IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A federal judge says the University of Iowa was wrong to strip a Christian student group of its registered status after the organization barred a gay student from a leadership position.
The Des Moines Register reports that U.S. District Judge Stephanie M. Rose granted a permanent injunction banning the university from rejecting the status of the group, Business Leaders in Christ. Rose says the university unevenly applies its human rights policy by allowing other groups to limit membership based on religious views, race, sex and other protected characteristics.

Business Leaders in Christ said it denied the student’s request because the group requires leaders to affirm a statement of faith rejecting homosexuality. The university says it plans to follow the court’s decision.

On January 16, 2019, Shopko, a leading operator of general merchandise stores throughout the Central, Western and Pacific Northwest regions of the U.S., announced that it, along with its subsidiaries, has filed voluntary petitions for a court-supervised financial restructuring under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. Their updated (area) list of stores that are closing now, and their estimated last day of operation, includes:

• Cherokee (March 2nd)
• Clarinda and Onawa (April 14th)
• Audubon, Greenfield, Missouri Valley and Mt. Ayr  (May 5th)
• Glenwood (May 12th)

In order to position the Company for future success, Shopko has announced that it will be closing an additional 38 stores, relocating over 20 Optical centers to freestanding locations, and conducting an auction process for its pharmacy business.

Glenwood Police report one arrest took place, Wednesday. 34-year old Ivan Houser, of Glenwood, was arrested for OWI/1st offense. He posted a $1,000 cash or surety bond, and was released.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa regulatory board won’t let Alliant Energy charge customers who decline to have smart meters used to track how much electricity they use. The Iowa Utility Board voted Wednesday to reject Alliant’s request to charge $15 a month to customers who opt out of the smart meter program. The board told Alliant to file a revised rate request that lets allows customers opt out without facing a fee. The board says Alliant already charges customers for meter reading in its current rates.

The board didn’t bar Alliant from seeking a future charge in a broader rate case. Alliant says its smart meter system uses two-way wireless communication to retrieve meter data and funnel it through a secure and proprietary network.

Officials with the Creston Police Department say two men were arrested on separate warrants, Wednesday. At around 7-p..m., 36-year old Richard William Putney, of Leon, was arrested on an outside agency warrant for Contempt of Court, on an original, Driving While Barred, charge. Putney was transferred to the Decatur County Jail and held without bond, pending an appearance before the magistrate. And, at around 11:45-a.m., Wednesday, Creston Police arrested 19-year old Max Dustin Kilgore, of Creston. He was taken into custody at the Union County Law Enforcement Center on an outside agency warrant for Failure to Appear in court. Kilgore bonded-out, and was released from custody.

(7-a.m. News)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Polk County sheriff’s detective convicted of punching an Ankeny firefighter in a bar fracas has left the sheriff’s force. The Des Moines Register reports that John Negrete sent a letter announcing his retirement from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office on Dec. 3, three days after Sheriff Bill McCarthy wrote that he planned to fire Negrete. McCarthy retired in mid-December.

Court records say Negrete and his girlfriend, Tereasa Sunberg, were sentenced to a year of probation and given deferred judgments at their sentencings in September. The deferred judgments means their convictions can be removed from court records if they complete their probation terms.

The two were convicted of assault causing injury. Authorities say Negrete punched an Ankeny firefighter, Ross Frank, and Sunberg punched Frank’s wife, Danielle.