Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The number of people hospitalized with the coronavirus in Iowa set another record as the recent surge in cases continued. The state said 1,279 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Iowa on Saturday, up from 1,261 the day before. Iowa also reported 4,432 new cases and 13 additional deaths as of Sunday morning to give the state 184,685 cases and 1,985 deaths. Over the past week in Iowa, one out of every 95 people in the state was diagnosed with COVID-19, and the rate of new cases in the state remained the third-highest in the nation,

BETTENDORF, Iowa (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. Roger Jepsen who represented Iowa in Washington D.C. in the early 1980s has died. The 91-year-old Republican died Friday at a hospice facility in Bettendorf, Iowa. U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley said Jepsen served the state well during his single term in the Senate from 1979 to 1985. While in Congress, Jepsen led the Joint Economic Committee of Congress and served on the Armed Services and Agriculture committees. After losing his re-election bid to Democrat Tom Harkin, Jepsen was appointed chairman of the National Credit Union Administration Board and helped oversee more than 14,000 credit unions nationwide from 1985 until 1993.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — A Dubuque firefighter is suing the city because she says she has endured sexual harassment on the job since she started in 2011. Jami Boss cites a number of incidents in her lawsuit including being told by a lieutenant that she was only hired because she was a girl. Boss said male firefighters used the women’s restroom and sometimes walked in on Boss while she was in there. And in one incident, a coworker shoved his hand down the back of Boss’ pants, according to the lawsuit. City officials denied most of the allegations in a formal response to the lawsuit

ELMWOOD, Neb. (AP) — The biggest reason coronavirus infections are soaring in the Midwest isn’t because residents don’t understand the dangers of the virus or how to protect themselves. It’s because many of them aren’t that concerned. In much of the region, as in other pockets of the country, some look at statistics showing that most people quickly recover from the virus and ask, why should I stop living my life the way I want to avoid catching an illness that probably won’t hurt me much anyway? The perception, coupled with a lack of government mandates requiring masks and other safety precautions, is a huge concern for local public health officials. They worry that soaring caseloads will soon overwhelm their hospitals.

BETTENDORF, Iowa (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. Roger Jepsen who represented Iowa in Washington D.C. in the early 1980s has died. The 91-year-old Republican died Friday at a hospice facility in Bettendorf, Iowa. U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley said Jepsen served the state well during his single term in the Senate from 1979 to 1985. While in Congress, Jepsen led the Joint Economic Committee of Congress and served on the Armed Services and Agriculture committees.

After losing his re-election bid to Democrat Tom Harkin, Jepsen was appointed chairman of the National Credit Union Administration Board and helped oversee more than 14,000 credit unions nationwide from 1985 until 1993.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — A Dubuque firefighter is suing the city because she says she has endured sexual harassment on the job since she started in 2011. Jami Boss cites a number of incidents in her lawsuit including being told by a lieutenant that she was only hired because she was a girl.

Boss said male firefighters used the women’s restroom and sometimes walked in on Boss while she was in there. And in one incident, a coworker shoved his hand down the back of Boss’ pants, according to the lawsuit. City officials denied most of the allegations in a formal response to the lawsuit

The Griswold, Exira-EHK and Audubon School Boards all have (separate) meetings set to take place Monday evening. In Griswold, the Board will elect a Board President and Vice President, set the regular Board meeting date and Time, and possibly take action on a Mask Mandate, after some discussion. On a related note, the Griswold School Board will discuss, and possibly act on Remote Learning Limitations, and consider cancelling Wrestling Cheerleading for 2020-21. Their meeting takes place 5:30-p.m. in the Conference Room.

In Elk Horn, the Exira-EHK School Board will gather at 6-p.m. for a meeting in the Conference Room, as well. On their agenda is personnel matters, including the resignations of: Rick Nielsen, Instrumental Music; Andrea Nulle, Asst. Volleyball Coach; and Doug Newton, Junior High Football. The will also act on hiring: Trent Megchelsen and Alex Hansen, JH Boys Basketball; Andrea Nulle and Courtney Peppe, JH Girls Basketball. The Exira-EHK Board will elect new officers, as well as approve early graduation requests, and take action on facial coverings, among other items of business.

And, the Audubon School Board will gather at 6:30-p.m. Monday in the High School Board Room, during a Work Session set aside for Policy Review. They’ll begin their regular meeting at 7-p.m. with a Public Hearing on the proposed issuance of about $4.2-million in School Infrastructure, Sales, Services and Use Tax Revenue, and Refunding Bonds. Afterward, they’ll adjourn the retiring Board and elect new officers. Their action items include a Resolution supporting the aforementioned proposed issuance of about $4.2-million in Bonds.

DES MOINES – The Iowa Finance Authority and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources has announced that 25 municipalities with current State Revolving Fund loans for water quality projects (Including Lewis and Stanton), will save a total of more than $12 million in interest over the remaining life of their loans as a result of their interest rate being reduced from 3% to 1.75%. The City of Lewis can expect to save $13,387, according to the IFA, while Stanton can expect a savings of $31,668.

The State Revolving Fund is one of Iowa’s primary sources for financing projects designed to improve Iowa’s water quality. Two funds, one for drinking water and one for wastewater and pollution control, have provided low-cost financing to projects in nearly 700 Iowa communities in addition to farmers, watershed groups and others for water quality projects. The program is jointly administered by the Iowa Finance Authority and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Besides offering communities low interest rates to finance water infrastructure projects, the State Revolving Fund offers other benefits, such as lower up-front costs and no reserve requirement.  For more information on the State Revolving Loan program, visit IowaSRF.com.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a 27-year-old woman was shot and killed Saturday in Waterloo. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office deputies who heard gunshots in the area found the woman with one gunshot wound inside a residence shortly after midnight. The woman was taken to a local hospital where she died from her injuries.

Her name was not released pending notification of family members. Police arrested a 36-year-old Waterloo woman on a pending charge of first-degree murder.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — The mother of a missing 10-year-old Iowa girl joined other supporters in a march Saturday to raise community awareness of her disappearance. Breasia Terrell of Davenport was reported missing July 10 after going to spend the previous night at an apartment with her half-brother and his father, 47-year-old Henry Dinkins.

The Quad-City Times reports that girl’s mother, Aishia Lankford, held a poster filled with photos of herself and her daughter during the march. Police have not made any arrests related to Terrell’s disappearance.

DES MOINES, IA – A man from Polk County was sentenced last Tuesday (Nov. 10th) in Des Moines, to serve 240 months (20-years) in prison, for receipt of child pornography. 33-year old Robert Joe Hennings, of Des Moines, was also ordered to forfeit the electronic media used in the offense, pay $15,000 in restitution to victims, and pay $100 to the Crime Victims’ Fund. Hennings was also ordered to register as a sex offender after his release.

According to the record made at sentencing, Hennings collected in excess of 550,000 images of child pornography over a three-year period, including material involving sexual assaults on prepubescent minors, including an infant. The sentence was, in part, a reflection of the danger Hennings posed to children, based on the Court’s finding that he engaged in chats with others where he expressed his desire to have sex with boys younger than five years old and said he wanted to purchase a young prostitute under five years of age.

The case was a joint federal-state effort involving both the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation Task Force and the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa as part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Childhood” initiative, which was
started in 2006 as a nation-wide effort to combine law enforcement investigations and prosecutions, community action, and public awareness in order to reduce the incidence of sexual exploitation of children.

Any persons having knowledge of a child being sexually abused are encouraged to call the Iowa Sexual Abuse Hotline at 1-800-284-7821.