DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A court challenge to a 2017 law that changes voting in Iowa has begun before a judge. The nonjury trial that began Monday in Polk County District Court is focused on portions of the law that require a voter to show an ID at the polls before voting, require an ID number on absentee ballots and allow election officials to throw out absentee ballots if election workers were to decide the voter’s signature doesn’t match those on file.

The lawsuit filed by the League of United Latin American Citizens, a civil rights group, says the law — passed with only Republican votes in May 2017 — makes it too hard for some people to vote. The group wants the judge to permanently bar the state from enforcing the law. The Iowa Supreme Court temporarily forbade the state from implementing the absentee ballot provisions, pending a trial on the lawsuit.

ROCK VALLEY, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a Minnesota man drowned while swimming at a northwest Iowa campground. Rock Valley police say 31-year-old Anthony Boyenga went under the water Saturday afternoon while swimming with his children at the Rivers Bend Campground beach. A driver called to the scene found his body less than an hour later. Authorities say Boyenga lived in Ellsworth, Minnesota.

The City of Council Bluffs and the Iowa West Foundation have decided to cancel Loessfest 2019 due to the recent flooding. KETV in Omaha reports, the festival is held during Memorial Day weekend to help kick off summer. In April, it was moved to Labor Day weekend in hopes the park would be dry by then, but with this summer’s projected Missouri River levels, officials have decided to call off the festivities altogether.

In place of Loessfest, the City is working on planning a different community-wide celebration to be held at Bayliss Park over Labor Day weekend. Details have not yet been released.

MANCHESTER, Iowa (AP) — Two former hospital officials in northeast Iowa are accused of taking personal trips on hospital time and seeking expense reimbursement from the hospital. Delaware County court records say 61-year-old Lon Butikofer and 53-year-old Mike Briggs are charged with theft. Butikofer was chief executive officer of Regional Medical Center in Manchester. The Telegraph Herald reports that Briggs was the hospital’s system fund and development director.

Butikofer’s attorney, Mark Liabo, said Monday that his client would plead not guilty. Butikofer’s accused of stealing nearly $257,000 from January 2009 through March 15, 2017, by failing to properly record the personal trips as vacation or paid time off and by seeking reimbursement for the expenses.

Briggs is also accused of stealing more than $23,000 for failing to properly record personal trips as vacation or paid time off and by seeking reimbursement for expenses.

(Corrects gender on Leslie Skalberg) A man and woman from Red Oak were injured during a single-vehicle accident Sunday afternoon, west of Oakland. According to Pottawattamie County Chief Deputy Rob Ambrose, 72-year old Leslie Skalberg and his passenger, 63-year old Connie Skalberg were injured in the crash that happened on Highway 6 near 360th Street, at around 3:05-p.m., Sunday. Ambrose said Leslie Skalberg was driving a 2005 Chevy pickup driven when he suffered from an unknown medical condition.

Photo from the Minden Fire & Rescue Facebook page

The pickup went out of control and into the north ditch before becoming airborne and landing over a creek, about 60-to 70-feet away from the road. Rescue crews from Oakland and Minden worked to free the couple from the pickup. Ambrose said Connie Skalberg was flown to an area hospital by Midwest Medical Helicopter. Minden Rescue transported Leslie Skalberg to a local hospital for treatment of his injuries. Both were said to be in stable condition this (Monday) morning.

(Radio Iowa) — About five dozen farmers and union members gathered at the Labor Temple in Keokuk Sunday to call for more revisions in the U.S. Mexico Canada Trade Agreement. Carrie Duncan, a local officer in the Machinist Union, says the event highlighted important connections among America’s working class. “They try to divide us and our farmers and our labor, we all toil in many different ways,” she says.

The rally was organized by the Iowa Farmers Union and the Iowa A-F-L C-I-O. Duncan says the new deal to replace NAFTA will benefit corporations, not workers. “We’re still outsourcing jobs,” she says, “not keeping manufacturing jobs here in the United States.”

The Trump Administration is lobbying U.S. lawmakers to ratify the new deal before congress takes a month-long recess in August.

(Radio Iowa) — Iowans have a new tool to look up information on their drinking water wells. Researchers at the University of Iowa have built an interactive online map for residents, engineers and well drillers. U-I engineering professor David Cwiertny helped design the map so users can see how deep wells are dug and look for testing results on nitrates, bacteria and arsenic. Cwiertny says, “We’ve been testing for those for some time and can we get that data out there so people can see it, understand what’s been collected historically and help that to inform decisions about where wells might go, or maybe not want to go.”

The well forecasting system is now available on the website of the UI’s Hydroscience and Engineering program.  “That’s a win-win,” he says. “That’s a very useful benefit from this site, is not just to inform drillers but also help agencies figure out, here’s where we could use a little more information. Why don’t we now, based upon the historical record, go prioritize in that area?”

It’s estimated 300,000 Iowans rely on private wells for their drinking water. Free testing for potential contaminants is available through the Iowa Department of Public Health.

(Thanks to Kate Payne, Iowa Public Radio)