Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:33 a.m. CDT
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Construction is expected to begin next year on a multi-million dollar trail connecting Sioux City and Le Mars. The Sioux City Journal reports that the estimated cost of building the 16-mile PlyWood trail is $18 million. Lesley Bartholomew with the PlyWood Trail Committee says the trail connecting Plymouth and Woodbury counties should be completed by 2025. The committee is seeking state and federal grants to complete the project.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Drake University says it is selling or leasing more than four acres of land on the east edge of its Des Moines campus to a developer for construction of apartments, townhomes, commercial space and a parking garage. Drake President Marty Martin said Monday the proposed development valued at more than $63 million will help create a “walkable, vibrant hub of retail and restaurant options” for the private university located northwest of city’s central business district.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A court challenge to a 2017 law that changes voting in Iowa has begun. The trial that began Monday in Polk County District Court in Des Moines is focused on portions of the law that require a voter to show an ID at the polls before voting, require an ID number on absentee ballots and allow election officials to throw out absentee ballots if election workers were to decide the voter’s signature doesn’t match those on file. A lawsuit says the law makes it too hard for some people to vote.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Former Pennsylvania congressman Joe Sestak has become the latest Democrat to enter the presidential race. The retired Navy admiral who calls himself “Admiral Joe” on his campaign website joins a crowded Democratic field seeking the nomination to challenge President Donald Trump. He was launching his longshot candidacy Sunday afternoon at a veterans’ museum in Waterloo, Iowa.