DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A food distribution company has agreed to pay $1.9 million to settle a lawsuit that claims it conspired with others over several years to restrain the bidding process for selling food at schools across Iowa. The lawsuit says Martin Brothers Distributing Company conspired with Iowa Educators Corporation and its successor, the Iowa Association for Educational Purchasing, to monopolize the business of food distribution at hundreds of schools over a 14-year period.

Martin Brothers and the others deny they did anything wrong. They say the process was fair, and the agreement was reached to avoid litigation costs. An eligible individual can file a claim to receive up to $3.50 per student per year, for a maximum of $50 per student.

For a list of school districts, years covered by the settlement, and a claim form, go to: http://iowaschoolfoodsettlement.com/

(Updated 6-a.m.) A-P/Radio Iowa

A doctor who became infected with Ebola while working in Liberia has arrived at a Nebraska hospital for treatment. Dr. Rick Sacra (SAY-kruh) was driven by ambulance to the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha after landing a little after 6 a.m. Friday at Offutt Air Force Base just south of Omaha. His ambulance went into a hospital receiving bay and vanished from public view at around 6:40-a.. He will begin treatment in the hospital’s 10-bed special isolation unit. Dr. Mark Rupp is medical director of infectious control at the hospital in Omaha where Dr. Rick Sacra will be treated. “I am very confident that we can care for this patient safely,” Rupp said during a news conference in Omaha on Thursday. “This is a specially designed unit. It’s locked. It’s secured. It’s separated physically.”

Dr. Sacra, the patient, is a faculty member at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He went on a mission trip to Liberia in August to work in a hospital there and was diagnosed with Ebola early this week. He will be treated in what’s called the “Biocontainment Patient Care Unit” at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. Jeffery Gold, the chancellor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, says the unit is one of the few in the country that’s equipped to deal with a patient suffering from an infectious disease like Ebola.

“We have been preparing for this type of event for a very long time,” Gold said during a Thursday news conference. “This is not a surprise that we’re being called to serve in this way.” Gold says not only will Sacra receive “world-class care” but all other patients, staff, faculty and visitors at the hospital will be “completely protected and safe.” Sacra’s wife told reporters in Boston yesterday (Thursday) that her husband is very ill, but was able to walk onto the plane that carried him out of Africa.

A U.S. doctor and an American nurse who contracted Ebola while on mission trips to Africa were flown to Emory University’s hospital in Atlanta last month for treatment. Dr. Sacra, the third American to be diagnosed with the disease, is a 51-year-old family doctor who has made many trips to Liberia in the past 20 years. He was not treating Ebola patients during his most recent trip, but was working in another part of the hospital. He got a fever last Friday and put himself in isolation while tests were done to confirm the Ebola diagnosis.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The University of Iowa has expelled a second student for sexual misconduct as part of a campus crackdown on perpetrators. UI President Sally Mason said yesterday the student was expelled during the summer term. No other details were immediately released Thursday.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Dubuque officials are making homeowners liable for most cases in which people are injured on sidewalks. The Dubuque City Council has approved an amendment to a city ordinance, allowing officials to delegate financial responsibility for sidewalk repairs to property owners. The Telegraph Herald reports the move is aimed at encouraging homeowners to keep sidewalks in better condition.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A federal agency is reviewing whether it would be appropriate for Iowa City to use $1 million in affordable housing funds to buy five condominiums at a luxury high-rise development. The Department of Housing and Urban Development confirmed the review in a letter to Senator Chuck Grassley, who raised questions about the arrangement.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A food distribution company has agreed to pay $1.9 million to settle a lawsuit that claims it conspired with others over several years to restrain the bidding process for selling food at schools across Iowa. The lawsuit says Martin Brothers Distributing Company conspired with Iowa Educators Corporation and its successor, the Iowa Association for Educational Purchasing, to monopolize the business of food distribution at hundreds of schools over a 14-year period. Martin Brothers and the other defendants deny any wrongdoing.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department reports a Stanton man was arrested this week following an investigation that began in July with regard to incidents of thefts from multiple jurisdictions within Iowa and Missouri. Authorities say 48 year old Thayne Alvin Kinnison, of Stanton, was arrested on a warrant out of Council Bluffs for 4th degree theft as well as felony possession of stolen property and for being a felon in possession of a firearm/offensive weapon. Kinnison also faces possible charges from the Shenandoah Police Department and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

During their investigation, officers executed a search warrant Wednesday at 2569 O Avenue, south of Stanton. Officials recovered various stolen items related to the investigation as well as a weapon and items related to Department of Natural Resources violations.