An Ohio man faces charges after a drug bust on Interstate 80 in Council Bluffs netted 15 pounds of marijuana. The Daily Non Pareil says according to the Council Bluffs P-D, a little after 8-a.m. Saturday, an officer conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle that was speeding on eastbound Interstate 80 near mile marker 5. When officers questioned the driver, 44-year old James E. Reeder, of Concord, Ohio, they thought his story of where he was going and coming from didn’t add up.

A k-9 unit was called-in and indicated there were drugs, giving authorities probable cause to search the Hyundai. When officers searched Reeder’s vehicle, they found 15 pounds of marijuana in a suitcase in the cargo area. Police estimated the drugs to be worth $15,000.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

(Information in the following story is from: Quad-City Times, http://www.qctimes.com)

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — The Rhythm City Casino in Davenport is reopening after being closed for two weeks because of flooding concerns along the Mississippi River. General manager Mo Hyder says the riverboat casino is reopening Tuesday morning because floodwaters have receded. That has allowed “clean and safe access” for employees and customers.

TOLEDO, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa woman has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the stabbing death of her daughter-in-law. Ginger Jefferson was given the mandatory sentence Monday in Tama County District Court for the September death of Kerry O’Clair-Jefferson. Jurors convicted her of first-degree murder in May.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Iowa officials say a Waterloo man whose life sentence for murder was commuted by the governor has been released from prison. Records show Rasberry Williams was paroled effective Monday. Williams was convicted of first-degree murder in the 1974 shooting death of a man outside a Waterloo pool hall. Over the decades, supporters argued that Williams had been a model inmate.

ALLISON, Iowa (AP) — Officials are monitoring cleanup of a fertilizer spill in northern Iowa that dumped hundreds of gallons of liquid. The state Department of Natural Resources says an employee of the Farmers Cooperative in Allison was pulling a tank of 32 percent liquid nitrogen fertilizer on Thursday when a seam on the tank failed. More than 800 gallons of the fertilizer spilled onto a city street. The liquid was then washed into a storm sewer that reached a nearby stream.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Conservative fundraising group American Crossroads is filling in for Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Joni Ernst while she participates in Iowa National Guard training for two weeks. Group spokesman Paul Lindsay tells The Associated Press they’re spending $415,000 on a 30-second television ad that begins Tuesday.

Crossroads is spending another $3.1 million in Iowa as part of a $20 million blitz in Senate battlegrounds as the GOP tries to take control of the chamber. The ad mentions Democratic candidate and U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley’s critique of Republican Sen. Charles Grassley’s qualifications to be Senate Judiciary Chairman. The ad calls Ernst, a state senator, “a better choice.”

Crossroads is a super PAC that is unaffiliated with Ernst’s campaign and not bound by federal laws limiting contributions. It is required to disclose donors.

An electrical short is being blamed for a large fire in western Iowa on July 4. Jeff Cullen, an inspector with the Iowa State Fire Marshal’s office, says the fire destroyed a building in downtown Audubon. “The most likely cause we’re coming up with right now is there was an electrical issue behind one of the appliances in the kitchen area in the rear of the building,” Cullen said.

The fire was reported around noon on July 4. Audubon firefighters were joined by crews from Atlantic, Brayton, Adair, Exira, Manning, and Templeton. Many of the fire trucks had been participating in a parade in Exira. No one was injured. Audubon’s mayor said the top of the building was vacant and the lower floor was used primarily for storage.

(Radio Iowa)