Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:47 a.m. CST

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A judge has sentenced a former treasurer of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska tribal council to five years of probation. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says U.S. District Court Judge Laurie Smith Camp on Monday sentenced 56-year-old Thomas Snowball of Winnebago to the probation as well as community service and $36,500 in restitution. Snowball had pleaded guilty earlier to theft from an Indian gaming establishment, related to unauthorized disbursements from the WinnaVegas casino in Sloan, Iowa.

TOLEDO, Iowa (AP) — A second trial has begun for an Iowa man, nearly three months after a judge overturned his first-degree murder conviction in the 2000 disappearance of a woman whose body has never been found. Attorneys gave opening arguments Monday in the retrial of Tait O. Purk, who was charged in connection with the disappearance of his fiancee Cora Okonski. A jury previously convicted Purk, but a judge found the verdict wasn’t backed by evidence. The case is now before Judge Ian Thornhill.

INDIANOLA, Iowa (AP) — Simpson College in Indianola says it will cover tuition costs of Iowa students whose families have an adjusted gross income of $60,000 or less. To qualify, students must be a 2018 Iowa high school graduate and state resident, submit a federal student aid application and have a 2016 adjusted gross income of $60,000 or less. They also must live on campus and pay room and board fees, which this year totaled $8,370.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s governor has ordered flags at state buildings to be lowered to half-staff to honor the Texas church shooting victims. Authorities say a lone gunman killed 26 people Sunday at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. Gov. Kim Reynolds’ order is in conjunction with President Donald Trump’s flag order.

Tax payments to the state were up significantly through the end of October, but some of that growth cannot be counted in the current budgeting year. State tax revenue was up 12 percent from July 1st through October 31st. Jeff Robinson, the senior fiscal analyst for the Legislative Services Agency, says “The revenue situation is not near as rosy as there are two significant issues to the growth posted through the end of October.”

Some of the money is being recorded as taxes due BEFORE July 1st. It erased some of the deficit in the last state budgeting year. Second, the Iowa Department of Revenue implemented a tax processing change. A significant amount of taxes came into the state treasury on October 31st rather than sometime in November. Robinson says when adjusting for those two issues, tax payments to the state were up about two-point-three percent for the past four months.

“The combination of individual income tax, sales tax, use tax and corporate income has produced modest growth through October 27th,” Robinson says. In mid-October, a three-member panel reduced its official prediction of state tax collections. If tax revenue does not grow significantly THIS November compared to LAST November, at least 35 million dollars will have to be cut from the current state budget.

(Radio Iowa)

INDIANOLA, Iowa (AP) — Simpson College in Indianola says it will cover tuition costs of Iowa students whose families have an adjusted gross income of $60,000 or less.

The Des Moines Register reports that the college announced its plan Monday, with Simpson President Jay Simmons saying in a statement, “There has been a lot of talk about making college affordable. We decided it was time to take action.”

Gary Steinke, president of the Iowa Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, say no other Iowa private college has such a program.

To qualify, students must be a 2018 Iowa high school graduate and state resident, submit a federal student aid application and have a 2016 adjusted gross income of $60,000 or less. They also must live on campus and pay room and board fees, which this year totaled $8,370.

Students would pay for any tuition increases.

OELWEIN, Iowa (AP) — Authorities in northeast Iowa are investigating the shooting death of a zebra. KCRG-TV reports Buchanan County Sheriff Bill Wolfgram confirmed the Oct. 31 shooting of the zebra in Oelwein, but he wouldn’t comment on a claim by the animal’s owner that a neighbor was too blame. Mike Henninger says he found the 2½-year-old zebra named Taz dead from a gunshot wound. The death came after months of threatening texts, photos and videos from a neighbor, including images of him shooting a stuffed zebra.

On Saturday night, a neighbor identified by Henninger called KCRG and denied killing the zebra. Wolfgram says an investigation of the shooting is continuing.

(DES MOINES) – Gov. Kim Reynolds ordered all flags in Iowa at half-staff effective immediately until sunset on Thursday, November 9, 2017, to honor those killed and injured in Sunday’s mass shooting at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. This order is in conjunction with President Donald Trump’s order that was issued Sunday. Flags will be at half-staff on the State Capitol Building and on flag displays in the Capitol Complex. Flags will also be at half-staff on all public buildings, grounds and facilities throughout the state.

Individuals, businesses, schools, municipalities, counties and other government subdivisions are encouraged to fly the flag at half-staff for the same length of time as a sign of respect.

A van that collided with a cow Saturday morning in Page County caught fire, but no one was injured. The Page County Sheriff’s Office was notified about the accident near the intersection of Highway 2 and Hackberry Avenue, at around 3:15-a.m.  Officials say 56-year old Carol Anthony Colton was driving a 1999 Ford E-350 Super Duty Econoline van eastbound on Highway 2, or about 7 miles east of Shenandoah, when a black cow entered the road and was struck by the van, which ended-up on fire. Damaged to the vehicle was estimated at $8,000.00. The cow, owned by Bruce Ketcham, was valued at $2,300.