A jury in Pottawattamie County, Tuesday, rendered a verdict in the case of a man charged in connection with a 2003 murder in Council Bluffs. The Daily NonPareil reports 36-year old James Cain Harris was found guilty of first-degree murder. The jury took almost seven hours to decide Harris’ fate  for his role in the stabbing death of Nelson Alvarez-Hernandez on July 31, 2003. Harris faces life in prison without the possibility of parole. Sentencing is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Aug. 20.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The bishop of the Des Moines Diocese has placed a former southwest Iowa priest on indefinite administrative leave after finding a decades-old allegation of sexual abuse of a minor was credible. The diocese said in a news release on Monday that Bishop Richard Pate has placed the Rev. Howard Fitzgerald on leave while the matter is forwarded to the Vatican. The Daily NonPareil reports Fitzgerald has served at several locations in southwest Iowa – most recently at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary in Glenwood from 2011-13. He also served at St. Albert High School from 1978-83 and at St. Peter’s Church and St. Francis Worship Center from 1986-90.

While on leave, Fitzgerald can’t function publicly as a priest. Pate also has asked him to not wear clerical garb. During the investigation, Pate had asked Fitzgerald to step aside from his responsibilities at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Indianola, Immaculate Conception Parish in St. Marys and at Simpson College.

Pates says he’s apologized to the victim. Officials say they have notified local law enforcement where the abuse allegedly occurred.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

NORTH LIBERTY, Iowa (AP) — Officials say a software error caused inaccurate bills to be sent to water and wastewater customers in North Liberty. City officials say the software error discovered Monday caused customers to be billed for only the minimum wastewater use in June, regardless of actual use. The software vendor used for bills failed to correctly input a rate table that sets parameters on how to bill usage. City staffers plan to work with the software vendor to spot check July bills for accuracy.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Two former Marines are raising money for a charity by kayaking the Mississippi River, from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico. Nic Doucette, of Jefferson, Wisconsin, and Gabe Vasquez, of Austin, Texas, stepped out of their kayaks Monday in Dubuque, just before severe weather hit. They’re raising money for the Semper Fi Fund, a nonprofit that gives financial help to injured service members. The men, both 27, hope to raise $25,000.

FAIRFAX, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have released the name of a man killed following severe weather in eastern Iowa. The Linn County Sheriff’s Office says 57-year-old David Lee Fry, of Cedar Rapids, was killed Monday afternoon after a building he was in collapsed in Fairfax. Authorities say strong winds in the area caused the building to collapse.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Cedar Rapids police say the body of a teenager swept into a storm drain has been found more than a mile away in a lake. Police announced Tuesday afternoon they had found the body of 17-year-old Logan Blake in Cedar Lake. He was in 3 feet of water, about 75 yards from the shore. Blake was with friends on the grounds of an elementary school when he was pulled into the drain by fast-moving water.

The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday evening, will hold a public hearing on a proposed Urban Revitalization Plan (URP) for the City of Atlantic. City Administrator Doug Harris said under the Urban Revitalization Act in Chapter 404 of the Code of Iowa, the Council is authorized to designate areas that have a substantial number of deteriorated or deteriorating structures as being qualified for designation as an Urban Revitalization Area (URA).

The objective is to revitalize slums and blighted areas and stop the spread of urban blight. The proposed URP makes a finding of widespread blight, and designates the entire area within the corporate limits of the City as an URA. Harris says the proposed URP would provide 5-year tax exemptions or abatements for all qualified improvements made to residential or commercial real estate that are completed on or before Dec. 31st, 2017.

Confusion he says, lies in the language in the proposed plan, which states abatements “may” be given retroactively. Bob Josten, the City’s legal counsel on these types of issues, has said Iowa Code specifies tax abatements can only be granted for projects that begin AFTER the adoption of an URP. Harris says the Council needs to ask questions and carefully consider the complex public policy, so the URP will effectively achieve objectives, yet be cost effective and not result in unwanted trade-offs or unintended consequences.

In other business, the Council will act on the issuance of a Notice of Violation of the City Ordinance with regard to five violations found after a property owner at 305 Cedar Street made a connection to the City’s Sanitary Sewer main. The Council is required to give official notice of the violations. They will also act on the 3rd and final reading of an Ordinance pertaining to “Airport Land Use and Height Overlay Zoning.” A public hearing on the Ordinance was held June 4th, during which there were no objections. If approved, it deregulates and restricts the height of structures, objects and growth of natural vegetation, as well as land uses within the vicinity of the Atlantic Municipal Airport, as required by the FAA.

The Atlantic City Council meeting begins at 5:30-p.m. Wednesday in their Chambers at City Hall.

The popular T-V show “Shark Tank” will host a casting call in central Iowa later this month. To start off season number six, it’ll be the first time the Emmy-nominated show has held its search for participants in Des Moines. The show has nothing to do with actual sharks. It’s all about business and pitching ideas. Aspiring entrepreneurs appear before a panel of billionaires, venture capitalists and real estate moguls, looking for funding.

The casting call will be held on Monday, July 14th, at the Iowa Events Center. Organizers say the first 500 entrepreneurs in line are guaranteed to be seen.

(Radio Iowa)