Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republican Joni Ernst has won Iowa’s open U.S. Senate seat, beating four-term Democratic Congressman Bruce Braley. Ernst, a state senator and lieutenant colonel in the Iowa National Guard, was little known when she announced her Senate bid. Billing herself as a mother, soldier and conservative, Ernst gained attention through television ads and easily won the Republican nomination. She takes a seat held by Democrat Tom Harkin since 1985 and helps to create a GOP majority in the U.S. Senate.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — U.S. Representative Steve King, a Republican known nationally for his outspoken opposition to the Obama administration, has been elected to a seventh House term representing northwest Iowa. Voters elected King on Tuesday over Democrat Jim Mowrer, a military veteran from Boone who also worked as a civilian in the Pentagon.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Northwest Iowa farmer Bill Northey has been elected to a third term as Iowa’s agriculture secretary. Voters Tuesday elected the Republican Northey over Democrat Sherrie Taha, a sculptor from Des Moines. Northey, who farms near Spirit Lake, has served as agriculture secretary since 2008.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Democrat Michael Fitzgerald has won his ninth term as Iowa treasurer, defeating former conservative radio host Sam Clovis. Voters re-elected Fitzgerald on Tuesday to the office he’s held since 1983.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa Republicans are hanging onto their majority in the state House. All 100 House members stand for election every two years, and voters on Tuesday elected enough Republicans for the GOP to extend its control. The party has held a House majority since 2010. As the majority party, the Republicans will lead House committees and control which measures come up for debate.

The House GOP will likely work closely with Republican Gov. Terry Branstad, who also won re-election Tuesday. Republicans gained control of the House in the year when Branstad also was elected governor for a fifth term after a 12-year absence.

The state Senate has been narrowly controlled by Democrats.

Authorities in Council Bluffs are searching for a man who robbed a Casey’s General Store Tuesday night. Sgt. Dave Dawson with the Council Bluffs Police Dept. says at around 8:30-p.m., a black male in his early 20’s, entered the store at 701 32nd Ave and came into contact with the on-duty clerk. The man displayed what the clerk believed to be an automatic handgun that was tucked into the suspect’s waistband.

The suspect demanded all the cash in the register and fled on foot southbound with an undetermined amount of cash. The man was described as being about 6-feet 1-inch tall, and weighing about 130-pounds. He wore dark colored clothing.

Anyone with information about the crime is asked to contact Crimestoppers at 712-328-7867.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – David Young, a longtime aide to U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, has been elected in Iowa’s 3rd district. Voters on Tuesday elected Young, a Republican, over Democrat Staci Appel, a former state legislator.

Young took an unusual path to his House victory. He first was a candidate for U.S. Senate but switched to the 3rd district race when incumbent Republican Rep. Tom Latham announced he’d retire. Young finished fifth in the primary, but won the nomination at a special convention.

In the campaign, Young fended off arguments by Appel that after working for two decades in Washington, he was more beholden to lobbyists and big donors than to Iowans. Young responded that his Washington experience meant he could be effective on his first day in the Capitol.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Republican Mary Mosiman has been elected to her first full term as Iowa auditor. Voters Tuesday chose Mosiman, who was appointed to the position in 2013, over Democrat Jon Neiderbach. Gov. Terry Branstad appointed Mosiman after longtime Auditor David Vaudt resigned to become chairman of a national nonprofit accounting board. She was working as deputy secretary of state when she was appointed auditor.

In her campaign, Mosiman called for expanding an annual state budget analysis in 2016 to include money from more sources. She also wants to reduce fraud in government through education and more outreach to local officials.

Neiderbach, an attorney from Windsor Heights, sought more details for the public about government spending.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa voters have elected Democrat Tom Miller to another four years as attorney general over Republican Adam Gregg. For Miller, his victory Tuesday marked the ninth time he’s won election as attorney general. He’s served in the position since being first elected in 1978, except for four years in the 1990s after a failed bid for governor.

In his campaign, Miller emphasized his work on consumer protection issues, including pursuing businesses that run deceptive member buying clubs. He says he wants to prosecute more cases involving human trafficking.

Gregg called for protecting families by creating a division that would prosecute crimes against children and focus on issues such as human trafficking and cyber bullying.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Republican Joni Ernst has won Iowa’s open U.S. Senate seat, beating four-term Democratic Congressman Bruce Braley. Ernst, a state senator and lieutenant colonel in the Iowa National Guard, was little known when she announced her Senate bid. Billing herself as a mother, soldier and conservative, Ernst gained attention through television ads and easily won the Republican nomination.

Ernst worked to link Braley to Washington dysfunction, and fended off his arguments that she was too conservative for Iowa. She supports shutting down the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Education and backed a “personhood” amendment that would outlaw abortion.

Her election Tuesday ends Iowa’s place among states that haven’t elected a woman to Congress or as governor. She takes a seat held by Democrat Tom Harkin since 1985.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – U.S. Rep. Steve King, a Republican known nationally for his outspoken opposition to the Obama administration, has been elected to a seventh House term representing northwest Iowa. Voters elected King on Tuesday over Democrat Jim Mowrer, a military veteran from Boone who also worked as a civilian in the Pentagon.

Mowrer argued King is too conservative for the sprawling district, which stretches over 39 counties, but voters again backed the Republican, who is known for his fiery rhetoric about issues from illegal immigration to the federal health care law. King notes his Republican colleagues call him “the happy warrior.”

In his campaign, King again called for repeal of the Affordable Care Act, changing Medicare to allow younger participants to receive vouchers and cutting taxes while reducing business regulations.