implement a price floor for liquor products beginning July 1. The plan would have set a minimum unit price for liquor based on bottle size and alcohol by volume.

Emails released Friday show that the Iowa Restaurant Association, representatives of national liquor brands and one of Iowa’s largest distributors all raised concerns about the change. The division abruptly withdrew the plan on June 12.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds told President Donald Trump that his is “an administration of action” that is identifying barriers and gaps for U.S. workers and finding solutions. Reynolds is a member of the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board, which Trump established by executive order last year.

Trump’s daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross chair the panel. Video provided by the White House includes Reynolds praising Trump during a Friday visit to the White House for creating the board. The panel’s goal is to develop strategies for improving the workforce.

(Radio Iowa) – The upcoming Independence Day holiday would ordinarily be a very busy one for vacationing Iowans, but a new estimate finds travel will be down about 15-percent this summer, compared to last year. Mark Peterson, a spokesman for Triple-A Iowa, says the COVID-19 pandemic has more people itching to get out and go, but fewer of them are expected to hit the road, just to be on the safe side.

“No, it won’t be as busy, it’s going to be down,” Peterson says. “People are still going to be concerned and conservative in the way they address some of their travel. It’s kind of like a wait-and-see attitude.” Airports in Iowa and at various destinations will be nearly vacant. Leisure air travel is predicted to be down 74-percent between July and September from a year ago. Worse yet, travel by rail, bus or cruise ship is expected to fall 86-percent for the quarter, compared to 2019.

With people avoiding airports and hotels, Iowa recreational vehicle dealers are reporting record sales and rentals. “More people want to be a little safer, a little more inclusive, when they go out,” Peterson says. “If they’re going to spend the night someplace, they know that the place they’re going to stay is going to be safe. They know that the RV is going to be the best way to go so, yes, they are being used a tad more this year.” While the interstates and highways are more sparsely traveled these days, he warns that’s not an invitation for motorists to ignore the speed limit.

“There aren’t as many cars and the road’s a little bit open and all of the sudden, we seem to be having people traveling a tad bit faster,” Peterson says. “We’re getting record numbers of vehicles traveling in excess of 100 miles per hour.” Road trips in cars are still popular for those who are traveling, accounting for 97-percent of the favored modes of transportation. Car trips are expected to see the smallest decrease in travel volume of just three-percent year-over-year.

(Radio Iowa) — Governor Kim Reynolds has signed a bill into law that changes the rules for awarding state grants to businesses that promise to expand broadband service. A spokesman for the governor says five MILLION dollars will be distributed in the next 12 months. In addition, the state will use 85 million dollars in FEDERAL pandemic response money for broadband projects. That block of money is to be distributed based on federal guidelines. Representative Ray “Bubba” Sorenson of Greenfield says up to 35 percent of the project costs can be covered by the STATE grant money. “The Empower Rural Iowa Broadband Grant Fund will award grants based on a competitive basis that is weighed towards providing faster speeds and serving the un-served and underserved areas,” Sorenson says.

Senator Rich Taylor says service at his home just outside of Mount Pleasant is very limited.“If we really want to keep our kids out in our communities, we’ve got to provide better internet service for them,” Taylor says.

The new law Reynolds signed this week directs state officials to draw up new, more accurate maps showing broadband speeds so it’s clear where internet access is slow or non-existent.