Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:45 a.m. CDT
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Ending a case that’s been called a remarkable injustice, prison officials have dropped all sanctions imposed on an Iowa inmate for his role in an alleged 2009 gang rape that he says never happened. The decision by the Iowa Department of Corrections is a victory for Joe Byrd, who had denied involvement in the alleged attack through 7 ½ years of hearings and appeals. Department officials will expunge the discipline from Byrd’s record as if the case never happened, shaving time off his sentence.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A former Iowa Senate Republican Caucus aide has testified in her sexual harassment lawsuit that sex, race and sexual orientation were regular topics of conversations and jokes in the office. The Des Moines Register reports that 39-year-old Kirsten Anderson testified in her lawsuit Tuesday. Much of her testimony focused on the behavior of a male senior analyst whom she said in 2010 seemed angry and daily referred to women using an obscenity.
WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Officials have identified a woman whose body was pulled from the Wapsipinicon River last month. The Courier reports that the Iowa State Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed the body found June 15 is that of 47-year-old Rhonda Apfel, of Waterloo. Dr. Jonathan Thompson with the state examiner’s office says the cause of death hasn’t been determined and is pending further tests.
BURLINGTON, Iowa (AP) — Another man has been sentenced to prison in connection to a Burlington shooting that police suspect was prompted by a still-unsolved homicide. The Hawk Eye reports that Holland Ewing Jr., of Chicago, was sentenced Monday to 10 years. Police say the three conspired to shoot into a house where they thought the killer of their friend, Breon Combs, was. Combs also lived in Chicago.