Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:30 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling that said Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad acted within his constitutional authority when he vetoed funding for two state-run mental health care facilities last year and closed them. Twenty legislators and the largest state employee union sued Branstad claiming a state law requires Iowa to have four mental health care institutes and limits Branstad’s ability to close the facilities by vetoing the money to run them approved by lawmakers.

TAMA, Iowa (AP) – Law enforcement officials say a 23-year-old central Iowa mother who vanished in 2000 is believed to be the victim of a homicide. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation says agents have concluded Cora Okonski’s “disappearance was not voluntary.” Authorities are reclassifying Okonski as a homicide victim rather than a missing person, and several agencies are investigating.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A Des Moines woman has been arrested on suspicion of embezzling more than $82,000 from the Substance Abuse Treatment Unit of Central Iowa over a two-year period. The Des Moines Register reports that 36-year-old Amy Howell was arrested Wednesday and charged with theft, ongoing criminal conduct and forgery. Howell remained in the Marshall County Jail on Wednesday and could not be reached for comment.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – A Nebraska man has pleaded guilty to amended Iowa charges of indecent contact with a child and has been given a suspended six-year prison sentence and two years of probation. The Daily Nonpareil reports that 50-year-old Michael Robinson, of Omaha, Nebraska, entered the plea Tuesday, the day before his trial was set to begin. Authorities say Robinson inappropriately touched the girl from the time she was about 10 until she was 15.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A Nebraska man has pleaded guilty to amended Iowa charges of indecent contact with a child and has been given a suspended six-year prison sentence and two years of probation. The Daily Nonpareil reports that 50-year-old Michael Robinson, of Omaha, Nebraska, entered the plea Tuesday, the day before his trial was set to begin.

Robinson had originally been charged with several counts of third-degree sexual abuse stemming from several incidents spanning from 2007 to 2012. Council Bluffs police say that at that time, Robinson was in a relationship with a relative of the victim. Another relative reported her suspicions of sexual abuse to Iowa Child Protective Services in March 2015.

Authorities say Robinson inappropriately touched the girl from the time she was about 10 until she was 15.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A northwest Iowa woman has been given probation and suspended jail time for biting and tearing her husband’s lower lip when she feigned desire for a kiss. The Sioux City Journal reports 60-year-old Carol Smith pleaded not guilty Tuesday to domestic abuse assault. A charge of willful injury was dismissed.

The documents say the incident occurred in the couple’s Sioux City home on May 24 last year. She approached him for a kiss but then bit him instead. Police say Smith’s husband required plastic surgery.

The judge gave Smith two years of probation, suspended all but 60 days of a 365-day jail sentence and ruled that Smith may serve 120 days on an electronic monitoring device in lieu of serving the jail time. He also fined her $315.

Genelle Deist, Chair of the Audubon County Community Foundation, has  announced that $39,000 in grants was awarded to Audubon County nonprofit agencies.  With the grants, the Audubon County Community Foundation has distributed over $1.5 million in grants and scholarships over the last 19 years.

The following nonprofit organizations, which submitted applications to the Audubon County Community Foundation by the September 1st deadline, were awarded grants by the Audubon County Board of Directors:

• Audubon Community Cinema – $15,000 for a screen, projection and sound equipment, seats and wall covering at the Rose Movie Theater.
• Audubon Recreation Foundation – $10,000 for funding to build a recreation center.
• The City of Exira – $2,000 for a sign at the east entrance to the community.
• The Exira Community Club – $10,000 to complete the renovation of the Rec. Center.
• Exira Fire & EMS Association – $2,000 to purchase and install and automatic standby generator at the fire hall, for emergencies.

Nonprofit representatives receiving grant awards: 1st row from left to right: Lexi Christensen and Peggy Tuft, City of Exira; Dillon and Alex Clemsen, Exira Fire & EMS Association; Linda Blomme, Audubon Community Cinema; Abby Rasmussen, Exira Community Club. Back row: Audubon County Community Foundation board members Shelley Burr and Genelle Deist (Chair).

The amount available included $2,000 from the Leon and Iva Milliman Endowed Fund, $2,500 from the Charles T. and Kathleen K. Manatt Endowed Fund, $650 from the Audubon State Bank/Stephen Garst Endowed Fund, $1,000 from the Audubon Masonic Association Endowed Fund, $450 from the Merle and Norma Petersen Endowed Fund, and $450 from the Fred and Evelyn Nissen Endowed Fund for Audubon.

All grantees met the criteria as Audubon County nonprofit agencies or organizations with charitable missions in the areas of civic, cultural, health, education and social services.  Only organizations providing services in Audubon County were eligible.

Audubon County agency representatives received their checks on November 9th.  During brief check distribution activities Deist commended the nonprofit agencies for their individual efforts to provide a better quality of life for the residents of Audubon County.