Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 2:40 a.m. CDT

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — The mayor of Waterloo ordered the city’s police chief Monday to focus on rebuilding public trust after several highly publicized missteps involving white officers’ interactions with black residents. They city’s first black mayor, Quentin Hart, said at a news conference that he would let Daniel Trelka keep his job, ending speculation that the chief would be forced out.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republican Gov. Terry Branstad says he doesn’t believe Hillary Clinton would support maintaining Iowa’s first-in-the-nation status during the presidential primary season, basing his opinion on her narrow win in the state in February. Branstad says he believes Donald Trump would keep Iowa first, though the Republican presidential nominee previously questioned the results of the state’s Republican caucus after he placed second behind Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Branstad’s son heads Trump’s Iowa campaign.

LAKE VIEW, Iowa (AP) — Authorities are investigating the death of a woman who was shot while sitting in the driver’s seat of a vehicle in northwest Iowa. The Sac County Sheriff’s Office says the shooting was reported Sunday morning around two miles east of Lake View. The office says a man in the front passenger seat was handling a loaded handgun when it went off. The woman died later at a Des Moines hospital.

SANDUSKY, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say 44 people were cited and one person was jailed during a weekend protest intended to block construction of a $3.8 billion, four-state oil pipeline in southeast Iowa. Thirty-eight adults were cited for trespassing and released after authorities removed them from the work site entrance of the Dakota Access Pipeline in Sandusky. Six juveniles were cited and released, and one person was held on charges of trespassing and interference with official acts.

A traffic stop Saturday morning in Pottawattamie County resulted in the arrest of a man on drug charges. The Sheriff’s Office reports 21-year old Tanner Joseph Mathews, of Treynor, was taken into custody for Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. His arrest occurred after a deputy pulled over a 2007 Ford Fusion for speeding at around 3-a.m. Saturday, on Old Lincoln Highway at the intersection with the Old Mormon Bridge road.  14.5-grams of marijuana was recovered at the scene, along with marijuana pipes and a marijuana grinder.

The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office reports 5 people were arrested over the past few days. Today (Monday), 23-year old Daylan Gene Kleen, of Audubon, turned himself-in to the Sheriff’s Office on an outstanding warrant. Kleen faces charges that include Possession of Marijuana within 1,000 feet of a public park, Possession of Marijuana/1st offense, 4 counts of Possession of Prescription drugs, and removing labeling of a drug and altering a drug. The charges stem from an investigation into a traffic stop Sept. 14th near Highway 44 and Bluebird Avenue. A search warrant was also executed at Kleen’s residence in the 200 block of W. Broadway in Audubon on Sept. 15th. The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by K9 “Axel,” and the Audubon Police Department.

19-year old Tristin Lee River Stevens, of Audubon, also turned himself-in to the sheriff’s department today (Monday). Stevens was wanted on an warrant for Child Endangerment issued by the Iowa State Patrol. The charge stems from an investigation into a traffic stop in Audubon on July 8th. Stevens was seen by a magistrate and released, with a preliminary hearing set for Oct. 6th.

41-year old Mitchell Lee Zinke, of Gray, turned himself-in to the Audubon County Sheriff’s Office today (Monday), as well. Zinke was wanted on a warrant charging him with Theft in the 5th Degree, with regard to a check written on June 28th to a business in Audubon County. He pled guilty to the offense and was fined.

On Saturday (Sept. 17th), 21-year old Dustin Owen Ferguson, of Brayton, was arrested for OWI/1st offense, following a traffic stop in Exira. Ferguson was released after appearing before the magistrate. And, last Thursdsay (Sept. 15th), 50-year old Timothy Duane Smith, of Audubon, was charged with Driving While Barred. The charge was the result of an incident that occurred Sept. 4th. Smith was cited into court on Oct. 6th.

Police have identified three men involved in a vehicular assault at a baseball field in Des Moines. It happened Sunday morning at the Highland Park Little League complex. Polk County Sheriff’s deputies say 40-year-old Chad Winninger of Monroe was working at the complex with two other men, 49-year-old Dean Bradham of Sioux City and 56-year-old Edwin Sullivan of West Des Moines, when Winninger struck the two men with his truck before crashing into a concession stand. Winninger fought with responding officers before he was arrested. Bradham was not seriously injured, but Sullivan remains hospitalized in critical condition.

Photo courtesy Dsm PD

Winninger is facing charges of willful injury causing serious injury, willful injury causing bodily injury, criminal mischief 1st degree, and three counts of interference with official acts causing bodily injury.

(Radio Iowa)

The six Catholic colleges in Iowa are banding together to address the challenges facing private higher education. The Iowa Catholic Collegiate Association will explore possible joint ventures and shared academic programs. Ham Shirvani, the president of Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, says the schools hope to see their economy of scale increase by joining forces. Shirvani says, “Each of these schools are small and therefore there are a lot of costs incurred when you are small.”

The coalition also includes: Clarke University and Loras College in Dubuque, Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids, Saint Ambrose University in Davenport and the Mercy College of Health Sciences in Des Moines. Shirvani says the schools see advantages to collaboration. “When you join forces, you suddenly become a major force,” Shirvani says. “Your economy of scale increases, your efficiency increases, you can serve the students better with a lower cost.”

Shirvani says savings may also come in jointly purchasing equipment and bringing in guest speakers as a group.

(Radio Iowa)